In The Loop Magazine – Riot Fest 20th Anniversary 2025

Riot Fest 20th Anniversary 2025 – Day 2 Review

Sep 21, 2025 admin_bitlc Features, Festivals, Music News, Reviews 0

By C.D.

The second day of Riot Fest 2025 brought a little rain, great sets with one clear standout, and a moment in Riot Fest history that will never be forgotten. Indiana-based shoegazers Wishy brought a breezy, melodic set to the early part of the day, and the one-two punch of The Cribs and Superchunk firmly established this year’s focus on rock and punk, with both bands crushing their sets that seemed to go by in a flash.

Superchunk’s new album, “Songs in the Key of Yikes,” is one of their best in years, and vocalist/guitarist Mac McCaughan seems to be aging in reverse, bringing the goods as hard as ever on new tracks like “Care Less” and “Everybody Dies”; the triumphant chorus of “Slack Motherfucker” felt like a rallying cry to the ‘90s kids-cum-adults in attendance.

And what would Riot Fest be without Gwar? Everyone would be less wet from questionable alien substances, of course, but no one really wants that.

From the opening of “Fuck This Place” to “Gor Gor” to “El Presidente,” which saw an effigy of Elon Musk beheaded before an alien version of our ‘fearless leader’ sprayed gallons of blood on the crowd, Gwar’s live show remains a Riot Fest highlight.

Manchester indie-pop band James were a fantastic addition to the afternoon’s lineup

and The Front Bottoms were a dose of jubilant singalong energy from start to finish, with vocalist/guitarist Brian Sella’s unique speak-sing vocal style telling stories to a massive midday crowd as Marky Ramone and his crew pounded through an hour-long set of Ramones’ tunes in trademark “1-2-3-4!” fashion.

The Buzzcocks were a fun bookend to Ramone’s set as well, with a set that focused on the fan favorites like “Ever Fallen in Love” and “Orgasm Addict.”

Since time immemorial, the specter of John Stamos has hung over Riot Fest, guiding its hand and serving as its spirit animal for all these years, though hopes of his appearance have been consistently dashed.

The Beach Boys took the stage as evening fell for a set stacked with a truly stunning array of timeless pop songs like “God Only Knows,” “Surfer Girl,” and “Surfin’ USA” (which actually saw some crowd-surfers, perhaps a connection that vocalist Mike Love never bargained for).

And who, you ask, played guitar, bongos, and drums? None other than the man himself, John Stamos, who was clearly having a blast and mugging for the crowd throughout the set. The circle is complete, Riot Festers.

As objectively as possible, I’ll just say what everyone seemed to be thinking, if crowd reaction was any indicator: Jack White is untouchable, and his criminally-short setlist was, thus far, the highlight of the weekend. Opening with a gnarly, abbreviated version of The Stooges’ “TV Eye” before the blistering “Old Scratch Blues” from his most recent album, White paused only long enough to rally the crowd into singing along at times, helping drive the running melody of “Seven Nation Army” and the chorus of The Raconteurs’ “Steady As She Goes.” It was primarily a set of hits, though deep-cut “What’s Done is Done” from 2018’s Boarding House Reach saw a lovely full-band arrangement and a savage version of the White Stripes’ “Black Math” was a reminder of just how effortlessly White commands a band; the only artists that compare, historically, are Prince and James Brown.

Day 2 was, by all estimations, one of the most memorable for the fest, which remains a bastion and escape for music-lovers, particularly given the state of the world right now. As White noted just before the band tore into “Broken Boy Soldier,” “there ain’t no Gestapo-brown shirts in charge tonight…rock n’ roll is in charge tonight!”

Damn right.

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For photos from Riot Fest Day 2, click here