Riot Fest continues to roll on from Douglass Park in Chicago, and Saturday’s lineup mixed even more legends with emerging artists, building on a solid Friday showing. The temperature once again picked up, but that didn’t stop a massive crowd from filling the park for some of their favorites.

The day started early at NOFX World, where skate punks Urethane opened up the stage. They were followed by Fat Wreck signees and Fat Mike-adjacent project Codefendants. The band featured a full lineup this time around, as opposed to the duo of Sam King and Ceschi Ramos that appeared at X-Ray Arcade last October. The full buildout of the band certainly aids the duo, who drew in fans with material from 2023’s “This Is Crime Wave.”

Punk legends were scattered throughout Saturday’s lineup, and that included The Buzzcocks, who brought in one of the first big crowds of the day to the Metro Stage. The band’s set spanned their discography, with generations of fans watching the band give their all in the Chicago heat. 

The newcomers to Riot Fest are certainly making their mark this year, and that includes Jack Kays, whose single “Caffeine” and “Drinking Song” hit especially well with the Radical Stage. Later in the day, Chicago’s own Sincere Engineer brought all of their family and newfound friends to the adjacent Rise Stage, corn dogs in hand (it’s a thing,) to support the band that is breaking out of the Windy City.

Making a triumphant return to the festival this year are The Hives, who wasted no motion while blasting through their set. Fresh off of “The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons,” the band were firing on all cylinders, even if lead singer Pelle Almqvist revealed is currently battling a torn ACL. That didn’t stop him from hopping into the crowd, and navigating as much of the Metro stage area as possible while getting the Chicago crowd involved. It was a can’t-miss set, and The Hives somehow only seem to get more powerful with age.

Over on the AAA Stage, with the sun starting to set and give the Douglass Park crowd some relief, Spoon brought a headliner-level crowd to their portion of the grounds. While they were setting the tone for headliner Beck, the band’s lengthy set of hits would have sufficed for many, also mixing in material from “They Want My Soul,” which just got the deluxe re-issue treatment. 

Back at NOFX World to round out the night, the Descendents took full advantage of an hour-long timeslot to bounce around their discography for a legendary set. Aided by Greg Hetson on guitar, the band were on point, with Milo Aukerman’s vocals just as cutting as they were on the records that made the band famous. 

Night two of NOFX’s three-night farewell to Chicago featured Fat Mike walking on stage to declare that tonight’s show would be better than Friday’s opening night set, which had its awkward moments, and also that he was drunker than he was on Friday. That being said, Saturday night’s show was the tighter of the two, with the band leaning heavier on 2006’s “Wolves In Wolves Clothing” for the focal point of the show. Highlights also included “Bob,” their reggae cover of Rancid’s “Radio Radio,” a cover of Herb Alpert’s “What Now My Love” with El Hefe on trumpet, and what seemed to be an on-the-fly addition of 1989 track “Shut Up Already.” There’s really nothing off limits for NOFX with these final shows, and they know it, and are embracing it. Stay tuned to see what their final finale will include.

Rain is looming over Douglass Park as of Sunday morning, but stay tuned for even more coverage from Riot Fest 2024.