Jessi Roti

Jessi Roti is a freelance writer for the Chicago Tribune.

Billie Joe Armstrong, left, and Mike Dirnt of Green Day perform on the Riot Stage at Riot Fest in Douglass Park on Sept. 21, 2025. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)

Riot Fest wraps up for 2025 with John Stamos devotions and a very outspoken Green Day

September 22, 2025 at 2:55 p.m.

This summer's 20th anniversary edition keeps the festival's anti-establishment spirit alive and well — and you knew politics were going to show up sooner or later.

Blink-182 performs at Riot Fest in Chicago’s Douglass Park on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)

Riot Fest opens with Blink-182 and spectacular sets from Sparks and ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic

September 22, 2025 at 12:19 p.m.

Twenty years into its punk-rock-carnival experiment, Riot Fest kicks off in Chicago's Douglass Park with a happily mellow Day 1.

Gerard Way leads My Chemical Romance at Soldier Field in Chicago on Aug. 29, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)

Review: My Chemical Romance brings its intense and shadowy ‘Black Parade’ tour to Soldier Field

August 30, 2025 at 12:33 p.m.

An authoritarian dystopia, public executions decided by grand jury, a murderous clown — and that was just the first half of My Chemical Romance’s concert on their “Long Live the...

Bartender Nat Froikin, from left, beverage director Gina Hoover, sonic curator and owner of 606 Records Andrew Mitchell, bartender Tia Polite and owner Alex Jandernoa listen to Andrew discuss records at Charis Listening Bar in Bridgeport, July 9, 2025, in Chicago. The bar, which is named after owner Jandernoa’s mother, features a Rane MP2015 DJ mixer with an independent sound card and two restored Technics turntables from 1989 and 1993. It also has sound dampers on the walls and ceiling above the bar, and six Klipsch speakers. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)

A place to listen: Chicago listening bars offer audio enthusiasts a different way to enjoy music

August 12, 2025 at 5:30 a.m.

Audiophilic purists and the avidly curious alike can sit and soak in the sounds at a number of bars built for listening.

Cyndi Lauper at Tinley Park’s Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre as part of her "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Farewell Tour" on Aug. 5, 2025. (Jessi Roti/for the Chicago Tribune)

Review: Cyndi Lauper, the most eccentric of pop’s powerhouses, says farewell on her ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun’ tour

August 6, 2025 at 3:15 p.m.

Cyndi Lauper reveled in her biggest hits, funniest stories, and a grand production that she said has been decades of dreams and persistence in the making.

Doechii performs on the third day of Lollapalooza at Grant Park on Saturday, Aug. 2, 2025. (Audrey Richardson/for the Chicago Tribune)

Review: Doechii delivers a hip hop master class at Lollapalooza

August 3, 2025 at 11:56 a.m.

The Florida rapper and recent Grammy winner is one of a kind, with a Saturday concert on the T-Mobile stage that included the surprise guest and former City Girl member...

Olivia Rodrigo plays guitar while performing at Lollapalooza, Aug. 1, 2025, in Chicago. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)

Review: Olivia Rodrigo delivers her own kind of girl-power message at Lollapalooza

August 2, 2025 at 11:49 a.m.

She's powerful, she's political, she's rock and she's pop. And she brought out surprise guest Weezer for two songs during her Friday headlining concert in Grant Park.

Gracie Abrams performs for a packed T-Mobile audience on the first day of Lollapalooza in Grant Park in Chicago on July 31, 2025.
(Dominic Di Palermo/Chicago Tribune)

Review: Gracie Abrams scores one for girl pop in her opening day Lollapalooza set

August 1, 2025 at 11:39 a.m.

A student of the Taylor Swift school of songwriting, Gracie Abrams’ T-Mobile stage set was the concert to cry to as the evening of Day 1 fell upon Chicago's Grant...

The Weeknd performs at Soldier Field in Chicago on May 30, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)

The Weeknd brings ‘After Hours Til Dawn’ back to Soldier Field, closing a chapter on the bad boy you can dance to

May 31, 2025 at 12:35 p.m.

Fans showed up in droves Friday night for the first of two nights of the "After Hours Til Dawn Tour" in Chicago, and to say goodbye (sort of).

The Deftones perform at the United Center in Chicago on March 31, 2025. (Jessi Roti / for the Chicago Tribune)

Review: With a sold-out show at United Center, Deftones are bigger than they’ve ever been

April 1, 2025 at 4:10 p.m.

The modern reassessment of late ‘90s nu metal has played a role in the band’s seemingly sudden resurgence, but where Lollapalooza headliner Korn’s popularity seems rooted in nostalgia, interest in...

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