Riot Fest is moving back to Douglass Park for its annual music festival in September.
According to an announcement Wednesday from Riot Fest organizers, Ald. Monique Scott, 24th, the city of Chicago and the Chicago Park District, the decision was “pending provisional approval by the Park District Board next month,” but that all parties were in favor of the festival’s return.
Wednesday’s surprise about-face came after a calamitous couple of months that saw the music festival announce in June it would depart its longtime home in the North Lawndale neighborhood and move to the campus of SeatGeek Stadium in southwest suburban Bridgeview.
At the time, that decision came amid delays by the Park District to approve the festival’s permit for 2024, as well as rising tensions over the use of city parks by music festivals such as Riot Fest.
Riot Fest organizer Mike Petryshyn, speaking to the Tribune on Wednesday, said relations with the Park District have since gone through a reversal.
“We’ve loved working with them recently,” he said, “It’s gone through this 360.”
Riot Fest announced the news on its website and via social media: “There’s no place like home. Riot Fest is coming back to Douglass Park, Chicago. September 20-22, 2024.”
Douglass Park is the location the festival has used since 2015, when it moved from Humboldt Park. The headliners this year will be Beck, Public Enemy, the Marley Brothers and Fall Out Boy, and the festival will also feature Slayer, the Offspring, St. Vincent, Bright Eyes, Rob Zombie, Dr. Dog, Sublime and Pavement.
Some of the most vocal support for Riot Fest staying in North Lawndale has come from Scott, who said her constituents were largely supportive of the festival being in the park. Her office released a statement in June that called Riot Fest “a cornerstone of positive impact and opportunity in our community” and characterized some of its most outspoken opposition as a “false narrative” from a small number of people, some of whom did not live in the 24th Ward.
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However, the Tribune has spoken to local residents who say they find the festival — with a music lineup that has long favored punk, rock and hip-hop bands — a disruption and a poor fit for surrounding North Lawndale, a predominantly Black neighborhood, and the largely Latino Little Village.
On its side, Riot Fest has put in place a number of projects to support the local residents and businesses, including through job fairs and other initiatives.
Petryshyn, who goes by Riot Mike, said the decision to return to Chicago came after a meeting with Mayor Brandon Johnson in June. Though permit approvals for Douglass Park were on track at the time of the announced Bridgeview move, he said the festival had to commit to the new location. The announcement of bands, location and ticket sales by then was several weeks past that of previous years and logistics of putting on a festival of Riot Fest’s size were looming. On top of that, he said Riot Fest felt embraced by Bridgeview Mayor Steven Landek.
Then he met with Johnson.
“And he didn’t come with an agenda,” Petryshyn said. “He said he didn’t want to try to change my mind, he just wanted to listen. He wanted to hear how we were doing. I saw a real authenticity in him.”
Petryshyn also stressed the backing he’s received from Scott.
“That statement of support, that was a real risk for her,” Petryshyn said. “I know it sounds funny, talking about politicians like this, it’s not very punk rock. But we’re coming back to Chicago. Chicago is our home.”
He says he won’t be surprised if protests about Riot Fest’s use of the park also resume, but that he’s committed to keeping dialogue with those who have protested. Some of the issues have been with how dividends from the festival reach the community, versus it being there in the first place, he said. “We’ve been in conversation with them, and it hasn’t been adversarial.”
Cultural events at Chicago parks generate $20 million annually for the Park District, and tax revenue for the city. Riot Fest’s rent increased from around $300,000 to $700,000 last year, Scott told the Tribune in June, and the Park District did not meet with organizers when they asked to discuss the cost.
Wednesday’s statement said that Riot Fest “meets the requirements for the Park District’s Park Enhancement Fund created to allocate 10% of the revenue from multi-day, permitted events with a daily attendance of 3,000 or more and reinvest it directly into the park that hosted the event.” The 2024 festival is expected to generate $712,000 for the fund, which is in charge of capital improvements for the park. Riot Fest has an official daily capacity of 40,000.
In her statements, Scott also pushed for a more lasting partnership between Riot Fest and the city, calling the return “a win for our community, and we look forward to the continued positive impact it will bring.”
The Chicago Red Stars also announced Wednesday that they would be able to play their nationally televised home game on Sept. 21 against the San Diego Wave at SeatGeek Stadium, following the Riot Fest announcement.
For those currently holding tickets, shuttle reservations and parking passes for SeatGeek Stadium, a spokesperson for the festival said information would be posted at riotfest.org/chicago/faq. A daily schedule of bands will be released at 10 a.m. Thursday.
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Petryshyn said he knew the turn of events seem like a bit of a head-spin — the fest had put out a save-the-date message for 2024’s festival taking place in Douglass Park back in December 2023.
“If you’d told me then that we’d leave Douglass Park and then come back, inside of a few weeks, I would have said you’re out of your mind,” he laughed. “I would have said, you need a new Magic 8 Ball.”