“No One Rioted!”

A Riot Fest 2019 photo essay. 

It’s a rare occurrence for me to attend any sort of live music event without a photo pass – even more so when it comes to festivals. I think I have to scan back 6 or 7 years for the last time I spent a whole weekend in the field without shooting. But after a particularly fest-heavy summer, September’s punk-centric Riot Fest in Chicago’s Douglas Park seemed like a stars-aligned opportunity to fly out with my girlfriend, relax and see some bands without working for 72 consecutive hours. You know, like a normal person.

Naturally I still had to document things somehow, so sans my backbreaking DSLRs, I shot from the crowd with a combination of a Fuji x100F, my long-zoom Sony point-and-shoot, and a 35mm Kodak Pony 135. I tried to think of this as more of a chronological photo essay of the weekend than a traditional festival gallery, so there’s more attention paid to my favorite sets (The Flaming Lips performing Yoshimi, Jawbreaker, Patti Smith, Hot Snakes, Bikini Kill, all the thrash metal) than blanket coverage. It’s a little rougher around the edges than usual, but hey, so’s Riot Fest itself.

Take a look below.