Riot Fest has released a wild list of supposed “demands” from actor and sometimes musician William Shatner ahead of his metal band’s debut at the event in September.
The first-ever public performance of Shatner’s metal outfit, The *uckers, was recently announced for the festival, set for Sept. 18-20 in Chicago’s Douglass Park.
William Shatner’s ‘Requirements’ From Chicago to Play Riot Fest
Riot Fest shared an image of a document on social media Thursday (July 16) titled “William Shatner Riot Fest 2026 Artist Rider Requirements.” Music acts often send promoters and event organizers a list of demands and requirements, known as a “rider,” ahead of shows.
According to the image shared by Riot Fest, Shatner’s alleged “requirements” from the city of Chicago include:
- Chicago naming a boat in Shatner’s honor
- A billboard featuring Shatner and a fan
- Food named after Shatner
- An opportunity to do the weather report with long-time Chicago-based meteorologist Tom Skilling
- Shatner singing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” at a Chicago baseball game
While a lot of this seems far-fetched, it is still Riot Fest. If any music festival were to pull off a cheeky stunt involving supposed outrageous artist demands, it would be the one that spent years wooing actor John Stamos with a butter sculpture in his image.
A list of “demands” allegedly from Stamos was also shared by Riot Fest ahead of his 2025 performance.
William Shatner’s ‘Requirements’ on Riot Fest Performance Day
Another section of the document was devoted to what is allegedly being required of festival organizers ahead of Shatner playing Riot Fest. They’re just as absurd as the demands for the City of Chicago, but they at least mostly seem doable.
Shatner’s “requirements” at the Riot Fest grounds include:
- Fire breathers on stage during his performance
- A video intro created by GWAR
- Shatner’s artist golf cart replaced with a DeLorean (made famous by the Back to the Future movies)
- Four feet of Polish sausage and a bowl of sauerkraut
- Eight pallets of Faygo (not shared with fellow festival act Insane Clown Posse)
- A Montreal Canadiens hockey sweater signed by John Stamos
- Adoptable puppies
The complete list of Shatner’s ‘artist ride requirements’ is available below.
Shatner is set to play the final day of Riot Fest on Sept. 20. Additional acts on the Sunday lineup include Pierce the Veil, Alanis Morissette, Elvis Costello and Insane Clown Posse,
Why William Shatner is Performing at Riot Fest
News broke earlier this year that Shatner was working on his first metal album with the help of an all-star cast of musicians. According to Guitar World, the Star Trek actor’s album will include covers of Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden and Judas Priest songs along with some of his own original material.
READ MORE: Tool, Twenty One Pilots and Pierce the Veil to Headline 2026 Riot Fest
The announcement from Riot Fest noted Shatner will be joined on stage by The *uckers, including former Ozzy Osbourne bassist Phil Soussan and Vixen guitarist Britt Lightning.
General admission tickets to the festival are available via RiotFest.org.
Oh, you didn’t remember William Shatner was a musician? Here are 49 other big-name actors who can seriously play.
49 Actors You Might Not Remember Are Musicians
Gallery Credit: Chad Childers, Loudwire
