Riot Fest Won’t Play Denver

Riot Fest, rocked by the November death of co-founder Sean McKeough, won’t take place in Denver this year but will carry on in Chicago in September as planned, organizers announced on the festival’s website.

– Riot Fest

McKeough, 42, died Nov. 29 after suffering a stroke. He also owned the Cobra Lounge in Chicago.

Of the decision to bypass a Denver show in 2017, organizers wrote, “Without Sean’s massive contributions, taking on more than one festival this year is, unfortunately, simply not possible.”

The statement adds “we hope our absence from Denver is only temporary,” and referring to the Chicago edition, “we owe it to Sean to throw the absolute best festival we can and that’s exactly what we’re going to do.”