As the beginning of summer music festival season draws closer and closer, we're finally starting to hear more about festivals like Riot Fest, which occurs in the waning days of summer. Riot Fest's complete lineup will be announced on May 18, but organizers have already revealed a reunited band that will serve as one of the festival's headlining acts.
Influential punk rock band the Misfits will take the stage in Douglas Park (and at Riot Fest's Denver festival) in September, reuniting original frontman Glenn Danzig with bassist Jerry Only and guitarist Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein for the first time in more than 30 years. Danzig disbanded the original incarnation of the Misfits in 1983, though Only has toured under the group's name (and continued selling its iconic skull-adorned merchandise) in the ensuing decades. Danzig has continued touring with his eponymous band and Samhain, including performances at Riot Fest in 2013 and 2014, respectively.
Riot Fest has an impressive track record for organizing unexpected reunions. In 2013, the festival managed to reunite Minneapolis rockers the Replacements, a group that famously broke up on stage during a concert at Grant Park in 1991. More recently, Riot Fest has welcomed reunited incarnations of local emo outfit The Academy Is… and Canadian post-hardcore band Alexisonfire.
We'll find out if any other disbanded punk acts decide to get back together in Chicago when Riot Fest announces its lineup next week. Until then, you can try to dig up that Misfits T-shirt you used to wear in high school.
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