Summary

The article recounts the author's experience discovering and enjoying performances by small and emerging bands at Riot Fest 2021, emphasizing the unique energy and potential of these lesser-known acts.

Abstract

At Riot Fest 2021, the author embraced the opportunity to witness a variety of smaller and up-and-coming bands amidst the larger lineup. With a focus on bands that either have less than 100k Spotify listeners or were established in 2015 or later, the article highlights the vibrant performances of groups like Meet Me @ The Altar, Oxymorrons, Beach Bunny, Airstream Futures, and Gymshorts. Each band brought their own flavor to the festival, from the pop punk stylings of Meet Me @ The Altar to the hip-hop/rock fusion of Oxymorrons and the gritty punk of Gymshorts. The author notes the bands' growing success, their ability to draw crowds early in the day, and the positive, engaging stage presence that left a lasting impression on the festival-goers.

Opinions

The author expresses a strong preference for Riot Fest over other music festivals due to its older, more laid-back crowd and focus on punk and hardcore bands.
Positivity at Riot Fest is seen to outweigh any negatives, such as rude or overly intoxicated attendees.
Meet Me @ The Altar is praised for their clean, catchy melodies and the confident stage presence of vocalist Edith Johnson.
Oxymorrons are noted for their exceptional energy and ability to engage the crowd, with the author being pleasantly surprised by their performance.
Beach Bunny, despite their significant Spotify following, is included for their charm and the quality of their 2020 album "Honeymoon."
Airstream Futures is acknowledged for their fun, upbeat energy and the vocal talent of Devon Carson.
Gymshorts is recognized for their aggressive and unrefined punk sound, with a suggestion that their music might be best experienced in a more intimate venue.
The author regrets missing other promising bands like Radkey, Pet Symmetry, The Bollweevils, and Action/Adventure.
There is an open invitation for readers to share their own experiences with small and emerging bands they've found impressive.

Small and Emerging Bands I Saw at Riot Fest 2021

At my first festival in two years, I tried to see as many bands as possible

The devil head is a Riot Fest institution | photo by the author

A week ago today, I was under the Chicago sun in Douglass Park, celebrating the fourth and final day of Riot Fest. I’ve been attending music festivals for nearly a decade and Riot Fest is easily my favorite. It’s an older, more laid-back crowd than a lot of other fests and caters more toward punk and hardcore bands.

Every festival is bound to have its fair share of rude people or people who simply party too hard and can’t properly handle themselves. That said, the positivity at Riot Fest has, for me, always outweighed any of the negative. This year was no exception.

Along with a plethora of established bands — some of which I saw for the first time, others which I have seen multiple times — there are always those smaller and up-and-coming bands that typically fill out some of the early slots in the schedule. I could easily talk about seeing bands like Slipknot, Alkaline Trio, and Rancid — but there are plenty of people who have been talking about those bands for years. Instead, I’m going to give some highlights of bands I got to see that you may never have listened to or even heard of before.

Because I needed some qualifiers for how to define “small” or “emerging” bands, I decided to focus on bands that either have less than 100k Spotify listeners or were established in 2015 or later. Sure, I just made up these parameters to fit what I want to talk about, but this is my article and I can do whatever I want. Onward!

Meet Me @ The Altar

Formed: 2015

Monthly Listeners as of 09/26/21: 195,280

A pop punk band comprised of three gen Z women of color, Meet Me @ The Altar has been blowing up. They just finished up a North American tour supporting Coheed & Cambria and The Used, and are now doing a run with All Time Low and The Maine in the UK. They’ve signed to the label Fueled by Ramen and are sitting at nearly 200k monthly listeners on Spotify as of today.

Meet Me @ The Altar opened the Roots stage on Friday, beginning at noon when the sun was high in the sky and beaming down on the sizable crowd. My friends and I noted that a lot more people were gathered at the stage to see this band than normally gather for most acts that start so early in the day.

The band sounded fantastic — super clean, catchy pop punk melodies which complement vocalist Edith Johnson’s strong, confident voice. Johnson also had full command of the stage — speaking uplifting words between songs. The standouts from the sets were feminist anthem “Hit Like A Girl,” “Garden,” and a medley the band played of various well known pop punk songs ranging from “My Own Worst Enemy” by Lit to “My Friends Over You” by New Found Glory.

Oxymorrons at Riot Fest 2021 | photo by the author

Oxymorrons

Formed: Somewhere between 2009 and 2016?

Monthly Listeners as of 09/26/21: 38,767

I can’t say I intentionally caught the Oxymorrons set at Riot Fest. I made it my goal to be up front for another band playing later in the day on the same stage, so I decided to camp out early and catch all the bands in between. Oxymorrons was up first.

I did a quick internet search and saw that they are a hip-hop/rock fusion and I have to say I was skeptical. Modern hip-hop is not a genre I often enjoy, though there are exceptions. When Oxymorrons took the stage, I didn’t know what to expect. But I was blown away.

First, their energy was unmatched by any other band I saw the entire weekend. All four members seemed super hyped to be there, with vocalists (and brothers) Demi and Kami Bellevue knowing exactly how to work up the crowd and get everyone into it. After the show, the members came down to high five and say hello to the crowd and so many people were impressed by them and stuck around after the show to meet and take quick selfies with the band.

I couldn’t find a definitive answer on when Oxymorrons got their start, but their debut EP was released in 2016 and their Twitter account has been established since 2009. Regardless, they are finally getting their due and picking up steam. They are signed to 333 Wreckords Crew and have been touring with punk veterans Anti-Flag.

Standout songs for me were “Justice” and “Green Vision” — both on their newest EP, Mohawks & Durags — which was released on 9/24.

Beach Bunny

Formed: 2015

Monthly Listeners as of 09/26/21: 6,352,416

With over 6 million monthly Spotify listeners, should Beach Bunny really be on this list? Again, it’s my list and I do what I want. They were formed in 2015, which was the line I drew in the sand to consider a band “new.” Also, they only have one full length record — Honeymoon, which was released in 2020 and is excellent.

Due to a silly festival related SNAFU (I got a set list from my favorite band and it immediately started raining so I had to go to lengths to protect it), I only caught the last few songs of Beach Bunny’s set and watched them from a distance. That said, they sounded great and had a very charming stage presence.

Vocalist/guitarist Lili Trifilio even tried to get a wall of death going, which is hilarious considering the subdued nature of the band’s indie rock/pop sound.

The standout song to me was “Cloud 9,” but it likely would have been “Rearview” if I’d gotten to the stage in time to hear that one. One day I’ll see them perform a full set and I’ll cry along to their catchy, sad tunes.

Airstream Futures

Formed: 2016?

Monthly Listeners as of 09/26/21: 1,730

Holding down one of the smaller stages on Sunday afternoon was Airstream Futures, a local Chicago alternative rock/punk band. A cursory search through their Instagram gives me the impression that they formed somewhere around 2016, but there’s not a ton of information available about them online. They’ve released two full length albums, both produced by Derek Grant of Alkaline Trio and Rodrigo Palma of Saves the Day.

Vocalist Devon Carson has a fantastic voice and she engaged in some fun banter between songs. They brought a fun, upbeat energy to an early set on a hot, sunny Sunday, which couldn’t have been an easy accomplishment.

Standout track — “Dreams of Narrow Wings”

Gymshorts at Riot Fest 2021 | photo by the author

Gymshorts

Formed: 2013?

Monthly Listeners as of 09/26/21: 4,924

There’s a 2014 article from Amadeus magazine that describes Gymshorts’ sound as “heavy, unrefined, primitive punk rock” and, as a person with few original thoughts, I’ll piggyback off of that and say I think it’s an accurate description.

Led by frontwoman Sarah Greenwell, this band came in with aggression and bite and maintained that vibe throughout their entire 30 minute set. They have kind of a classic punk sound, but Greenwell’s energy and voice make that old sound feel new and fresh.

My friend who watched this set with me said that he thinks this band would translate best in a small club type environment, and I agree with that. Although watching them on a festival stage was fun, I think their particular brand of gritty punk would be better suited in a more intimate setting.

Standout track — “Date Kate Jones (You Can’t)”

I saw plenty of other cool bands that almost qualify for this list — such as Radkey and Pet Symmetry. I also missed out on a few that I would have liked to have seen, like The Bollweevils (vastly underrated Chicago punk band led by an ER doctor and recently signed to the wonderful Red Scare Industries) and Action/Adventure (up-and-coming pop punk band about which I’ve heard great things).

I’d love to hear from you on any small/emerging bands you’ve seen that have impressed you!