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Joyce Manor Covering ‘Helena’ at Riot Fest Is Emo Perfection

Photo: Timothy Norris/Getty Images

Riot Fest kicked off in Chicago on September 16, bringing together a slew of emo greats (among other rock acts) across four days: Taking Back Sunday, Motion City Soundtrack, Alkaline Trio, Thursday, and many more. Notably not on that list is My Chemical Romance, who were originally set to headline in 2021, but were pushed to 2022 to give us all a reason to hold on through this year. Thankfully, though, another group of emo icons have brought a bit of My Chem to this year’s festival. Scrappy Southern California rockers Joyce Manor took the stage Thursday (not as in the band) to play through their genre-refining self-titled debut, which celebrates its tenth anniversary this year. Afterward, the band played some other songs, and then closed with a cover of signature My Chem song “Helena,” introduced to rapturous applause from the crowd. “That was the end of our set, this one’s just for fun,” singer-guitarist Barry Johnson said. “So it doesn’t really count,” bassist Matt Ebert added. But it should’ve, because it ripped. Other bands, take note: This is how you say so long and good night.

Joyce Manor Covering ‘Helena’ at Riot Fest Is Emo Perfection