Riot Fest is becoming one of the greatest festivals in North America. Where Warped Tour caters to a younger crowd and acts as a proving ground for fledgling bands, Riot Fest is where the veterans come to play. Each year the lineups are massive draws that comb the best talent through multiple generations and genres. It’s one of the few arenas of punk rock where middle age and teenagers meet in mutual respect.

Though the festival attracts mostly modern punk bands, metalcore, dance and hip-hop have been frequent acts. On top of that, the festival also has a maddening ability to reunite bands we thought long gone (The Replacements, Saosin & Anthony Green). The worst part about the festival is that over its three day course, there’s hardly a moment to pause at any one stage because another epic moment is happening just around the corner.

The three day time frame can be overwhelming, as by the third consecutive day even the most conservative of festival goers will be worn out. It’s a daunting task to be in the mud and mosh for an entire weekend, but the lineups are just too damn attractive. For two years in a row I’ve told myself that I would only buy a one day pass, but was unable or unwilling to choose which day would be preferable over the others.

If the bands do start to wear thin, there is always the swarm of carnival rides to steal your attention. Haunted houses, tilt-a-whirls and wrestling rings dot the landscape between merch tables and an army of food stands.

The bands for 2015 haven’t been announced yet, but the presale holiday tickets for Chicago are already completely sold out. In it’s 11th year, Riot Fest has already proven itself capable of attracting the attention of people of all ages and returning with an over the top lineup each day. See you at Humboldt Park.

For any updates for this year’s festivals, check out Riot Fest’s website.

Kyle Schultz is the Senior Editor at It’s All Dead and has worked as a gaming journalist at Structure Gaming. He lives in Chicago and has lost two pairs of chucks in the icy mud of Rito Fest. He watched Weezer play the Blue Album from a tree last year and danced in NFG’s circle pit when he should have been journalisting.