Riot Fest 2023 Tour • Page 69

Although they are playing quite a few midwest dates, and even some shows in cities they played in their February tour, you might be right, its seems like a rough touring schedule, 4 months non-stop between Europe and the US.

 

I mean if they add more dates in the states in September, then my prediction changes.. especially since they are touring with Death Cab & Postal Service in the fall

 

lock alert for The Beths

lock alert for Microwave (wishful thinking, Chicago show Saturday)

 

don't know why they'd possibly be locked in New Zealand, but ok

 

Rtj is out playing the salt shed 4 shows full album plays

also in New York riot fest weekend

 

I think The Beths are very likely, they had a Riot Fest presents show in 2020 before COVID cancelled it, and they are due to come back after two sold out Thalia Hall shows.

 

Love RTJ but headlining 3 out of the last 5 Riots would've been overkill.

 

Can't believe how big the Beths have gotten, i saw them play in the actual Logan Square back in 2019 in front of maybe a couple hundred people.

 

The piqnic lineup is next Monday at 8 am.

 

First time I saw them was at Beat Kitchen and it wasn't even sold out, they really have blown up in just a few years

 

Yes but some other acts have done this, not headlining, but playing. Leaving out the obvious ones that are a gimmick at this point.

I would love it if some bands didn't just keep hitting Riot Fest every two years.

 

So a new supergroup was announced today… Tim Armstrong, Jesse Michaels, Joey Castillo, Spencer Pollard. Any chance they could play? It could be a foot in the door for Op Ivy in a few years…

 

I'm fine with some second tier, maybe even upper tier acts playing often but the headliners should be completely different and fresh for at least 4-5 years. . like I'd be fine with System this year

 

Fair. I get it for the lower levels of the card. But I can only see Alkaline Trio so many times with no new music closing out a stage before I get bored.

 

Agreed, three straight Riots for Alkaline Trio is overkill but they may be the new Andrew WK or TBS

 

Riot Mike is 100% trying to book them right now with that strategy in mind. It worked for the Replacements and it worked for the Misfits... And he for sure tried it with the Smiths to no avail.

EDIT: But this means that OpIvy is probably out this year, yeah?

It makes sense for the subs and lower if they play every 2-3 years. To me, it kinda depends on the headliner though. My biggest qualm with bringing in RTJ again is that they would be the only hip-hop headliner they pulled in. I love them and would for sure be cool with them playing. But it'd be nice if they branched out a bit more, booking some different hip-hop acts.

 

On this point, and part of this is my own ignorance, what hip-hop acts would they be able to afford that could headline a stage?

 

IF (very big IF = font size 1000 IF) Op Ivy ever do a reunion, it should be this year with all these fucking teases, and the slight increase in popularity of ska again (def not another wave like the 90s but its picking up, pick it up) and especially if Interrupters are also playing if Matt or Dave get sick or whatever, you have a in case of emergency Bovina

 

"Headlining a stage" is one thing. "Headlining a festival" is another. In the past they've had Wu-Tang Clan, Nas, Ice Cube, Cypress Hill, and Lupe Fiasco heading Radicals/Rise. And Run the Jewels has headlined the main stage.

But I'm not really sure who all else they could pull in to headline the main stage (and like you, it's mostly my own ignorance). At this point, I wonder if Wu-Tang or Nas could get the bump up to main stage with a strong undercard.

I think the biggest issue is most of the ones they could snag aren't headliners yet - or they'd all just rather do Lolla because they're more "pop" leaning and it just makes way more sense for the artist to put the focus there and get that paycheck.

Kinda doubt it'll be this year if there's a new project in the works. But regardless... "Emergency Bovina" is one of the better made-up phrases I've heard recently. Definitely stealing that one.

 

Fair, I should have said "headline a night". I don't think any of the legacy acts could do it without a strong undercard that largely won't cater to the customer base of the festival on that day.

And yes, I agree - they'd rather play Lolla or even Pitchfork rather than Riot Fest if they're of the size that they could close out a day. Better exposure at both, to be honest.

This exposes the fact that the number of acts that Riot Fest can or will book to headline a day are already quite small in number and only going to decrease as they age out/retire.

 

Kid Cudi is a candidate that could headline the main stage, but maybe in a way that has 2 other really strong stage closers, headliner by committee style

edit - or not, i just checked his spotify numbers and they are waaay more than RTJ, so he could be fine on his own

 

I think what people love about riot fest (curating a diverse festival that still leans towards an older, more punk, compulsive show going crowd) also paints them into a corner some of the time.

like they’re always good for some beloved rap acts like Wu Tang and Run The Jewels, but the base would probably be skeptical if they started booking more modern acts that would otherwise play Lyrical Lemonade or Lolla.

for the longest time I thought the fest needed to break away from that, but after seeing Friday last year bring in a totally different fan base and change the vibe of the festival, I’m not so sure anymore.

 

A double-header could do it too, I think (e.g., Nas/Wu-Tang billed on the topline). The Roots might be in the conversation as well. An actual N.W.A. reunion would definitely do it but I'm not sure that's in the cards.

Agreed with Lolla and Pitchfork too. There's better exposure for the target audience at both (and likely a better paycheck from Lolla). So there's just not motivation to do Riot when Lolla is eager to pick them up.

Would be curious to hear other thoughts though. I'm into hip-hop but I don't pay attention to draw and popularity there the way I do punk, emo, ska, hardcore, or whatever. Haha.

 

Spotify numbers don't mean a whole lot to me because those are all time numbers, correct?

And I think he'd rather play Pitchfork or Lolla to the points above.

 

Friday last year was an anomaly.. Saturday & Sunday felt like regular Riot to me?

In hindsight, Riot probably should've just let the United Center book 3 nights of MCR but it's too late to change now lol