12:45PM: Riot Fest is back in Chicago for its 18th year and the lineup is stacked, as has come to be expected from the three-day (primarily) punk and metal festival. This fest in particular has a knack for convincing bands to reunite, convincing bands to play albums in full, and convincing bands who seldomly tour to dust off their instruments for a romp.
1:02PM: Nashville and Third Man Records’ Olivia Jean gets things going on a perfectly sunny Friday in Douglass Park. The look is rockabilly goth and the sound is garage rock.
1:41PM: When I was younger, my love of Elliott Smith led me to discover a slew of Portland, Oregon bands, one of whom was Quasi. So it’s awesome to see Sam Coomes and Janet Weiss recording music and touring together again.
2:18PM: George Clinton is 82 years young and still funkin’ touring! Parliament Funkadelic are tearing the roof off the sucker, wasting no time playing the hits.
2:44PM: I’m a sucker for political lyrics, especially if you happen to be a British band, so Yard Act is an early highlight. I have a feeling we’ll be seeing a lot more of them in the future.
3:39PM: Kim Gordon saunters around the stage while her young, talented band rips. She’s in no rush; she’s in command.
4:37PM: While I listen to The Interrupters cover Billie Eilish’s “Bad Guy,” I wander around the grounds, checking out the Logan Square Arcade tent and Riot Mall. The arcade has some pretty sweet games, including several Foo Fighters pinball machines, and the mall has a lot of vendors selling hemp edibles to teenagers. I catch some skateboarders on the halfpipe before making my way to the Rise Stage for my most anticipated set of the day.