12 acts you must see at Riot Fest 2016

Saturday at 4:50pm, Rock Stage
Swedish rockers the Hives haven't donned matching suits and graced us with an album since 2012's Lex Hives, so their inclusion on the Riot Fest bill was a pleasant surprise. Last year's surprise single, "Blood Red Moon," eschewed the group's usual energetic garage rock swagger in favor of some dusty folk balladry, but we're pretty sure lead singer Howlin' Pelle Almqvist won't pass up an opportunity to belt out classic anthems like "Hate To Say I Told You So" and "Walk Idiot Walk."

Friday at 1:50pm, Roots Stage
Baltimore musician Dan Deacon has been churning out wacky electronic arrangements outfitted with modulated chipmunk vocals and bouncing synths for more than a decade, most recently on his 2015 release, Gliss Riffer. But even if you've never heard his music, you can still appreciate Deacon's immersive live shows, where he performs in the midst of the crowd and turns a festival gig into a participatory experience.

Sunday at 5:15pm, Radicals Stage
What he lacks in originality, Jo-Vaughn Virginie Scott makes up for with his eerily precise emulation of ’90s hip-hop on his 2015 release, B4.DA.$$, right down to the dusty jazz samples that fuel his beats. On his latest single, "Devastated," the 21-year-old Brooklyn rapper (and Mr. Robot cast member) takes a slightly more modern approach, channeling a trap beat and unleashing some of his most triumphant lyrics to date. With any luck, we'll get to hear a few more new songs during his Riot Fest set.

Friday at 8:45pm, Riot Stage
The Flaming Lips spent part of 2015 backing up Miley Cyrus on her supremely strange Dead Petz tour, but it seems the Oklahoma psych rockers are getting back to their own brand of weirdness. The group recently spent time in the studio with frequent collaborator Dave Fridmann, which means there's a good chance you'll get to hear Wayne Coyne singing some heady new tunes while costumed dancers bust moves and confetti rains down on the crowd.

Friday at 2pm, Rebel Stage
Like most punk bands, Worriers is a group with a message—this New Jersey quartet wants to make the world a more inclusive place. You can hear it most clearly in the lyrics of "They / Them / Theirs," a power chord anthem that lashes out against the conventional gender binary (lead singer Lauren Denitzio prefers gender-neutral pronouns). The rest of Worriers debut album, Imaginary Life—which was produced by Against Me!’s Laura Jane Grace—is equally self-assured, making it clear that absolutely everyone has the right to be represented in the music they love.

Sunday at 8pm, Rebel Stage
Born and raised in Brooklyn, brothers Alex and Ryan Levine might be among the very last generation of punk rockers to grow up in the rapidly gentrifying borough. When they're not running all-ages music venues in New York, the Levines sing about lost weekends and the rough corners of their neighborhood with relentlessly youthful energy. If you want to be transported back to the basement shows of your teenage years, the So So Glos will make you feel like you're knocking back cheap beers in your favorite subterranean haunt.