Ah, so we're at that point in the speculation discourse. Seriously though... Deftones, Tool, Twenty One Pilots, and My Chemical Romance are all still in the mix. Plus a few stretch goals (e.g., Metallica, No Doubt). Admittedly most of those wouldn't do much for me but would be great gets for the festival. And I'm sure there's at least one artist none of us are really thinking of or have mostly given up on (OpIvy).
It would be cool/fun if one year then did a “Mega Maynard Weekend” and had Tool headline one day, APC be direct support one day and then Pucifer close out a smaller stage another day. Maynard could also curate that stage too
For me the thing is that Tool does absolutley nothing for me at this point. Never been a Twenty One Pilots fan, either. But I'd say those three with Deftones are the headliners. RF isn't getting MCR this time.
I like Twenty One Pilots well enough, and I wouldn't complain if they were headlining, but they feel unlikely to me. Just not the vibe that Riot usually goes for. Never got into Deftones or Tool but would watch a few songs of each. No idea what the current state of Paramore is and it seems like a Hayley solo year in general. I assume she's not a headliner on her own, but closing Roots before Deftones would be pretty awesome. Of all the ones we're still speculating about, my ideal is probably MCR / Op Ivy / No Doubt. MCR is probably DWP-exclusive, and I think we'd have heard more about Op Ivy if it was happening this year. Might just not be a headliners year for me, and that's okay. I'm still very excited about the rest of the lineup.
I saw Tool for the first time a couple years back. It was fine. They sounded amazing and had a killer light show. But unless you love the songs or you're the type of person who says "OMFG! THE PRODUCTION WAS INSAAAANE!" they are pretty skippable.
You know what? I'm going to throw another name out there: What about CHVRCHES? Not sure they would be headliner status but maybe as their first US show back (and only one of 2026) that could work? Or am I just stretching? Paramore would be an awesome get. But I do think Hayley will be riding the solo album for the rest of this year... Having her solo doesn't feel likely either simply because a one-off festival like Riot feels like it wouldn't fit in with the general plan/vibe. But who knows. This is 100% my ideal too given everything else that's out in the ether. Hearing you say that "we'd have heard more" about OpIvy is interesting though because I feel like we usually have some chatter about it. So the fact that there's silence is giving me the exact opposite feeling. But I am still refusing to get excited about it. LOL!
I've long felt that they would be a great fit for Riot Fest, especially with the increasing turn towards rock and the horror aspects.
Yes, it's quite acrimonious. But if there's one thing Johnny Rotten loves more than the Crown it's money.
Chvrches at Riot could be cool, but no way they would headline. Their last Chicago was at the Aragon and it wasnt sold out, and they havent release any new music since then for them to have hype enough to headline a festival
Okay, then. Guess they aren't a bona fide headliner. But seeing a day with Deftones and CHVRCHES sharing the topline would be incredibly cool. Not sure if this year is possible or not but I'd love to see them closing out a stage at some point! Totally. My assumption is that it was a lot like the Smiths situation, though, where yeah maybe Johnny might be down but the rest of the band just couldn't be bothered with him at this point.
Definitely stretching lol. Their last tour they tried elevating from their typical 3k rooms to 6k theaters, and I think they were mostly soft sells. But I could see them closing out a stage against a headliner.
I don’t remember hearing a lot of chatter before Misfits or Jawbreaker got back together. So I agree. But I get my hopes up every single year so don’t listen to me.
For sure. But I think OpIvy is a different beast simply because of all the previous chatter. Random mentions from Jesse in interviews, the one-off performance a year or two ago, Jesse and Tim working closely on Doom Regulator stuff, etc. And I am still convinced that Riot did that LJG/Catbite set two years ago to prove the songs could work in that setting. But the whole camp has been quiet lately and at the moment - Rancid has nothing on the docket for 2026. But I think the second Rancid announces an album or tour or whatever any shot at OpIvy goes away.
I also think that in terms of internet marketing, the total surprise thing is less effective than seeding the algorithm with something before the big announcement, which is what I thought was happening with that one-off/impromptu thing a while back. Would love to be wrong though.
If it's a one-off thing, though, I'm not sure Tim/Jesse would be so concerned about that. Riot just has to worry about their own algorithm which they'll start priming anyway... I think the "surprise" of it all will drive the algorithm and news stories on its own. And, TBH, that's probably ideal because the festival does the heavylifting. And I'm just now realizing, we've just ticked off another Riot Speculation Bingo Box: Far too deep analysis of a seemingly impossible reunion. What's next? Checking the Q101 socials for vague teases about upcoming announcements?! Checking the Riot thread on InfoRoo with frequency?
I haven’t been actively looking on that forum in a while haha, but the Riot thread there is way less active than here