My list was just a general list as I said above, not factoring in who is available/not for this year, because the question of who is left to headline that has not yet comes up frequently and we’ve been able to knock off some (Foo Fighters, Green Day) in recent years.
Are The New Pornographers possible? Their Metro show in May is sold out and they have some Midwest shows that start shortly after Riot weekend…
I would put Panic!, Maiden, and BTMH in there. Maybe Limp Bizkit too but that feels like a stretch given they were basically the hair-metal equivalent of their era. The rest of those aren't Riot-adjacent in my eyes and I kinda doubt they'd ever get booked.
I’d argue Pantera could be a headliner or stage closer. Pantera with some bands like Drain, Speed, Knocked Loose and a couple heavier legacy acts on the stage would be so fun.
President is out, thought that woulda been a fairly secure undercard get, but nope! Chicago show on 9/8
Drain is out. Coming back in September for the grey day tour with suicide boys. The show is 2 days before riot
Puts Death Cab (I know they played a few years ago…but still) and Japanese Breakfast, who is also on the Shaky Knees lineup, in play. If they got Japanese Breakfast then I think there will probably be an indie headliner or an indie day like in 2024. Could also see her paired on a stage with Hayley Williams.
Ugly kid Joe and wheatus tour announced, playing Joliet aug 29. Not speculated but in hindsight coulda been fun early day throw backs
I know it was posted on April 1st but… That new, full band photo of Reel Big Fish telling people to “stay tuned” makes me think they might be a possibility this year.
It definitely got my hopes up. Maybe this year will be the year we finally get more than 1 or 2 ska bands! Either way, great to see they are finally coming back.
Another thing about that RBF teaser too that I noticed is that Dan and Scott were both in the pic. It’d be very cool if they both rejoined the band
I would be pretty surprised if they played riot and not warped tour given their history there but I guess they could always still get added to warped
Sam Means of The Format saying they will be back to Chicago: Could just be a nice thing to say in the moment to someone who cannot attend the show tonight or perhaps it could mean a Riot Fest appearance!
At the Format show right now and was just thinking how good it would be to run this back outside in September
We'll see. The thing about Reel Big Fish is they could fit with a bunch of different artists. This is a pretty fair point. But I'm willing to bet Riot would have thrown them more $$$ for a single show which is probably what it would take to get them kickstarted again. Warped will be there next year and I'm sure Kevin will gladly have them. It could also just be them getting back into the studio again. Or something else completely. They're a weird band. Haha. If they do come back, though, I'll be curious to see what it does to their draw. They never really stopped selling well but this might kick it up a notch maybe. Hopefully the show ends tonight with them saying they'll be back in September as bands sometimes do?!!
No but Nate did mention having to come back to Chicago again to make up for what Chicago went to (referencing the three shows being rescheduled by Covid three times and then canceled) I think the signs are good for them to be at Riot! Fingers crossed!
What are the odds we get a King Giz appearance? They mentioned having 7 shows this year and they haven't announced the seventh.
They seem to be doing multi-day stints. Three days in Colorado followed by three days in NYC. I guess they could do Riot but I feel like the last date is more likely to be on the west coast. I'm putting money on them doing their own thing rather than a festival given the other dates this year. But Riot would honestly be a strong fit for the band with the right undercard. Wouldn't move the needle for me in the slightest but I'm very much in the minority on that one. Would be a really great get for them if they can swing it.