Pussy Riot to Speak at Riot Fest Panel Moderated by Henry Rollins

Earlier this year, mainstay music festival Riot Fest announced their lineups for this fall’s Chicago, Denver, and Toronto dates and there were a lot of diverse jaw-droppers on them, with everyone to the Cure to Slayer to Wu-Tang Clan. But even among the heavyweights, there was one name that stood out: Pussy Riot. At first, it wasn’t exactly clear what Pussy Riot’s participation in the festival’s Chicago date would be. But today, Riot Fest has announced some details. Turns out Pussy Riot members Nadya Tolokonnikova and Masha Alekhina will speak on a panel (via a translator, obviously) with Greg Graffin of Bad Religion, Tim McIlrath of Rise Against, writer Marcella Karp, and Riot Fest founder Mike Petryshyn, who is notoriously press-shy. It will be moderated by Henry Rollins.

The panel will be on opening night, Friday, September 12 from 5:45 to 7 PM. Given that Pussy Riot has not done much along the lines of American public appearances like this, it should be really interesting, especially with Rollins moderating. So let’s keep the questions related to the international controversy created by Pussy Riot’s defiance against the borderline dictatorship of Russian President Vladimir Putin and not… you know, the whole suicide thing.