By: Michael Bacos

For the second year in a row, people donned in liberty spikes, studded vests, and Doc Martens took over Douglas Park. The North Lawndale park is the host of Riot Fest, the punk rock-spirited three-day music festival in the month of September. Unlike Lollapalooza, Riot Fest doesn’t take itself too seriously. The spirit of the festival is based in nostalgia. You go to Riot Fest to hear the bands you used to listen to in high school, while you’re hanging out in your friend’s basement. Or the bands that would bring you back to those days in the late 90s when Warped Tour was at its peak. Jessica Hernandez, lead singer of Jessica Hernandez and the Deltas, played at both Riot Fest and Lollapalooza and she noted the difference between the crowds. “People at Riot Fest are hardcore music lovers,” said Hernandez. “So for me, on a personal level, it’s a cool honor to play on a bill with a lot of bands I grew up listening to.”

Aside from being fun-loving, punk rock can be a platform for socially conscious movements as well. “Riot” Mike Petryshyn, founder of the festival, does his part to help residents of the area where Riot Fest takes place through Thanksgiving turkey drives or soccer camps for kids. He always gives free tickets to residents in the surrounding area to invite them to check out the festival. Punk rock has always looked out for the little person. “Punk music is offensive to society, at least good punk is,” said “Fat” Mike Burkett, frontman for legendary punk band NOFX. “I think a lot of it has to do with something with people who have angst and they find something they can relate to,” said Erik “Smelly” Sandin, drummer of NOFX. “It gives the little guy a voice…and something to belong to.”

However, punk rock isn’t the only genre represented at Riot Fest. There’s ska, emo, reggae, and hip-hop. This year, Nas, Julien Marley, GZA, and Method Man and Redman were some of the acts that played alongside the punk artists of Riot Fest. Since much of the punk community has grown up feeling like being on the fringes of society, they’re more apt to accept people who are different from them. Overall, the spirit of Riot Fest is about partying in however you want to do it. No other person embodies this than annual performer Andrew WK. He is known as “The King of Partying” and is actually a motivational speaker. “Partying is celebrating without a reason,” said Andrew WK. “It’s a joyful state without having something specific to be joyful about.” If we could simply live our lives in the Andrew WK perspective of partying, then maybe the world would be a better place. That’s the spirit of Riot Fest: just to be happy without a reason and to care about your fellow person.