It's that time of year again - the First Wave lineup announcement for my favorite music festival, Chicago's RIOT FEST! This morning, the crew behind the fest (taking place September 15-17 at Douglas Park) unveiled over 70 artists including Nine Inch Nails, Queens of the Stone Age, and the exclusive reunion of Jawbreaker. Additional highlights include New Order, Paramore, Prophets of Rage, M.I.A., Wu-Tang Clan, a DJ set from Beastie Boys’ Mike D, Bad Brains, Ministry and Vic Mensa. Check out the full First Wave lineup below, along with my personal "Rock Father Picks" for who I'm most looking forward to seeing, highlighted in bold.

With St. Patrick's Day coming up, it's pretty appropriate that Chicago's The Tossers have unleashed their latest music video, "Erin Go Bragh." The new single comes from Smash the Windows, their most recent album for Victory Records, just-released last week. Check it out below...

Living in the suburbs of Chicago for most of my life (and making a slingshot from far south to far north), I'm still occasionally pleasantly surprised by finding great new areas to explore. Until this month, I had no idea what a vibrant scene could be found in Downtown Naperville, a city located about 30 miles west of Chicago, and about an hour south of Rock Father HQ. After dropping the girls off at Grandma's for the evening, my wife and I set out for an adventure - one anchored by dinner at The Craftsman by Two Brothers. I'd had a long-standing invitation* to check out what Two Brothers has been doing, not only at The Craftsman, but also at their Brewery and Tap House in Warrenville, but simply hadn't had a chance until now. From what we saw in Naperville, I can tell you that there's some impressive things afoot for foodies and beer lovers alike.

As The LEGO Batman Movie soars into theaters this weekend, it's pretty appropriate that The Batmobile is in the Windy City. After all, Chicago doubled for Gotham City back when Christopher Nolan was crafting his Dark Knight Trilogy. Thing is, this Batmobile is a much different beast. The 2017 LEGO Batmobile from Chevrolet made its official debut in Detroit last month, a life-sized replica of "The Speedwagon" driven by LEGO Batman (voiced by Will Arnett) in the new film. Now, that ride, crafted from a total of 344,187 LEGO bricks supported by a square-tube aluminum frame, is sitting in McCormick Place, the result of 222 hours of design time, and 1,833 hours of construction by LEGO Master Builders. For it's appearance at The Chicago Auto Show, the LEGO Batmobile sits in front of a brick wall illuminated by moving Bat (and Chevy) signals, each zeroing in on LEGO Batman himself! As a bonus, kids can take part in their very own LEGO Batmobile mini-build, available for free to take home! We had a chance to check out the full display during the Media Preview - take a look...

In putting together my annual preview coverage of the Chicago Auto Show this year, I decided it was time to mix things up a bit and get even more of the family involved. After all, the Chicago Auto Show touts itself as a family-friendly event, and as someone who grew up attending the show and now takes his own kids, handing over coverage to a pair of younger eyes seemed like an obvious thing to do. It's no secret that The Rock Daughters™ are well-versed in four-wheeled, fun - a pair of girls with more Hot Wheels than I ever had as a kid, semi-skilled drivers (of Power Wheels and the like) themselves, and a fixture in my coverage of "grownup" rides. In fact, whenever a press fleet vehicle arrives here at Rock Father HQ, if the girls are home, they'll go outside with me to greet the driver. So, for 2017, a plan came together for our oldest daughter, Addie, to attend one of the pre-show "Media Preview" days with me, armed with a camera to capture the show through the eyes of a child. In an age where what and "who" constitutes "media" is evolving, websites and YouTube Channels are helping drive the age of reporters to a much younger level, as a new generation of auto lovers prepares to take the torch and run with it into the future - a concept that might even be threatening for some.* Here's a look at Addie's photos, along with some Rock Father Picks for family activities at this year's Chicago Auto Show!

The best quote I've seen from an auto exec this year? "A 12-second quarter mile, toy-hauling, three-row muscle car." Tim Kuniskis of Dodge on the 2018 Durango SRT

The 2017 Chicago Auto Show is about to kick into high-gear, and the Dodge and SRT brands are rocking the high-performance automotive world once again, bringing a huge burst of American power, acceleration and best-in-class tow capability to the three-row SUV segment with the new 2018 Dodge Durango SRT  (the fastest SUV in its class). Debuting in Chicago this week, the Durango will make its way into dealerships later this year. Now, check out this burnout!