As epic and electrifying as it was when Riot Fest rolled into the weekend, anticipation grew exponentially as every second ticked towards The Cure, an act so colossal in both the alternative community and the pop charts, no other acts were booked during its entire time slot.

That naturally meant the entire audience had their eyes solely on Robert Smith and company, who more than earned the attention given a generous spread of 26 tracks split between the gothic, ethereal, dreamy, and danceable. 

In fact, the spread was a radically re-arranged and partially exclusive compared to a recent United Center sell out, including the welcome addition of “Fascination Street,” plus a chance for the casually-minded to catch “In Between Days” and “Just Like Heaven” earlier in hopes of beating the traffic.

However, those who stayed until the end were rewarded in the form of a super-sized encore of “Lullaby,” “The Walk” and a half-dozen other iconic tracks from a group that remains at the top of its game 45 years since throwing the rock and roll rule book out the window.

A bit beforehand, Amanda Palmer and Brian Viglione, better known collectively as The Dresden Dolls, unleashed two decades of delightfully dark cabaret wrapped around a punk spirit and theatrical presentation.

Another major point of attraction was AFI, who attacked with an endless stream of aggressive, emo-tinted anthems from the 1990s through today’s tenacious “Bodies” as front man Davey Havok whipped fans into a frenzy.

Post-hardcore players Finch may have been on and off again since getting started right around then as well, but after reuniting in 2022, proved to pick up on the same punchy page.

Celtic punk veterans Flogging Molly never missed a beat throughout nearly three decades together and it continued to be the case thanks to an afternoon’s worth of foot-stomping sing-a-longs, the sound of beers clinking and sights of crowd-surfing bodies flying through the air.

If there seemed like an unusually high amount of folks roaming around in Oasis shirts, it was likely because of former member Andy Bell, who brought along his other influential act, shoegazers Ride, for an all too brief but brilliant retrospective dating back to the 1990’s “Nowhere.”

Despite morning rain threatening to dampen the day, hard rock meets punk band The Bronx emerged following the delayed opening of gates and made sure everyone was instantly in the mood to mosh and head bang.

It all marked the official end to another eclectic and entertaining Riot Fest, but it also means the countdown is already back on towards the throw down that’s always been The Cure for the end of summer blues.

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Click here for more photos of Riot Fest at Douglass Park.

For upcoming Riot Fest announcements, visit RiotFest.org.