If you made it through day one of Riot Fest the rest of the weekend will be a piece of cake. From delayed entry to realizing the set up is completely different this year yet no maps to guide you (they finally arrived after 5pm, not that anyone who was already on site would be aware) to almost constant rain and tons of mud – the kind of mud that feels like glue – and then, the cold set in. But The Offspring, Slayer, Janes Addiction and other great live performances made all the shivering worth while. And, knowing that the rest of the weekend will be dry and sunny helped as well.
However, you still need rain boots. I’m not kidding that the mud is like glue. And it’s pretty much everywhere. Even with the weather being dry there just isn’t enough time for the mud to dry up when thousands of people are walking around. Also, it’s going to cool off when the sun goes down, bring at least flannel if not a warm hoodie/jacket.
Download the Riot Fest app. Even though cell service is spotty at Riot Fest I never had any problems viewing the app. It also can gently remind you 15 minutes before a band you want to see hits the stage which is very helpful. But do also get a paper map.
The new layout of Riot Fest makes for a strange long entry. By that I mean when you go in the main gate at Division/California you will walk seemingly forever to get to a stage. But you must go through that entrance if you need to pick up your tickets (ticketfly, VIP, will call, etc). If you have your ticket already best bet is to enter on North Avenue (near Kedzie). You will literally enter the middle of the fest from that location – much less walking! Click HERE for a map.
Oh, and one more thing…if someone says “meet me by the ferris wheel” make sure you ask “which one”? My daughter and I spent almost an hour trying to find each other, not realizing there were two ferris wheels. That’s where a map would have been helpful.
See a complete list of what you can and cannot bring into Riot Fest HERE. See the musical line-up HERE.
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