If you missed the July screening of Space Jam: A New Legacy in Douglass Park, there’s another opportunity to jam in the West Side park. From September 15 to 17, Riot Fest will bring in more than 90 bands for three days of wear-your-earplugs magic. While that’s great news for the roughly 50,000 fans promoters expect to attend, nearby residents are ready to pull the plug on the annual event.
Why Don’t People Like Riots?
Loud music isn’t the only issue. The park is positioned between two hospitals — St. Anthony to the south, Mount Sinai to the east — and that creates concerns about access to emergency services. “This is not about a party in the park,” resident Denis Ferguson told ABC-7 News earlier this year. “This is about health and safety.”
That worry isn’t anything new. In fact, when St. Anthony sued to block the festival from initially coming to Douglass Park in 2015, it spiraled into what sounded like two kids on the park’s playground yelling at each other: Riot Fest claimed St. Anthony demanded a $158,000 payoff. St. Anthony said Riot Fest’s pants were on fire. Riot Fest then brought receipts in the form of emails. The hospital dropped the suit, and the two sides stopped calling each other mean names after Riot Fest agreed to restore parking in front of St. Anthony, build pedestrian barricades, and keep that damn rock ’n’ roll noise down so patients could recover in peace.
Now neighbors are making a fuss. Community groups complain that setup and teardown mean sections of the park will be closed for two weeks. They have rallied successfully to get similar events to leave — Heatwave Music Festival relocated to Northerly Island and Summer Smash to SeatGeek Stadium. But Riot Fest won’t budge, maybe because it’s afraid it won’t be welcomed elsewhere. For three years, from 2012 to 2014, it called Humboldt Park home — before an estimated $182,000 in damages the final year ticked off residents.
Can’t They All Just Get Along?
Riot Fest is doing its best to act like the neighbor who brings you brownies and waters your plants when you’re away. Organizers host a job fair for locals, along with park cleanup events. And if your band is from nearby North Lawndale or Little Village, don’t worry about your American Idol audition: The festival invites groups from those neighborhoods to submit for a chance to play.
Who Will Be Onstage?
As headliners, Foo Fighters, the Cure, and Death Cab for Cutie will translate to a crowd dominated by 40-something dads. But there are also stellar acts in the smaller print, including folk-rockers Frank Turner and the Sleeping Souls, alt-rockers The Breeders, punk band White Reaper, and punky folk singer Ani DiFranco.
What Will You Pay?
Shelling out $90 for one day of general admission puts you next to the body odor of tens of thousands of screaming fans. You can upgrade to a VIP ($150) or deluxe ($300) pass, but if you prefer your rock shows to feel more like a day at the spa, spring for the deluxe-plus, which, for a mere $650, comes with such perks as a private bar, a personal shopping concierge, a massage therapist, and, most critical, “flushable” toilets.
There is one way to get your name “on the list” (i.e., pay nothing): Organizers are offering free tickets to residents who live nearby. Hey, neighbors — if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.