Riot Fest Oral History: The unlikely story of punk rock’s most beloved festival

Over the past decade, Riot Fest has become one of the most beloved festivals in the world. They have reunited some of punk’s most iconic bands, and, in many ways, set the bar for how genuinely great a music festival can be. But when founder Mike Petryshyn started out in 2005, literally none of this was part of the plan. By his own admission, he was a music industry outsider who had zero experience and even less right to put on a festival in his new hometown of Chicago.

But over the next 12 years, Petryshyn and partners Sean McKeough and Corrie Christopher Martin expanded Riot Fest throughout North America and changed the face of music history. They also suffered some incredible highs and devastating lows (such as the unexpected death of McKeough last year). This week, AP is presenting a three-part special on Riot Fest, told by its inner circle as well as the bands it will forever be associated with. This is their story, in their own words.

Compiled by TREVOR KELLEY

Illustrations by CHRIS SHARY

READ PART TWO: THE REPLACEMENTS AND LEAVING HUMBOLDT PARK

READ PART THREE: THE MISFITS, SEAN PATRICK MCKEOUGH AND REUNITING JAWBREAKER

PART ONE

WHY IT ENDURES

BRENDAN KELLY(VOCALS/BASS, THE LAWRENCE ARMS): The thing that is so cool about Riot Fest is that it is a punk-rock festival. It is run by punk rockers.

BRYAN KIENLEN (BASS, THE BOUNCING SOULS): The same thing that makes punk rock enduring is what makes Riot Fest enduring.

JAMES ALEX (VOCALS/GUITAR, BEACH SLANG): When people are like, “Man, Riot Fest is so amazing every year,” it’s like, “Yeah, because it’s curated by people who really give a damn about music.”

JAKE BURNS (VOCALS/GUITAR, STIFF LITTLE FINGERS): They are fans, first and foremost.

ALEX: They are smart and thoughtful and purposeful about how they do it. Which seems to be common sense when you are putting on festivals. But then, it’s kind of not. [Laughs.]

GLENN DANZIG (FRONTMAN, DANZIG, THE MISFITS): I don’t know if there are a lot of promoters out there like that anymore, who actually love the music and are fans.

TIM MCILRATH (VOCALS/GUITAR, RISE AGAINST): I have never met another promoter like [Mike]. He has such a personal interest in it. He really cares about creating an environment where, at the end of the day, everyone walks away high-fiving.

ERIC SPICER (DRUMMER, NAKED RAYGUN): The guy puts his heart and soul into it. [The event is] not just some shit that somebody slapped together. Mike is very genuine about what he does.

TOMMY STINSON (BASS, THE REPLACEMENTS): There is also something about [what Mike does] that is really unique. I mean, just the lineups they put together.

“There was never a thought in my head that it would go beyond one year. I thought that it was going to be a one-time thing, and that was that.”—Riot Fest founder, Mike Petryshyn

TIM KINSELLA (VOCALS, CAP’N JAZZ): It’s basically, like, my record collection as a teenager every year. It’s amazing.

BEN PERLSTEIN (FORMER MANAGER, TOMMY STINSON):  I don’t remember who it was—it was either Trent Reznor or Josh Homme—but they basically said that [Mike’s]  lineups are like art.

DANZIG: When you think about how big Riot Fest has become, it’s quite an accomplishment. So, to keep it about the music while also realizing the business aspect of it, that’s tough. But he does a great job at it.

MIKE PETRYSHYN (FOUNDER, RIOT FEST): To be honest, I didn’t know what to expect [when I started Riot Fest]. I knew I was putting my ass on the line, and that was scary. But there was never a thought in my head that it would go beyond one year. I thought that it was going to be a one-time thing, and that was that.

2005: THE FIRST YEAR  

MIKE PETRYSHYN: I think it was just in my head. This was late spring 2005. I don’t know why. I was at work and I was writing down, like, the potential names of a festival. And I just wrote down “Riot Fest.”

KELLY: Mike was just sort of around. I don’t recall meeting him or even the first conversations we had. All I remember was that, all of a sudden, there was this festival [that he was booking] called Riot Fest.

MIKE PETRYSHYN: I had never [booked a band] before. So, I didn’t know what I was doing. I was working at a law firm editing documents and contracts.

LARYSSA PETRYSHYN (MIKE’S SISTER): It was a lot of work. I don’t know if people realize all of the blood, sweat and tears that goes into [putting together a festival]. But it was a lot.

MIKE PETRYSHYN: It was just me, not knowing anything. I don’t remember which band it was, but they were suddenly flying in, and the agent was like, “Hey, are you providing backline?” I was like, “Ummm, let me check on that.” [Pauses.] I had no idea what backline even was.

KIENLEN: I personally did not know [he had such little experience]. But it’s pretty freakin’ impressive. I mean, that first year was like when you were a little kid drawing punk logos on your notebook. It was Dead Kennedys, the Misfits, the Germs.

EAST BAY RAY (GUITAR, DEAD KENNEDYS): It was all classic bands—and [while it wasn’t those band’s original lineups], they all have classic songs.

KIENLEN: Even though the bands [that year were], like, most of the band and a different singer, it was exciting for me. It seemed to be born from a love of punk, which was something we obviously shared in common. We felt pretty honored.

MIKE PETRYSHYN: It was just so much work.

LARYSSA PETRYSHYN: I don’t think I slept for probably four days. I was there [at the Congress Theater in Chicago, where Riot Fest was held that first year] helping fill every rider. I was scrubbing toilets.

MIKE PETRYSHYN: I rolled deli meat.

LARYSSA PETRYSHYN:  My mom was baking cookies and brownies. [Germs guitarist] Pat Smear was eating my mom’s brownies, and she was like, “I am going to send them to you for your birthday.” [Laughs.] And she did.

MIKE PETRYSHYN: I was part of the street team. I advanced all the shows.

LARYSSA PETRYSHYN: I was even bouncing people out of the backstage. There was one girl that was completely drunk, so I flipped her over my shoulder. The security guard looked at me and goes, “What the…?!” And I am like, “Hey, she was causing trouble…”

KIENLEN: That weekend, we ended up hanging out with [Shane West, then-singer of the Germs]. He was an actor. He played Darby Crash in the Germs movie. [Ed’s note: He also starred in the Mandy Moore romance A Walk To Remember and was a regular on ER. Seriously. You should Google him.]

I remember he had this bottle of Jack Daniels and, I don’t know if I should say this, but he was kind of slipping into character. [Laughs.] He had a Germs tattoo on his arm, he was wasted, he had a leather jacket with no shirt… we were just like, “Yeah, man, you go.”

MIKE PETRYSHYN: [When it was over], I was just like, “I never want to do this again.” It was physically and mentally draining. That was the most stressed I have ever been in my life.

LARYSSA PETRYSHYN: We definitely had to breathe afterward. But I always knew he was [going to do a second year]. He was already planning on who he was going to get next.

CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE: REUNITING A CHICAGO PUNK INSTITUTION AND A CHANGE OF VENUE

2006 – NAKED RAYGUN

JOE PRINCIPE (BASS, RISE AGAINST): With Naked Raygun, if you’re not from Chicago, more than likely you don’t get it. But that was a huge deal.

MIKE PETRYSHYN: When it comes to punk rock, they are the gold standard here. They are an amazing band that wrote amazing songs. They are legends.

MCILRATH: They were truly some of the godfathers of punk. Naked Raygun were definitely pioneers in Chicago, and no one had convinced them to do it yet.

MIKE PETRYSHYN: Early that spring, I got a message on MySpace from Eric Spicer. Flat out, the question was, “Would you be interested in having Naked Raygun play at Riot Fest?”

SPICER: We hadn’t played in a really long time—and this was back in the MySpace days. [Laughs.] I had a MySpace page. So I just got a hold of Mike.

MIKE PETRYSHYN: I thought it was fake [when he sent me that message]. I was excited, but I thought, “There is no way this is fucking real.”

SPICER: I just said, “Look, we haven’t played in a long time, I think that people have probably forgotten about us. I wouldn’t get too excited…”

MIKE PETRYSHYN: I wrote back and said, “Send me your number,” and we spoke over the phone. He said, “I’d like to do it. I don’t know if the other guys are there.”

“Jeff [Pezzati] was leery at first. It took some convincing. Then he said, ‘Alright, I’ll do it… but we can’t go up there and suck.’”—Eric Spicer, Naked Raygun

SPICER: Jeff was leery [at first]. It took some convincing. Then he said, “Alright, I’ll do it… but we can’t go up there and suck.” [Laughs.]

JEFF PEZZATI (VOCALS, NAKED RAYGUN): [After we all agreed], Mike got us together where [guitarist] Bill [Stephens] worked. It was a country club where his mom catered food.

MIKE PETRYSHYN: I had heard about Jeff being potentially sick before I even talked to anyone in the band. He had Parkinson’s. It was kind of being whispered around.

SPICER: It was not something we publicized or talked about at any great lengths.

MIKE PETRYSHYN: But [early on] we talked about it and, you know, all the medicines he was on… [and I thought] it was manageable.

PEZZATI: At that meeting, Mike said he would like to put the band back together, and that he would be interested in being our manager. It kind of went from there.

MIKE PETRYSHYN: One thing led to another and they ended up reuniting for Riot Fest. It’s still probably one of the most exciting moments of my life.

PEZZATI: [In that meeting], Mike also told us that he had a practice place for us. Turned out it was the worst place we ever practiced. [Laughs.]

SPICER: It was dark and damp and it always smelled like mold. We were sick all the time. I had a chronic sinus infection.

“I thought having not played out for a long time we probably could pack them in—and we did. There was a lot of screaming people.”—Jeff Pezzati, Naked Raygun

MIKE PETRYSHYN: [But] that is where we first met Sean.

ERIN RAYMER (SEAN’S LONGTIME GIRLFRIEND): Sean came from a middle class family. He didn’t come from money at all. But he was always good with numbers.

JAKE CRONIN (FRIEND, FORMER MANAGER OF COBRA LOUNGE): He ended up working right out of high school as a day trader.

RAYMER: But he was, like, a prodigy at it.

CRONIN: Eventually, he worked himself up to a point where, all of a sudden, him and these two guys he knew were the bosses. They were calling the shots.

RAYMER: He would call me from work and there would be all these guys screaming [on the trading room floor]. I was like, “How do you even do this?” But he was very smart. I think he was 21 when he made his first million.

PEZZATI: But you would have never guessed it by looking at him. Honestly, you might think that he was a homeless person. [Laughs.]

RAYMER: I mean, he shopped at Walmart. [Laughs.]

CRONIN: [Working on the stock market] was kind of the ideal job. You could make a bunch of money, but [because you got off early when the market closed] everyone had a thing [they did on the side]. That is essentially what Sean did. He decided to make as much money as he could to build out things like Cobra.

SPICER: Jeff had been to Cobra [Lounge, a club in Chicago that Sean owned]—and Sean showed up that night to talk to us about playing there. At first, he was quiet. I thought he was shy. But he was just nervous. He liked the band a lot. He wanted us to play [unannounced before Riot Fest]. But we had to be careful. Cobra only holds a few hundred people.

CRONIN: It was unbelievable. The fire marshal had just been there the day before, and that night we had, like, 500 people in there. I was like, “Dude, we are going to get the place shut down.” [Laughs.] It is crazy how big that show was.

SPICER: Then we went and [headlined that year’s Riot Fest at the Congress Theater]. And that was a big room, and a big stage.

PEZZATI: I thought having not played out for a long time, we probably could pack them in—and we did. There were a lot of screaming people there.

PRINCIPE: For years, Naked Raygun had covered Stiff Little Fingers’ “Suspect Device,” and at that show they got Jake to do it with them. That was, like, a milestone.

BURNS: I basically turned up for Raygun’s set and stood at the side of the stage. I remember I had a scarf on because I had just come in from the cold. But I thought, “It’s not particularly cool wandering on with a scarf.” So I turned to my wife and said, “Here, hold my scarf.” And she said, “What about your beer?” And I said, “No, I’ll take my beer, thanks.” [Laughs.]

TIM MCILRATH: It’s one of those things where reunions could be cool, or they could be seen as cheesy and opportunistic. But something about Naked Raygun through the lens of Riot Fest just made sense. It was a big deal. People lost their minds.

2007 – 2012: GOING OUTSIDE  

MIKE PETRYSHYN: I remember seeing Sean at Riot that [previous] year, and we started talking a little more afterward. He came in and said, “If you would ever like to grow this thing, I would like to be an investor. I like what you’re doing. It’s cool.”

We talked, and he became an investor in 2007, and a full-fledged partner two years later…

CRONIN: …and that is essentially what started the whole thing.

MIKE PETRYSHYN: A lot of the bands [who still play Riot Fest] were with us in the clubs. Even though there are tens of thousands of people at the show now, I still think it has the vibe of the early club days.

MCILRATH: The first time I went was NOFX at the Congress Theater [in 2009]. I will always remember that one.

FAT MIKE (VOCALS/BASS, NOFX): That is when I did the “Cokie The Clown” video. That was quite an interesting day.

MCILRATH: I remember I showed up and I got to the side of the stage, and I saw Fat Mike. He motioned to me like, “I have to talk to you. We have to talk…”

FAT MIKE: I don’t know if you have ever seen the “Cokie” video, but I had this CO2 [container filled] with flour that shot out of my jacket as a joke.

MCILRATH: I should’ve prefaced this with saying that he was dressed like a clown. [Laughs.]

FAT MIKE: But it shot out really hard. So, I went to all the shows at Riot Fest [that year] and I just ruined everybody.

MCILRATH: [His] cocaine flower just exploded into my face. I just got there. I drove my car down, got inside, I’m all ready to enjoy the show, and now I am covered in flour. It was in my eyeballs and in my mouth.

FAT MIKE: Then, after the show, me and my wife at the time went to a dungeon in Chicago. There was, like, five dominatrix there. People from bands came. It was gnarly. I was getting tied up by this dom’… and I was still in clown makeup.

MCILRATH: [At the time], Riot Fest was taking place across multiple venues around the city. It wasn’t like a proper festival. It was in a few different venues and there were a couple of different shows.

KELLY: It was, like, an SXSW-style thing, where it was just in small clubs around the city.

MIKE PETRYSHYN: Then, during our fifth anniversary, Sean came by the office, and he was like, “You know what? This thing belongs outside.” And I was like, “Are you out of your mind? There is no way.”

“I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Taking it to the different markets and growing the size of the artists we book, and the attendance… it certainly started to take on a life of its own.”—Corrie Christopher Martin; partner, Riot Fest

RAYMER: Sean always had these grand ideas. Nothing could ever be simple. It was always, “We can turn it into this crazy thing.”

MIKE PETRYSHYN: I just thought, “We’re punk rock. They like it in the clubs. We’re not big enough.” And he goes, “I don’t know. It will always be in the back of my mind. We should do this.”

CORRIE CHRISTOPHER MARTIN (BOOKING AGENT, RISE AGAINST; PARTNER, RIOT FEST): [At the same time], Mike kept putting in an offer for Rise Against, and every year, I would have to pass. It was still an indoor event, and Rise were starting to play arenas.

MIKE PETRYSHYN: Then Corrie said something along the lines of, “We could maybe make this work in 2012 if you take it outside…”

CHRISTOPHER MARTIN: It was good timing. Sean had been talking about it, too.

MIKE PETRYSHYN: Sean and Corrie didn’t know each other before I was like, “I think we need to make Corrie a partner,” [But almost immediately] Sean loved her. He wasn’t willing to show his hand too often, but I remember [that year] they had some kind of conversation and she went off, and he kind of looked at me and was like, “Yeah… she’s fucking cool, man.”

CHRISTOPHER MARTIN: But I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Taking it to the different markets and growing the size of the artists we book, and the attendance… it certainly started to take on a life of its own.

MIKE PETRYSHYN: We kept it a secret at first. We were looking at sites of where to do it [in Chicago], and I wanted to do it at Humboldt Park. Everyone thought that I was nuts.

MCILRATH: I know that I, as well as a lot of people, were like, “Why are they doing that there? That will be a disaster.” It was the kind of place where gang fights happen on a Sunday afternoon when everyone is trying to barbeque.

KELLY: But that first year in Humboldt Park was maybe the best Riot Fest. I just remember there being a sense of, “How the fuck did they do this?!”

PEZZATI: I mean, he had clowns and circus people.

MCILRATH: There were people breathing fire.

KELLY: There was Tilt-A-Whirl.

MCILRATH: There were Mexican wrestlers.

FAT MIKE: I remember I had my daughter with me [that year at Humboldt Park] and we stole a golf cart. She was like, “The last time I stole a golf cart was in Hawaii.” And I was like, “You are 9 years old and this is the second golf cart you’ve stolen?” [Laughs.]

KELLY: It was just awesome.

CHRISTOPHER MARTIN: Still, I don’t think there was a moment beforehand where we were looking at the ticket counts thinking, “Oh, this is going to be great.” It was really not until the day of, looking at what we had put together, that I felt it.

MCILRATH: I remember having, like, an out-of-body experience that year. I was standing onstage, in my hometown, in a neighborhood you wouldn’t be caught dead in when we were going to shows, and it was swarming with punk kids.

MIKE PETRYSHYN: [At the end of that weekend] Sean came into my trailer and was like, “What are you doing in here?” And I told him [I was looking at projections for the weekend]. He was like, “Are you fucking kidding me? Get in a golf cart.”

So we took this golf cart behind the audience. He just pointed. There were tens of thousands of people watching. He was just like, “Dude, you did this… smile.” [After that], we knew it was on. ALT

Riot Fest is September 15 to 17 in Chicago, and you can grab tickets and see a full lineup here.