Chicago’s three-day, punk-rock carnival was host to Slayer, Jawbreaker, Raconteurs, Patti Smith, Rise Against, Bob Mould, Rancid, Bikini Kill, Lucero, the Struts, and more. Here are our favorite guitar-related moments from the 15th annual gathering.
Lucero’s Ben Nichols
Quite possibly the man who writes the saddest songs at Riot Fest kicked his feet up and had a helluva good time with his dancing partner—an Epiphone Sheraton II. In our 2015 Rig Rundown, we found out that: “At the end of the day, Nichols appreciates how it sounds, how it plays, and that if something ever were to happen to it, he could go to a local guitar store and replace it without taking out a loan. He actually records with the Sheraton II rather than the higher-end, fancier cousin ES-335. Like Venable, he uses Ernie Ball Slinkys .011–.048 strings.”
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