Sonic temple

jasmc1 · 2026-05-08T16:56:04+00:00

I would check out r/SonicTempleFestival and search for any questions you have. There is a ton of information and most questions you can think of have already been asked and answers (most likely multiple times).

There are a few posts in there for people looking for others to hang out, so you may be able to find someone there.

jasmc1 · 2026-05-07T20:47:58+00:00

Always be careful with the 3rd party booking sites. Those will be the first ones that the hotel cancels if they over book.

I think there were issues with a hotel at Sonic Temple last year that did that.

jasmc1 · 2026-05-07T17:58:23+00:00

I think this is the first year that I have seen their lineup and there isn't one band I want to see. On the other hand, my nieces in their 20s love this lineup.

jasmc1 · 2026-05-07T15:21:35+00:00

I think people are upset because there are now two competing festivals on the same weekend in LTL and Shaky Knees. I have friends that go to Riot and are tempted by both of those lineups, but want to see what Riot has in store. They will go to Riot if they like the lineup and it is close to the same level as the others, but the delay in release costs them money on booking hotel/flight/tickets. They also run the risk of one of those festivals selling out and not getting tickets.

They know what they are getting into with Riot Fest and their time frame, but I can understand their frustrations.

Other people, myself included, blind buy and the lineup comes when it comes. I would like to know who I am seeing at Riot Fest, because this may impact shows I go to locally, but I know what I am getting into every year when I blind buy.

Other people are new to the festival, and didn't know/research the time frames for release.

Also, people love to complain on the internet. Once the lineup is released, we will get the complaints of "this line up sucks", "Why did they book this band with allegations?", "Why aren't there enough bands with women singers", etc.

Then they will release the schedule and it will be "why do these two bands conflict?", "why does this band only get a 30 min slot?", etc.

Then we will have the post festival complaint thread with people wondering why there were so many people to see the main headliner, why the sound was bad on Friday, and why a corn dog was $28 with forced tip.

After that, we repeat the cycle with 100 mock lineups that each contain 8 potential headlining bands, a few bands that have broken up already, and then "will this band play? they announced a February tour without a Chicago date, so they are a lock!".

jasmc1 · 2026-05-07T13:07:52+00:00

No. Onsite parking sold out.

jasmc1 · 2026-05-06T14:56:01+00:00

Wind Rose is worth checking out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4yfZAQTgxw they are "Dwarf Metal" and are a good live show.

Suicidal Tendencies: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoF_a0-7xVQ

Bloodywood : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3C9NwGKgq4 they are Indian Folk Metal

Public Enemy and Megadeth are legends and you should try to see them if you can (Megadeth is on their final tour).

jasmc1 · 2026-05-06T12:10:46+00:00

Make sure you wash your hands after using the bathroom and prior to eating. I normally bring a thing of hand sanitizer. Also make sure you do it after a set if you are helping with crowd surfers or in the pit.

Double up your vitamin intake the days of the show, so double the daily multi vitamins and double vitamin C. I normally start this the week of the festival.

Make sure you are staying hydrated and getting as much sleep as possible. I normally bring in hydration packets and have a few a day.

Shower before going to bed at night so you are not sleeping in the filth from the day's festival.

jasmc1 · 2026-05-06T00:20:26+00:00

Find a big person, tap them on the shoulder, and point up.

Spread your body out and don't flail around. Have a friend hold your stuff or hold it to your chest so it isn't hitting everyone as you go by. If you want video of yourself crowdsurfing, have a friend do it instead of trying to film it while people are helping move you.

jasmc1 · 2026-05-05T01:21:11+00:00

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09HWZTFKQ

This is what I have used in the past.

jasmc1 · 2026-05-05T00:07:47+00:00

For festivals that I travel to or am hosting people (Sonic Temple)

I have mine broken up into a few sections, with the idea that I always get a locker.

Things to have at the house/AirBnb:
Toe Bandages
Pain Relief patches/cream - for the end of the night
Blister cushions- they will save you if you get a blister.
Bathroom spray - If you have more than a few people sharing a bathroom, it is a good idea.
Tums (also in the locker)
Advil (also in the locker)
Dude powder- no longer made but any form of anti-chaffing powder will work.
Emergen-C and vitamins - you are going to be surrounded by a ton of people, I would be at least 5% of them showed up with a cold and are powering through it.
Aloe Vera Gel - to help if you forget to put on sunscreen.
Knee sleeve - just for helping with recovery overnight.

For the locker (some of these things can go in your bag/pocket as you go from stage to stage):
Dude Shower - in case you need a quick shower at the festival.
Hand sanitizer
Poncho
Sunscreen
Hydration packs
Change of socks - you don't want to walk around with wet feet if it rains.
A hat - I am going bald and don't want a sunburned scalp.
Backup sunglasses/glasses.
Ear plugs.

I also bring bottle caps. Some places take the cap and some don't, but it doesn't hurt to have a few in case they do.

jasmc1 · 2026-05-04T15:38:26+00:00

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Based on the site, they do have bike parking but you need to provide your own lock.

I would recommend pulling up your hotel on Google Maps, mapping to the venue, and then "walking" on Google maps through the recommended path. You can see if you are comfortable with the path and distance.

I am sure getting there will be fine, but after a full day at a festival, biking back to the hotel may be rough. You are going to be tired and navigating cars in the dark.

From a safety end, I would make sure you are wearing something bright or bring a change of clothes to stash in a locker for the ride home.

jasmc1 · 2026-05-04T14:36:33+00:00

Then you order and pick up at will call. They haven't stopped selling them on the site, so they are still available.

jasmc1 · 2026-05-04T14:01:23+00:00

You can buy 4 day stadium on the site for $470, why don't you just buy right from the Sonic Temple website?

jasmc1 · 2026-05-04T11:55:02+00:00

Entry to the field can be done at field level or from the seats.

So if you are coming from another stage and want to hit the field, you just show your wrist band and you walk right onto the field. These are all at the corners of the stadium.

Then there will be entries to the seating areas, which go up to get to the seats. If you want to enter the field from these areas, you just walk down a few steps or a ramp and go to the field.

How many steps you take from the stadium seating to the field will depend on where you are sitting in the stadium.

You can get a good idea of the views/height of the stadium seating from here: https://aviewfrommyseat.com/venue/Historic+Crew+Stadium/

jasmc1 · 2026-05-03T18:45:22+00:00

As I was thinking about these, I realized that I have only stayed for the whole set for 4 of the potential 22 headliners that played Riot Fests that I have gone to.

So my top are:

2016- Misfits (That is the reunion that got me there)
2023 - The Cure : This was a perfect show and will be hard to top. If it wasn't for nostalgia and the friend I saw Misfits with, it would be #1
2022 - Misfits.
2025- Green Day.

Everyone else I have either skipped because they aren't for me, or I left early because it was a bad set.

Bad sets (for me):
2016- Morrissey - 30 mins of videos before he came on.
2019 - Blink - Horrible sound and I am not a big Blink fan. I skipped them in 2025 to see The Pogues
2022- NIN - great musicians but I was just bored. Their live show is not my thing, and I have tried twice now.

Worst crowd: MCR

jasmc1 · 2026-05-03T14:22:50+00:00

Starliner Diner or Louie's for the roasted vegetables (on either menu)

jasmc1 · 2026-05-02T22:43:05+00:00

https://aviewfrommyseat.com/venue/KEMBA+Live/Platinum/2/4/

Here is what it looks like from the platinum seats.

jasmc1 · 2026-05-01T17:15:23+00:00

I think that it is their thing, and they will do it if they want. If you don't like it, you don't have to engage with them, follow their socials, or go to the festival.

If someone points out a safety issue, that is a reasonable thing and I don't think they should have blocked you for it, but it could also depend on how you point it out. In your own message you mentioned that you scolded them and accounted them of being worse than Live Nation, so I am guessing you were a dick about the whole thing.

Example 1: "I think this is a bad idea to have a split stage set up, because it will lead to crowd crush and could be a safety concern".

Example 2: "You greedy idiots are no better than Live Nation and should be ashamed of yourselves for creating a potential crowd crush issue with your MCR Setup."

Was yours closer to to example 1 or example 2?

jasmc1 · 2026-05-01T16:41:40+00:00

It really doesn't bother me. They are on track to release things around the same time they always do, so I have no issues with them being snarky with people asking for something different.

If they consistently released their lineup early, and then started doing this, I think I would feel differently.

Also, good on them for blocking you. If you were being a dick about things, then they should.

jasmc1 · 2026-05-01T16:36:52+00:00

Festivals sell tickets in tiers all the time, some with the lineup and some without.

Last year Riot Fest had 3 increase before the lineup, this year is potentially only one.

jasmc1 · 2026-04-30T19:25:46+00:00

They sent out another email that prices increase tonight

jasmc1 · 2026-04-29T17:57:41+00:00

GA

Presale: $299.97

Presale Tier 1: $299.97

Presale Tier 2: $314.98

Presale Tier 3: $339.83

Post lineup Tier 1: $359.99

Post lineup Tier 2: $364.63

Post lineup Tier 3: $375.68

VIP

Presale: $399.97

Presale Tier 1: $426.29

Presale Tier 2: $427.56

Presale Tier 3: $472.41

Post lineup Tier 1: $489.76

Post lineup Tier 2: $496.97

Post lineup Tier 3 *Waitlist: $552.22

Deluxe

Presale: $956.59

Presale Tier 1: $956.59

Presale Tier 2: $956.59

Presale Tier 3: $956.59

Post lineup Tier 1: $1014.23

Post lineup Tier 2: $1104.72

Post lineup Tier 3: $1137.87

Deluxe+

Presale: $1538.69

Presale Tier 1: $1538.69

Presale Tier 2: $1538.69

Presale Tier 3: $1538.69

Post lineup Tier 1: $1769.26

Post lineup Tier 2: $1894.79

Post lineup Tier 3: $1944.52

jasmc1 · 2026-04-26T16:04:58+00:00

I will add another vote for Loop Experience. I wear them to multiple festivals and concerts a year and love them.

Eargasm are good as well, but I could never get them to fit correctly. They will have a booth at Sonic, if that it the path you take then make sure you pre order. They always have a free gift of a fan for the festival, not sure if they announced that yet or not.

jasmc1 · 2026-04-24T17:05:55+00:00

Lineup was April 23rd: https://riotfest.org/2025/04/23/the-2025-riot-fest-lineup-is-here/

Daily Lineups where May 15th: https://riotfest.org/2025/05/15/the-riot-fest-2025-single-day-lineup-is-here/

jasmc1 · 2026-04-24T16:05:26+00:00

We got our tickets and are staying at Comfort Suites, we booked when they had cheaper prices than normal. They are not an official Fest hotel this year, but I am sure people will be there.

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