Village People at Riot Fest 2019, photo by Heather Kaplan

Disco legends the Village People aren’t known for their killer riffs or brutality, but don’t tell that to the crowd at Chicago’s Riot Fest this past weekend.

When the band broke into their signature songs “YMCA” and “Macho Man”, the audience erupted in decidedly metal fashion.



“YMCA” is one of the foremost songs ever to encourage audience participation, but the Riot Fest attendees weren’t content with just spelling out the letters with their arms. Instead, the concert-goers busted into a wall of death, a popular occurrence at metal shows where the crowd parts like the Red Sea and then storms into each other. There was even some crowdsurfing to top it off.

The Village People followed “YMCA” up with their next biggest hit, “Macho Man”, which the crowd appeared to take literally. A circle pit formed as the upbeat dance tune soundtracked the chaos. All in all, it looked like damn good fun.

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The otherwise dangerous nature of the mosh — a man recently died in the pit at a Slipknot show — came off as positive and joyous during the Village People’s set. To all the pit dwellers out there, take a cue from these happy-go-lucky headbangers and be careful.