Those who ever watched Full House might remember Jesse & The Rippers, the show’s fictional band led by John Stamos. Back in 2013, nearly two decades after the show concluded, Chicago’s Riot Fest claimed they’d tried to book Jesse & The Rippers for a set that never panned out. Over the next few years, Riot Fest tried to get Stamos’ attention with tributes like a bust of him made out of butter, a Stamos-themed art show, and then a life size full-body sculpture also made out of butter. Yesterday, Riot Fest’s wishes came true: Uncle Jesse took the stage.
Outside of acting, Stamos has also spent the past 40 years as an on-and-off touring member for the Beach Boys, who played Riot Fest yesterday. Stamos appeared to perform almost the entire setlist with them, but according to festival organizers, he had a few requests before the deal was done. Apparently, Stamos’ list of demands included that festival founder Riot Mike get a tattoo of him, the festival had to features a Stamos lookalike contest, a nearby pizza restaurant had to create a Greek-style pizza after him (in case you forgot he’s Greek), and “festival attendees and employees must be prohibited from making eye contact with the actor’s hair.” In a press release, Riot Fest organizers said: “Over the next few weeks in the lead up to the festival, we at Riot Fest will make every effort to complete this list of demands from Mr. John Stamos so he will be in attendance at Riot Fest 2025.”
When he took the stage with the Beach Boys, Stamos wore multiple t-shirts that Riot Fest had designed in his honor. He dedicated “Forever,” the Beach Boys song he sang on Full House, to his late costar Bob Saget and scenes from the show screened behind him. Stamos told the crowd that the years of the festival poking fun at him had been the “sweetest… most fun, kind-hearted thing that anyone’s ever done” while acknowledging it has kept him humble.
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