Well, this is certainly a change of pace. I am excited to introduce a page on the website including just some thoughts and more laid-back writing. I know this is a late piece, but I did attend all three days of Riot Fest last month. Some of my highlights, lowlights, and surprises from the weekend are named below.

Day One: Friday

Friday was certainly my most anticipated day of the weekend. The long-awaited headlining set of Twenty-One Pilots, as well as sets from Rise Against, The All-American Rejects, and Iggy Pop. While I missed out Iggy Pop and Gwar, I did get the chance to enjoy the entirety of the main stage performances.

Early Sets

Highlights from the early slate include sets from Fleshwater, 3OH!3, Violet Grohl, and Joey Valence & Brae. My first full set of the day was Fleshwater, marking the second time I’ve seen them. It was a great way to start my weekend for sure. 3OH!3 was certainly a surprise for me this weekend. They command unmatched crowd control. Certainly, hit a little harder for those a little older than myself, however, I did find myself engaged the entire set. All in all, a little bit of weird set, but very much enjoyable.

The Riot Stage’s two o’clock set was Violet Grohl. She has remarkable voice prowess and was an enjoyable listen. For those wondering (and I know there’s a lot of you), no, she does not play the guitar. Another big surprise of the weekend for me was Joey Valence & Brae. Another duo bolstering incredible crowd control. They are a hip-hop duo, that represent a little bit of an old school sound. Another incredible set, and I would highly recommend seeing them live.

The All-American Rejects were certainly a time. Frontman, Tyson Ritter, is a character, and it shows. All in all, a very enjoyable set, keeping the audience engaged the whole time. It was a must to see their smash hit “Gives You Hell” live for the first time. Rise Against was a band of which I knew few songs, but I had heard many good things. And that is rightfully so. They were a phenomenal prelude to the headliner and brought some of the highest energy of the day.

Twenty-One Pilots

Finally, Twenty-One Pilots. This band puts on an incredible show. From the first song to their last, Tyler Joseph brings remarkable energy. While I know their major hits, I was not fully engulfed in their discography. This was one of the sets that brought me to delve into all of their albums, hence the review on Clancy. An absolute must see if you have the chance, and it led me to getting one cool photo out of it all.

Day Two: Saturday

Well, Saturday featured the likes of Tool, Nas, Morrissey, and Bad Religion. This day was important to me for three reasons: Tool, Nas, and Afroman. Of course, we had the privilege of losing out on Afroman’s set, due to the rain. I did enjoy sets from Public Image, Sugar, and Social Distortion. I enjoyed the sets but do not remember much of them unfortunately.

Now, I went into the Tool set not knowing Tool at all. I do now know of Tool. They put on an incredible show. I watched the first two songs and went to catch a good spot for Nas’ set. That turned out to be a mistake, because Nas showed up an hour after his updated time. All in all, for the right price, I would recommend seeing Tool, especially if that kind of rock is your thing.

Nas, on the other hand, was a very enjoyable time. He was a little bit before my time, so I did not know about half of the songs. I know, uncultured. It is safe to say that Nas is a great performer and made up for the time hiccup. He brought a much-needed energy boost to the night. One of the few rappers I would recommend paying good money to see live.

Day 3: What was meant to be

Well, the great swamp of Sunday hindered my desire to be there. I stayed for an hour. An awful lot of rain and storm resulted in the grounds become so muddy you could barely walk. Doors were pushed back about two hours, however, people continued to come. I didn’t catch one full set this day, which sucked. I do imagine I will make it back out for a Pierce the Veil concert when they are back in town.

Best Set of the Weekend: This is undoubtedly Twenty-One Pilots. I cannot say enough how incredible this band is. Tyler screaming, while Josh is killing it on drums. The visuals and pyro, meshed amongst hits like “Doubt” and “Ride.” 100% will break the bank to see them again.

Biggest Surprise of the Weekend: 3OH!3 was the biggest surprise by far. I knew there big TikTok hit, of course, but knew no other song. The crowd remained engaged from the first song to the last and knew all the words. The visuals projected on stage were certainly interesting to say the least, but it was quite entertaining.