Slayer, The Offspring, Descendants, Danzig's Samhain and Weezer are just a few of the ten bands that will be helping Riot Fest celebrate their 10th anniversary by playing landmark albums in full at one or more of the three Riot Fests that are taking place this year in Chicago, Toronto and Denver.Riot Fest partner Michael Petryshyn explains, "During last year's Violent Femmes' set at Riot, where they performed Violent Femmes unannounced in its entirety, it dawned on me that if we ever did an album play thing at Riot, we should make it something that the fans would remember years from now," he said. "So, I literally was walking back to my trailer after their set and it hit me� '10 Years. 10 Essential Albums.'� and yeah, it grew from there."
Organizers have announced 9 of the 10 acts that will be taking part including the albums they will be playing. These include Slayer: Reign in Blood (Chicago & Denver), The Offspring: Smash (Chicago), Samhain: Initium (Chicago), Descendents: Milo Goes To College (Chicago), Weezer: "The Blue Album" (Chicago & Denver), NOFX: Punk In Drublic (Chicago & Denver), Naked Raygun: Throb Throb (Chicago), Jane's Addiction: Nothing's Shocking (Chicago) and The Get Up Kids: Something To Write Home About (Chicago).
"We have one more band playing an album that we're immensely excited about� but it wouldn't be Riot if we didn't tease a little beforehand," adds Petryshyn. "No matter what though, this is really about thanking our fans.
"The work put into the lineups this year and things like the essential albums plays is for them� as clich�d as it may sound, it's the truth. We'd be nowhere without them and maybe the way we thank them is by giving them a fest where we can all sing along."
Toronto's Riot Fest & Expo (9/6-9/7) at Downsview Park, Chicago's Riot Fest & Carnival (9/12-9/14) in Humboldt Park, and Denver's Riot Fest & Sideshow (9/19-9/21) at May Farms.
