Well past midnight on a warm August night, drinks were being poured as a group of friends shouted over old Latin music records. Among the group of local musicians, photographers, and other artists was Yeshi Regalado, the frontwoman for local band La Rosa Noir. She was not only celebrating her birthday but also the news that in a couple of weeks, La Rosa Noir would be opening Riot Fest.
The day they got the news had been busy. La Rosa Noir had applied to play Riot Fest back in May, and months later, they finally got the green light. “Yeshi was literally hunting down each bandmate to make sure we could play it,” said Christian Ovalle, the band’s drummer.
Riot Fest, a three-day punk rock music festival held annually at the end of September, is one of the largest independent music festivals in the world (Lollapalooza, Chicago’s biggest summer music fest, is owned by Live Nation). The festival, which has undergone changes over its twenty years, moved to Douglass Park in 2015. There, Riot Fest faced pushback from some members of the predominantly Black and Latino communities that surround the park. Residents complained of traffic jams and noise pollution, as well as losing access to entire areas of the park for multiple weeks, only for those areas to be left in disrepair.
In 2023, Riot Fest launched Beyond the Fest to try to ease relationships with its neighbors. Part of the program includes giving local artists from the surrounding neighborhoods the opportunity to play at Riot Fest. This year, La Rosa Noir was one of those artists.
While it was only Regalado’s birthday, this was a wish come true for everyone. “It’s like every musician’s dream to eventually play a festival to this scale,” Regalado said. Ovalle added that the band might meet musicians backstage who they’d grown up listening to.
La Rosa Noir grew out of the DIY scene with their blend of surf, indie rock, and Latin rhythms. Since forming in 2018, they have played in local venues such as the Empty Bottle, music festivals like Taste of Chicago, and have opened for artists like The Red Pears. The band’s current lineup consists of Regalado as lead vocals and rhythm guitarist, Jannese Espino on lead guitar, Ovalle on drums, and Zach Riedler on bass.
Riot Fest’s Community Bands program pays the local artists who play at the festival, and says they also provide the artists with exposure through marketing, networking opportunities, social media promotion, and scheduled interviews. The idea is to get smaller bands to play on a mainstage in front of a big crowd, alongside well-known artists. Ideally, with the right blend of talent, timing, and exposure, one of these bands might make it big.
Community bands from past years have included the indie band Future Nobodies, hip-hop artist 1300cadoe, metal band ALENIA, hardcore group Through n Through, and multi-genre artist VII. La Rosa Noir applied for the spot in May. Riedler was the one who originally gave the push for the band to apply.
“It was a pain in the ass to gather all of our assets together,” Regalado said. The band assembled an electronic press kit (EPK), featuring video links to their best performances, interviews, and top songs. The EPK “answers every question that they could ever have,” Regalado said. The band submitted their application and waited.
“I forgot all about it,” Ovalle said. “I think we all did.”
Back at the bar that August night, the bandmates made their way among tables filled with friends, telling them the news that they would be playing Riot Fest over more cocktails. They were understandably a little nervous, but excited. “We’re playing on the biggest stage we’ve ever played on. And I am trying not to lose my mind over that,” Regalado said, laughing.
While there is still a ways to go for Riot Fest to be fully embraced by the communities of North Lawndale and Little Village, it does seem like the festival has made a genuine effort to support the neighborhood and local talent.
“If you’re not into rock music or festivals, you’re gonna hate Riot Fest being in your neighborhood,” Regalado said. “But if you love rock music and you love festivals, this is a dream come true for you.”
Having grown up listening to alternative, punk, and emo, “All you wanna do is feel chosen and accepted, and I feel like this is one of those key moments where our existence is validated,” she added.
Despite having performed at the Taste of Chicago and at a tribute Selena concert at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion, for the band, this feels different.
“I feel like maybe more people listen to us,” Ovalle said.
Besides the extra attention that playing Riot Fest will give the band, it also gives them the opportunity to rub elbows with some of the biggest names in rock, rap, and alternative music.
“For me, it’s proof that local bands can make it,” Ovalle said.
Despite some nerves, the band was unfazed. Battle-hardened through years of performing and countless rehearsals, they knew they were ready.
La Rosa Noir kicked off Riot Fest strongly. Despite being one of the first bands to play, dedicated fans were waiting before La Rosa’s set started. The crowd that gathered worked its way to the barrier fence to get as close as possible once the performance started. Curious festivalgoers who wandered by were drawn in by the sound.
With an eight-track set, La Rosa Noir kicked things off with “Mamacita” from their 2023 Arellano album. La Rosa continued with staple tracks from that same project like “Silk + Blade” and “Pax.” They spoiled listeners with a debut performance of their latest track, “Heart On My Sleeve,” released last month.
Then La Rosa Noir had a surprise guest, Fransciso Garcia, the lead singer of the local punk band Los Skins, to help perform “Chicano Stomp.” The crowd exploded, singing and dancing along. The band hopes to release more new music soon as they continue to hone their craft.
“Follow your gut feeling, follow that intuition, and don’t stop going after it—because the minute you do, you’re straying away from yourself,” Regalado said. ”Big beautiful things can come from following your intuition.”
Jesús Flores is a journalist from the Southeast Side of Chicago.