Patience paid off for Riot Fest goers after a rain delay got things off to a slow start on the final day at Douglass Park.

Around 10 a.m. Sunday, organizers announced a timing setback due to the weather, but later they decided that doors would open at 2 p.m. and salvaged most of the acts planned in a last-minute shuffle.

Crowds showed up early, with massive lines traversing Ogden Avenue and bending over to California. The first people in line ran into the park like it was a victory lap, staking a spot over at the main stages for the night’s finale acts, Mars Volta and The Cure.

Here’s a look at some of the highlights from Sunday:

L.S. Dunes

Remnants of the rain-soaked morning stuck out on the way to L.S. Dunes, with yellow caution tape blocking off heavily soaked mud pits in the pathway to the Radicals Stage. The gear and speakers on the stage itself were still covered in protective wrap.

But for L.S. Dunes vocalist Anthony Green, it was “the most beautiful day,” marking an important moment in the band’s short history. “It’s an honor to be celebrating our one-year anniversary as a band — a real band … and not just being known as some industry shills,” he said, recalling the COVID-born supergroup making its debut in this very park at the 2022 edition of Riot Fest.

A few months later, L.S. Dunes released its first album, the tongue-in-cheek “Past Lives,” hinting at the five members’ collective track record in the punk timeline (in addition to Green, who logged time in Circa Survive and Saosin, the lineup also includes members of My Chemical Romance, Thursday and Coheed and Cambria).

That album was naturally the focus of Sunday’s performance, with songs that migrated into emo, post-hardcore and good old-fashioned punk undertones. There was also a pinnacle pizza moment as a fan in the crowd handed a giant slice of pepperoni to Green, who gladly accepted. “This must be what happens when you die, a bunch of people screaming your name and handing over pizza.” — Selena Fragassi

The Black Angels

Upon gates opening after Sunday’s rain delay, The Black Angels were the first to warm up the Roots Stage. The Austin, Texas, quintet quickly ran through a litany of psych-influenced rock that was so welcoming it may have been directly responsible for bringing out the sun.

The Blacks Angels are one of those bands that fit in as well with the record store junkies as they do the biker bar regulars, drawing equal parts of both denim and leather to the main stage to hear a hallowed mix of guitar wrangling, spirited organs, hearty vocal reverb and the occasional tambourine and harmonica in a well-stitched mix. All of it ties in well to the band’s affinity for The Velvet Underground canon.

Giving good bits of their six-album catalog, the latest coming in 2022 with “Wilderness of Mirrors,” the bandmates were short on stage banter, instead keeping people in the zone with their unyielding performance that proved, once again, there’s always something for everyone at Riot Fest. — Selena Fragassi