Riot Fest 2021 (September 17-19, Chicago IL) Tour • Page 95

Man, that sucks! Hopefully it all goes okay for you... And that in 2-3 months time this is something the vast majority of us don't need to worry about anymore.

 

Somebody posted on Reddit that Killswitch Engage has a pretty conspicuous hole in a September festival run during Riot Fest weekend. Every other weekend has a festival except that one... Could just be a break or a hold on smaller dates between the festivals, but feels like they might be in he mix for Riot.

Would be an odd add without some additional "heavy" acts, but I could see them playing the same stage as Every Time I Die and the Bronx (if they were to be added). Not sure who the headliner would be. Judas Priest, maybe?

 

Judas Priest would be the third headliner if they were booked, my friend went see them at an arena in Houston and tickets were over 200.. which means their booking fee isn't cheap.. Riot seems to have a secret vault with a money tree, so who knows lol

also sorry to hear Cgarnsay about you getting sick, hope it's not covid

My top 3 final headliner picks are still devo, No Doubt, or the very distant third: Op Ivy

 

i could see KSE headlining rise or radical. add Etid and one other then toss Thrice and fever 333, maybe even holy fawn, and you got yourself a 'heavy' stage

 

oh for sure i guess i penciled most of them in for saturday! im stoked to see if/how they load up the MCR day Riots & roots. Between those 2 stages they could make one of the most loaded 10 band line ups of that genre of all time, even with whats already announced let alone if they add more (the used, AFI)

 

That was my thought too, but I still feel like Judas Priest is a stretch for a second stage headliner... And would be a remarkably odd main stage headliner. Although they could easily be the second to last act, closing out the stage next to the headliner-headliner. I know there's that gap in the dates but I still stand by my thought that, while not entirely feasible, it would be a very very odd booking.

Coheed could actually be a headliner for that "heavy" stage. If NFG and TBS can do it, so can they. I do think that we'll see Thursday and Saves the Day on the same stage as My Chemical romance, though, if I'm being honest.

I think there's a good shot that we get Devo, though I'm not sold on them being top 3. I'd love No Doubt, but I think the chances of that happening are way slimmer than they would have been for a Tragic Kingdom play (especially with Gwen working on solo music).

Operation Ivy would make my soul happy, but I highly doubt that's a thing that'll happen this year.

As of today, I'm thinking that the #3 will be an act that none of us have even thought about yet because they have been inactive for a hot minute. Maybe not broken up, but a relatively rare get without any tour dates. Which, y'know, could be any number of artists because nobody's been touring or active. Hah.

 

With a new album coming out, I think we can put A.F.I. back in the mix as being a pretty likely act. But I could see them being on any number of stages (including one with the Pumpkins). MCR would be the best fit, IMHO.

 

I still think Judas Priest is a possibility because of that gap on their tour during Riot weekend and between Ohio and Wisconsin.

Maybe it could be the same case as Motorhead in 2015, when they headlined their stage but not the main stage.

 

Judas Priest is probably twice as expensive to book as Motorhead was, they're booking fee is huge and they have tons of gaps in their tour bc well, they are getting old and the tour also slips a bunch of huge markets.. if they play they headline, if they don't they don't


the only band that I think is an almost definite that hasn't been announced by Riot but has released tour dates so far is Dinosaur Jr

 

If Judas Priest is playing Riot Fest they would without a doubt be a main stage headliner. Its Judas friggin Priest. They'd be the biggest name on that bill (behind an MCR reunion).

 

If Judas Priest is booked it would be a pretty huge shift in the kind of headliner they are willing to book. Of all the bigger "old school" metal acts, they are arguably the second most Riot Fest (behind Maiden) but it still feels like a very expensive stretch in terms of aesthetic.

It would definitely pay off, but I find it unlikely.

I would also, personally, be a little bummed out. I have been hyping this festival since my partner and I started dating and the last two years she's been unable to go despite loving the line-ups... We were finally making it happen... And this one has maybe 2-3 acts on the bill she's even remotely excited about seeing haha. There's a lot of "eh, I'd watch that" which is good. And the addition of a full metal main stage would only increase that. Haha.

 

Fuck it, might as well just do a whole New Jersey stage!

 

They are not from NJ but from NY, but I would love to see Taking Back Sunday playing the main stage for once, and I totally see them playing the slot right before MCR

 

had that same thought, my imagined line up (including my 2 additions i mentioned above), could be something like:

Riot: bayside-> the used -> AFI-> TBS -> MCR
Roots: saves the day -> thursday -> Circa -> Thrice -> Coheed

The biggest thing that could make this unlikely is the fact its SO loaded that the first 4 bands on that schedule may all be too big to be playing pre-3PM even if on the main stage, but id still love to see it.

 

Love this lineup. We totally need The Used for the main stage this year. And I had something similar in mind with Circa, Thrice and Coheed on the Roots stage. Maybe bands like Boston Manor and Meet Me @ The Altar (from the once we have so far) can open those stages

I can see a pop punk stage with New Found Glory, Simple Plan, Mayday Parade, Bayside and Saves The Day.

 

oh god, I just went on the reddit Riot Fest again... my poor brain

just cancel the show now, so I can book my tickets to PRB or the Fest /s

 

I just read that thread and it was making my head explode. Also why is Reddit constantly trying to speculate that Riot Fest will move out to the burbs. I feel like they have been saying that since it moves out of Humboldt Park and maybe every before that.

 

I honestly think Saves the Day or Bayside are positioned just fine on a stage that loaded. But only if there was one band on just before them. I'm not sure who would be a decent fit, but looking at the current line-up... Maybe Meet Me @ The Altar would go on Riot first and you flip StD and Bayside?

You'd have to do some more shuffling and maybe cut a later band. But that would work. Putting one band before, having Saves play before Bayside... And I think it would work.

If you read those posts, there's a lot of projection going on. "My city/state isn't doing well, therefore..." and "I know people who are anti-vaxxers, therefore..."

As I said before, I fully understand the urge to do that. And understand why people do. But it's not an objective way of looking at everything. The only people I'm willing to listen to about any of that are people from/around Chicago. Other than that, it's what's going on in the rest of the U.S. as a whole.

 

can't we just be optimistic and I don't know.. wait and see what happens between now and then, before chicken little on reddit says the sky is falling for the 18th time

 

i absolutely see this happening too, but on a different day than the MCR day, i think they would want to spread it around, have something for the pop punkers to do on the day the elder alt rockers (pumpkins, pixies, etc..)are on the main stage.. we've gathered quite a bit of themed stages already, curious to see how many come to fruition: hip hop stage, emo stage or 2, pop punk stage, older alt rocker stage, reggae/ska stage, possible heavy stage if they add a few more.. god damn i love riot fest, lol

 

I hear you. We can be optimistic, but Reddit is a hell hole of despair on a good day let alone during a pandemic.

I'm hoping for the best, but if the whole thing gets cancelled or postponed because it's deemed unsafe? I'm cool with that too.

I was kind of assuming we'd get a stage that was New Found Glory, All-American Rejects, Simple Plan, and Bayside with Meet Me @ the Altar or Boston Manor in the opening slot. I could see Saves the Day on that stage or any number of other stages people have thrown out there (at this point, they fit in just as well with "older alt-rock" as they do with bouncy pop-punk).

 

Not sharing this to talk about crossover acts (it's an electronic festival) but this got announced today, two weeks before Riot, so other festivals are starting to move forward with putting out lineups/dates in Chicago.

 

It's not just Reddit. If bet that if you go through this thread you will find many people who said that there is 0 chance this will happen.

The good news: those people's opinion means jack shit in regards to if this event will go on as planned or not.

 

I would imagine we'll see more of this. Festivals want to move ahead, bands want to play, vendors want to vend, etc. Everyone will be planning for the best and I would imagine that the bulk of contracts associated with these things for this year will have a clause to cover whatever might happen with COVID.

People want to move, and I don't see festivals waiting until May to start planning.

 

Took a deeper dive on that Reddit thread just now. Dear god...

The thing that blows my mind is the reference to the organizers needing time to get contracts in place, the uncertainty, etc. and leaning on what those contracts are "normally" like with certain fees being non-refundable and whatever... as if no lawyer could ever conceive of including a COVID-specific clause in those contracts to cover things if the whole thing gets cancelled specifically because of COVID.

Everybody wants to get back to work. And for most organizations, I'm sure it's worth the risk to put the time in now to get signed up for something that might happen (and is looking more likely by the day) rather than sitting and twiddling their thumbs.

That being said? I'm also talking out of my ass here and have no idea whether any of this is true. But I have to assume the deals being worked out are probably very different than they would normally look.