Iggy Pop was the shirtless, fearless, ageless icon everyone had been waiting for on Friday night.
Baring his chest and a bit of his soul, the punk godfather whipped through a 13-song greatest hits set full of timeless favorites like “The Passenger” and “Raw Power” that have been a huge part of the backbone of an event like Riot Fest. It all made you wonder why he wasn’t on the main stage, yet just grateful he was there at all.
Iggy was up against Twenty One Pilots for the Friday finale spots, and the generational clash was obvious. There were too many bare pockets at Iggy Pop to feel excusable, but the ones who did show up were all but genuflecting. Good parents had kids on their shoulders to get a proper view. Most had their smartphones up in the air to grab videos for posterity’s sake. The loud group chanting of “I Wanna Be Your Dog” over and over even felt cult-like. Whether it was your first or 12th time seeing the legend, there was a mutual respect for the person who flipped the script on punk music — and has kept things interesting for more than 60 years.
In April, Iggy Pop — the spirited stage name of Michigander James Newell Osterberg Jr. — will turn 80 years old. And while he may not be the untamed banshee he once was on stage, his approach was the same, preaching a message of living your life with unfettered abandon.
“I am not young, but once I was — and when I was a young man, I was in a band called The Stooges,” Iggy Pop said, dishing out a quick schooling on his proto-punk lineage before reaching into the archives for “1970.” It’s a song about being “young and alive,” he explained, putting umph into the song’s leading “woo!” chants. The vigor continued with the survivalist echoes of “Lust for Life,” with Iggy taking a quick crack at Trump and Putin before diving into the song that feels politically antithetical in 2026.
Iggy also took moments to make fun with the crowd, joking about needing a ride home ahead of “The Passenger” and wondering if the crowd wanted to do a group activity like a spa day or picnic or a “f—— ‘Death Trip’” to set up the rebel rant.
If his showmanship wasn’t enough, Iggy brought with him a solid backline of musicians including a three-piece horn section that added layered texture to each song, particularly the cacophony of the saxophone on “1969.” As the hourlong set wrapped, the punk stalwart bid adieu with goodbye waves and air kisses as the band played him out with “Funtime,” feeling like a directive for how to live your life.