In the current era of hardcore where it feels as though every major market and city has their own multi-day fest, it can quickly become exhausting by the sheer volume of fests happening throughout the year. While some are bigger than others, all provide a great time and have their own, for lack of a better word, “branding” or vibe to them providing a unique experience found only at that specific fest. The Rumble fits perfectly within these fests, but, more importantly, provides the perfect middle ground between a massive multi-day fest and providing that intimate feeling that can be found at your average club show.
It’s exactly this perfect middle ground that has positioned The Rumble to be one of the more unique fests, both in its approach to the fest itself, but also the booking behind it. Consistently booking severely underrated lineups year after year consisting of a wide-array of sounds and styles ranging from hardcore to death metal to slam to indie/shoe-gaze and everything in between. Also, The Rumble is amazing at booking underrated or even overlooked acts. Yeah, you can see the biggest names out right now, but you can also check out the next big name before they’re the big name, a band that maybe doesn’t play shows that often anymore, or seemingly odd, but also hilarious bands playing alongside each other, such as Waking the Cadaver and Modern Life is War being on the same bill, almost like a fever dream.
Making its grand return in 2018, The Rumble has since steadily grown each year, even after COVID, now moving outside to the Cobra Lounge parking lot for the full fest experience of an outdoor stage, food trucks, and a pre-show & two after-shows. Hosting acts like Incendiary, Billy Club Sandwich, Strife, Breakdown, and more in 2018 and 2019; Returning post-COVID, The Rumble kept the train rolling with two back-to-back years of heat consisting of Pain of Truth, Sunami, Killing Time, 200 Stab Wounds, and Militarie Gun just to name a few. Going for the three-peat, this year’s lineup boasts a really sick, diverse lineup of styles with names like The Hope Conspiracy, Weekend Nachos, Frozen Soul, Bulldoze, Waking the Cadaver, and Modern Life is War.
From the younger and newer (or newer-ish) acts like Hold My Own, Torture, Ingrown, Gates to Hell, Outta Pocket, and Morbid Visionz to well-established names in Bulldoze, Modern Life War, and Train of Thought, I’m not sure if there is another fest out there right now that’s putting on such a diverse set of acts within one space in this capacity. It only gets crazier when you factor in local powerviolence legends Weekend Nachos capping off Friday as they continue their return to the stage arc right next to Frozen Soul bringing their Texas death-metal to the Windy City along with New Jersey beatdown legends Bulldoze playing Chicago twice now in the same year.
The fun doesn’t end here though as The Hope Conspiracy made their return to Chicago after coming out of hiatus last year releasing their comeback EP, Confusion/Chaos/Misery, and then releasing a full-length this past May for the first time in 18 years. Add in, melodic hardcore mainstays Modern Life is War also coming back to the Chi since they last played with Gorilla Biscuits in 2018 and New Jersey slam/extreme metal titans Waking the Cadaver who haven’t played Chicago in a hot minute (I ‘member when they were supposed to play The D in Gary!), plus Train of Thought finally playing Chicago after so many years.
The Rumble continues to be a spotlight or calling sign to the rest of the world that Chicago is (and always was) a badass, awesome city to play. Weirdly overlooked at times, by having a kickass fest like The Rumble, it helps put a big, giant, beacon over our city forcing everyone to take notice. By celebrating our community, The Rumble celebrates hardcore and metal’s past, present, and future in a way that maintains its core ethos and authenticity without getting lost in the sauce along the way emphasizing the bands, the fans, and the wider music community of Chicago-land.
Day One
Day Two
