No one likes you when you’re 23! You’re welcome, now you have “What’s My Age Again” by Riot Fest 2025 headliners, Blink 182 (whose average age is 51) stuck in your head. Not many music festivals make it twenty years, shoot, many don’t make it two years - Riot Fest lit six more candles than there are songs on your favorite Blink album. Growth, hurdles, lots of crying, more than a little drinking, help from friends and some learning lessons, Chicago’s nonprofit punk+ festival hopes to look back on itself years down the road and be able to answer the question we asked thirteen of the performers taking their respective stage in Douglass Park.
“What advice would you give your 20-year-old self?” Here’s what they told us!
Puddles, *pantomimes heart getting bigger and bigger, turns frown upside down”
Loviet - “I think about this every day - be 30, it’s way better, you’re chilling, and smarter with the front lobe developed. Twenty-year-olds should just be themselves and live their best life, don’t listen to anyone. Be stupid, enjoy your lives!”
La Rosa Noir - Yeshi: “Just keep doing what you’re doing, keep following your intuition.” John, “Stay consistent and curious.” Zach, “Go to more shows.” Christian, “It’s good to take off from work, take that vacation, baby.”
Cliffdiver (collectively) “It gets better, keep going, stop being a headass, and practice your instrument.”
Weakened Friends - Sonia “Be kinder to yourself, set your boundaries, it all worked out, so stop being so dramatic and sad for no reason, life is pretty great.” Annie, “You’re gay! Take more chances, say yes to more things, even if you’re not quite ready for a challenge, you will learn and grow from it = dive in, baby!” Adam, “It’s not a heart attack, it’s anxiety, and keep doing what you’re doing - put more money away.”
Violent Vira - Vira, “It’s about to be a rough ride, so be kind to yourself.” Anthony, “uit fucking around and play more guitar and lock in - stop smoking.” Matt, “Be more confident and take more chances.”
Girl in a Coma - Nina, “You’re gonna be alright and do some silly things, you should do them and learn from them, and in the end you’ll be alright.” Jenn, “Practice bitch, practice more.” Phanie, “Stop giving a shit what people think and do you, it’s going to make you stronger - go for it.”
GWAR - Balsac the Jaws of Death and Sawborg Destructo “Being immortal, I don’t remember being 20, it was some time during the Big Bang and there was a lot of exploding gas like our tour bus… anyway, stay out of the music industry, kids.”
The Linda Lindas (switched it up on US to what advice they will give to themselves when the band is 20) - Eloise. “Our band is 7 years old right now, and in 13 years, I hope we’re still playing, having fun, and making music if it feels right and it never strays from making music that we love with people that we love.”
The Paradox - excitedly overlapping each other - “Keep going!” “Be patient, if you need help, ask!” “Don’t listen to what other people say, just do you!” “Don’t listen to anyone’s opinions, listen to yourself, keep going!” (Author’s note: These young men asked if they could record a video for my students and gave them a wonderful message about doing what they love and the importance of representation.)
Mac Sabbath = Mike the Manager “Get everything you can, while you can, out of counterculture because the corporations are gonna come along and destroy it… that safe haven you have with all the weirdo on the weekends is going to be infiltrated by the norms.”
Chase Petra - Hunter “If I would listen to me, I would say something like, 20 feels like life is so short and things are going so fast and you’re running out of time, but it’s not the case - slow the fuck down! You’re never too old to live a life. Evan, “Be more confident and lean into the things you like to do!”
Wishy - Kevin, “Relax, don’t worry, it’s gonna be okay.” Nina, “Always trust your gut, it’s never wrong, believe that.”
Be sure to check out ALL of the above artists’ music, the photos of them, and so many other dope musical acts, below:
IDLES
Weird Al Yankovic
Touche Amore
Lambrini Girls
MICROWAVE
All Time Low
Alkaline Trio
The Damned
SPARKS
The Front Bottoms
Bad Religion
The Wonder Years
Cobra Starship
Knocked Loose
Dropkick Murphy’s
Jawbreaker
Rico Nasty
Whether you’re not yet 20 (Mila of The Linda Lindas is the coolest 15-year-old of all time) or Mike Love, 84, of The Beach Boys (listen, it’s the only way the festival could get Stamos and they’ve been trying for a decade), the advice from all these wonderful musicmakers can help anyone of any age. Be good to yourselves, keep on truckin’, keep doing what you love, and don’t care too much about others’ opinions about you. Until next year, where we will see how Riot Fest can handle being of legal drinking age <3
On-stage artists and crowd photos by Matt Christ. Interviews and artist photos by Curtis Schabath.
