What was once a niche festival highlighting punk and pop/punk has quietly moved in the direction of becoming one of the best summer festivals in the country. 

As if Chicago needed another world-class music festival, Riot Fest has announced Foo Fighters, The Cure, and Queens of the Stone Age as headliners for 2023 festival Sept. 13-15 at Douglass Park. 

Things get started with Foo Fighters and Turnstile headling the opening night, followed by a double dose of Ben Gibbard when The Postal Service and Death Cab For Cutie join Queens of the Stone Age on Saturday. The Cure and The Mars Volta close things out on the main stage on Sunday.

Among the other bands on tap to perform are Insane Clown Posse, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Kim Gordon, Mr. Bungle, The Breeders, Tegan and Sara, 100 gecs, Parliament Funkadelic featuring George Clinton, and a whole lot of other bands. 

Tickets are on sale starting at $289.98 for the three days and going all the way up to $1,499.98 for the deluxe package.

Juggalo festival returns

Not only will Insane Clown Posse be at Riot Fest, but the rappers will once again host their own Gathering of the Juggalos at Legend Valley in Thornville, Ohio, a few miles east of Columbus, Ohio.

Insane Clown Posse and Alien Art Farm will play the main stage during the July 5-9 festival with Arrested Development, City Morgue, Esham & Mastamind as Natas, Hexxx, Krizz Kaliko, Kung Fu Vampire, Ouija Macc, and Whitney Peyton, and more artists to be announced later. 

The Gathering of the Juggalos 2023 will be themed around Insane Clown Posse’s 1999–2000 Wicked Clowns From Outer Space Tour and will feature two sets from the group with Faygo flowing non-stop throughout. 

As for as Insane Clown Posse news closer to home, the group’s Violent J will be at Piere’s on June 1 with Ouija Macc and Esham. On Aug. 12, the other half of the group, Shaggy 2 Dope, will be at Piere’s.

Corey Taylor sets dates

Frontman for Slipknot and Stone Sour Corey Taylor has announced his sophomore solo album, CMF2, arriving Sept. 15. 

Coinciding with the album, Taylor has announced a fall tour that includes an Aug. 31 show at Rivieria Theatre in Chicago, followed by a stop at The Fillmore in Detroit on Sept. 5, House of Blues in Cleveland on Sept. 7, and The Brady Music Center in Cincinnati on Sept. 9. 

Wargasm will be direct support for the run, with Oxymorrons opening in Chicago and Luna Aura opening the other regionals shows. 

Liz Phair celebrating Exile

To mark the 30th anniversary of her debut album, Exile in Guyville, Liz Phair will go on fall tour. 

The shows will see her play the album in its entirety plus with material from the rest of her career. 

At the time of its release, teen pop ruled the airwaves, making Exile in Guyville’s themes seem a bit shocking. A response to the Rolling Stones’ Exile on Main Street, Exile in Guyville resonated with an audience ready to change the landscape of the music industry. 

The music didn’t conform to any of the cultural expectations for young female musicians in a male-dominated industry, and that’s what made it great. Though it didn’t receive a lot of radio attention, Exile in Guyville is still looked at as one of the most important albums of the 1990s. 

The 18-city trek includes a stop at Chicago Theatre on Nov. 18 and Masonic Temple in Detroit the following night. 

The opener will be Blondshell.

Road Notes covers concerts within driving distance of Northeast Indiana. Send your news items to info@whatzup.com.