Riot Fest is back in Douglass Park for 2026, and this year’s bill is topped by Twenty One Pilots, Iggy Pop, Tool, Morrissey, Alanis Morrisette and Pierce the Veil. William Shatner is also set to make his Riot Fest debut on Sunday with his new metal band The *Uckers.
The lineup gives the festival a wide reach across punk, metal, hip-hop and classic rock, with other major acts spread across five stages including Rise Against, Pixies, Social Distortion, Nas, Alkaline Trio, Elvis Costello, Patti Smith, Taking Back Sunday, Santigold, Trickey, Angine de Poitrine, Descendants, the Format and Insane Clown Posse. For attendees checking plans today, tickets for one day, two days or all three days are still on sale at riotfest.org, along with parking passes and upgrades to VIP, Deluxe and Deluxe+.
Riot Fest’s reach is broader than some Chicago festivals because it is built around a mixed-genre roster rather than a single lane. That is why a bill can hold Twenty One Pilots next to Nas and Patti Smith without feeling out of place, and why a name like William Shatner can show up with The *Uckers and still fit the weekender’s logic. The event is being held in Chicago at Douglass Park, and organizers are again urging people to use public transportation rather than driving in blind.
The practical details matter because the rules change depending on how you enter. General Admission ticket holders cannot leave and come back, while VIP, Deluxe and Deluxe+ guests can exit and re-enter the festival. The main entrance is at West Ogden Ave. and South Sacramento Drive, with the nearest CTA Pink Line stops at California and Kedzie. The #92 California bus runs by the streets near the entrance, and the #49 Western and #12 Roosevelt buses go directly to Douglass Park for the easiest trip in.
Parking is being handled separately through the Union Pacific lot at 1425 S. Western Avenue from 9 a.m. to 12 a.m., with the main parking entrance at 14th and Western Avenue. Free bike parking from Working Bikes is expected just north of Ogden between Sacramento and Albany. Riot Fest also says it will allow items such as blankets, non-aerosol bug spray, Camelbak-style water bladder systems, rain gear, backpacks that are not clear, strollers and soft-sided wagons, while banning weapons, bicycles, scooters, glass or metal containers, laptops, outside food or drink and other items that could slow down security lines.
One of the stranger permissions is also one of the simplest: John Stamos is allowed, CM Punks is not, and neither crying nor cantaloupe gets through the gate. That kind of absurd list is part of the festival’s identity, but the next thing to watch is whether Shatner’s Sunday set with The *Uckers turns into one of the weekend’s most talked-about bookings.
