Riot Fest is an annual three-day punk rock music festival held at Douglass Park in Chicago, Illinois.

[4] Riot Fest spent seven years as a multi-venue festival, using the Metro, Subterranean, Double Door, Cobra Lounge and the Congress Theater to present bands over a three-day weekend.

Sunday also featured an additional "Riot Fest Speaks" panel, entitled Basement Screams, on Chicago's independent and punk scenes.

On May 12, 2016, it was announced that after 33 years, the Misfits lineup of Glenn Danzig, Jerry Only and Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein would reunite and headline the Riot Fest in Chicago and Denver in September 2016.

[13] On March 17, 2017, Riot Fest announced that the festival would not return to Denver, citing the death of co-founder Sean Mckeough the previous November as making it impossible to focus on more than one event in 2017.

Behind the scenes issues led to the finalized lineup and schedule not being released until the week before the fest,[14] leading many to assume the 2018 version would be the third iteration to be canceled.

In response, Riot Fest confirmed the 2021 edition of the festival was still happening and shared a letter from founder Mike Petryshyn stating their intent to announce new headliners and a complete lineup in May 2021.

On September 14, both Faith No More and Mr. Bungle also announced the cancellation of each band's fall 2021 dates, including Riot Fest, citing vocalist Mike Patton's ongoing mental health issues.

[23] Placebo was initially announced to be playing on Friday, September 16, but had to withdraw from the festival when their planned North American tour was postponed due to visa and logistical issues.

[24] Bauhaus was scheduled to play on Saturday, September 17, but canceled their planned 2022 tour when lead singer Peter Murphy entered rehab.

[28] On Sunday, rainy conditions led to the festival's start time being delayed until 2:00 PM and the cancellation of all early sets scheduled for that day.

[33] Discussions deteriorated into yelling at a community event between neighborhood residents and festival organizers, as community members complained that the music fest forces them out of large sections of the public park for weeks at a time so private events can be held, damages the park and has displaced youth sports teams that have had to find homes elsewhere.

[34] At the 2024 iteration Stephen Shult of Arlington Heights, IL died and the festival is not cooperating with the family to answer their questions surrounding the circumstances of his passing.