SUNDAY AT RIOT FEST: FROM JEJUNE’S LONG-AWAITED RETURN TO ALANIS MORISSETTE’S MUD-SOAKED SENDOFF
Article by Melody Kpahn and Kim Flores // Photos by Jack Iboshi
Recap by Melody Kpahn
Mud. Rain. Delayed and cancelled sets. Still, the final day of Riot Fest brought the house down. Day three was a show of perseverance from fans and artists alike. Due to the weather, the grass in Douglass Park had all but disappeared; festival-goers trudged through deep, sticky mud to see their favorite artists in action. At the Rise Stage, Patti Smith proclaimed that she was a “bad weather girl”, and the rain could never stop her act. The fans didn’t stop supporting, either. Every set was packed, with some audience members braving the mud barefoot after losing shoes while walking between stages.
There was an exciting energy as everyone piled onto the Pink Line after the headliners. Outside of the park, Lawndale residents offered water, fruit, and hot dogs to departing festival goers. One Kedzie Avenue resident, who has the “best chicken tacos in the land”, joked with people as they walked towards the train station. Blasting music from the festival lineup, he yelled, “We love you! Riot Fest 2026!”. As festival goers left Douglass Park for their corners of Chicago, the mud caked onto their shoes gave others a clue as to the greatness they had witnessed at Riot Fest.
Jejune
For their first festival in 26 years, Jejune sounded fresh as ever. Bassist and vocalist Arabella Harrison, guitarist and vocalist Joe Guevara, and drummer Chris Vanacore made their three-piece team sound as full as a chamber orchestra. The emo band played tracks from their 1998 sophomore album This Afternoon’s Malady. In our interview with Harrison on Saturday, she reflected on the renewed interest in the band’s work, saying, “It’s so amazing how music transcends decades”. Their set at the Rebel Stage was a gratifying return for Jejune.
This is Lorelei
This is Lorelei, Nate Amos’ solo act, mostly performed songs from his most recent album, The Singer in My Band. Fans cheered and banged their heads to the music as Amos shredded on tracks like “Billy Came Back,” “Watching Heaven Fall,” and 2024’s “Dancing in the Club”. The alt-country phenomenon converted some skeptical festivalgoers; as his set went on, the crowd came more and more alive. The audience roared during the title track, “The Singer in My Band,” screaming along when Amos sang, “If I can make it to Chicago, I ain’t ever gonna leave”.
Alanis Morissette
As people walked past our booth, the WLUW executive team asked which artists the festivalgoers were most excited to see. The common answer: Alanis Morissette. And she didn’t disappoint. Morissette performed classics from her Grammy-winning album Jagged Little Pill, as well as tracks from her 2020 album Such Pretty Forks in the Road. Fans unstuck their feet from the seemingly bottomless mud to jump along to “Ironic” and “Head Over Feet”. Morissette’s voice was just as clear as it was in 1995; she effortlessly belted her anthem “You Oughta Know” to the crowd’s excitement. As her final song “Thank U” blared, Morissette jumped, skipped, and spun around the stage, thrashing her long hair to the beat of the music. The jumbotron showed fans crying and holding up heart hand signs as she bounced off the stage.
Recap by Kim Flores
Saturdays at your place
The band opened with “Basement”, a danceable track that quickly got the crowd moving despite the cold rain. The Michigan-based trio immediately knew how to energize their audience, following it with “It’s Always Cloudy in Kalamazoo”, a song that drew an especially enthusiastic response from fellow Michigan fans in the crowd. Later in the set, they performed “Future”, a track inspired by the SpongeBob SquarePants episode in which Squidward travels to the future.
Ben Quad
Ben Quad opened their set with “We’re Gonna Be Here for a While”, immediately creating an energetic atmosphere despite the steady rain, before following it up with “Never Let You Go”. Between songs, the band took time to thank the crowd for showing up early and sticking through the poor weather, acknowledging how much it meant to still have the opportunity to perform. The rain did little to slow the set's momentum, as the crowd kept moving with the band’s high-energy performance and embraced the messy festival conditions.
