All Things Go or All Things No?
Written by Taylor Gabrovic
Graphic by Rebekah Witt
Lesbopalooza, or its actual name (not the nickname coined by the band MUNA), All Things Go has become known for its female-dominated lineups and facilitating a welcoming space for those in the LGBTQIA+ community since its creation in 2014. With artists like Reneé Rapp, Julien Baker, MUNA, Remi Wolf, Ethel Cain, and more, the DC-based festival lineup was celebrated by many as the best lineup of the year across all music festivals. Tickets for the festival sold out rapidly during presale, with many tickets immediately going up on resale prices for inflated, absurd prices. The immense interest in tickets led the All Things Go team to create a second All Things Go festival held the same weekend in New York City, with some of the same artists attending both locations. The New York City festival was held at Forest Hills Stadium and featured a smaller lineup than its DC counterpart, but still had big names like Towa Bird, Holly Humberstone, Reneé Rapp, Ethel Cain, Janelle Monáe, MUNA, Julien Baker, and more. However, beyond the fantastic lineup, one must consider the hard question: were all things at the festival good to go or did some fall flat?
Of course, one cannot mention All Things Go without discussing the artist most people were most excited to see, but who had to pull out at the last minute for her mental health: Chappell Roan. Roan was slated to perform at All Things Go NYC on Saturday, September 28, and at All Things Go DC on Sunday, September 29; however, on Friday, September 27, Roan shared via social media that she had withdrawn from her performances. This unfortunate news came a few weeks after Roan canceled a few shows of her European tour leg. Ultimately, Roan’s performance in NYC was replaced by a drag performance, and her performance in DC was replaced by MUNA, who had not been included in the DC lineup. Roan’s announcement caused all sorts of responses on social media, from angry to sympathetic and from mild to extreme. However, at the DC festival, what was most common among fans was that people were disappointed to miss their favorite artist but still trotting in their Roan-inspired outfits. One specific festivalgoer wore an excellent replica of Roan’s Statue of Liberty look that she wore at the Governor’s Ball music festival back in June. However, the support for Roan among her peers at the festival was very moving, with artists like Del Water Gap and MUNA sharing their support for her and making it known that they have struggled when it comes to their mental health as performers and public individuals. There was a clear intention to support Roan and push forward a new era of artists putting their physical and mental health first, which did not feel hollow. As the crowd loudly sang along to MUNA’s cover of Roan’s “Good Luck, Babe” during Roan’s original set time, there was a beautiful peacefulness as if everybody in the whole venue came together to sing that one song.
Unfortunately, for both locations of the festival, both days were met with extreme weather. NYC faced two days of nonstop rain for the most part, while DC faced one day of humid extreme heat and the other chilly, foggy rain—the heat causing many, including me, to leave the first day early from heat sickness. However, the energy was all out for the DC festival, with people lining up in the wee hours of the early morning to get the chance at one of the festival’s barricades. The DC festival was unique to its counterpart with its two stages, whereas, at Forest Hills, every artist performed on the same stage. When speaking with festivalgoers, the most common artists people “camped” for were Ethel Cain, Reneé Rapp, Conan Gray, Maisie Peters, and Laufey.
As an attendee of the DC festival, I had the chance to see a large number of artists, including Sammy Rae and the Friends, Maisie Peters, Ethel Cain, Abby Roberts, Towa Bird, Blondshell, Soccer Mommy, Flipturn, Del Water Gap, MUNA, Maren Morris, Reneé Rapp, Conan Gray, and Hozier. One of the best things about a music festival is being able to experience the live performances of artists you may have only listened to once or twice. Hearing Sammy Rae and The Friends live was a transformative experience, and I would argue that they had one of the best performances of Day One. Another standout performance was Towa Bird, who persevered through several minutes of microphone issues to deliver a passionate show that enlivened the crowd so early in the day. Towa Bird wasn’t the only artist to face technical problems in DC; UK pop star Maisie Peters was forced to do an entirely acoustic set on Day One because of additional technical issues.
Maren Morris, who one could argue was an outlier genre-wise at the festival, delivered a fabulous set with her older country hits and her newer, more genre-fluid releases. She even surprised fans by bringing out headliner Hozier to perform her hit song, “The Bones,” with her. On the smaller Chrysalis Stage, surrounded by greenery and trees, Ethel Cain gave a beautiful performance, which many compared to “going to church.” The first artist to perform on the Pavilion Stage on Sunday was the UK’s own Abby Roberts, who has risen to fame on TikTok and opened for artists, including Halsey. It was Roberts’ first festival in the US, but it is clear she is one to watch. One of the artists I was most looking forward to was Blondshell, and she did not disappoint me. Her debut album was one of my favorites of 2023, and her performing abilities have improved even more since I saw her open for Suki Waterhouse in January of 2023. Soccer Mommy and Flipturn both delivered energetic performances that had fans raving. Another standout performance of the day came from Del Water Gap, which had energy and passion that viewers could feel at the top of the lawn. He shared with fans that this would be his last show for a while, which made it even more intimate and special.
At 5:00 PM on Sunday, fan-favorite MUNA electrified the crowd with songs like “Silk Chiffon” and a stunning cover of Vanessa Carlton’s “A Thousand Miles.” Of course, some fans were disappointed not to see Chappell Roan. Still, MUNA deeply understood and appreciated the situation and delivered a memorable performance, which was also full of inflatable horses. Conan Gray and Reneé Rapp brought in swarms of younger fans for their sets, which happened back-to-back on different stages. Gray gave an energetic performance, including songs from all three of his studio albums. Rapp brought out her significant other and fellow festival performer, Towa Bird, to perform her song “Tummy Hurts.” Last but not least was Hozier, who brought a soulful, moving performance, beginning with his song “De Selby (Part 1)” and ending with his well-known hit, “Take Me to Church.”
The DC festival's main issue is not with the lineup or performers but with the location and venue. One of the hardships with using an existing amphitheater venue instead of putting up temporary stages like some other festivals is that a good amount of view of the stage gets blocked by the amphitheater structure. All Things Go sells multiple levels of tickets, including VIP, which comes with an assigned seat in the pavilion; GA Pavilion and Lawn, which allows you to sit on the lawn or in an unassigned seat in the pavilion; and GA Lawn, which only provides access to the lawn. The two-day GA Lawn tickets ended up being approximately $300 with taxes and fees on Ticketmaster. Many fans were upset upon arriving at the festival venue, as they could barely see the screens/stage or hear the performances, even while on the lawn.
One of the most important aspects of any tour or festival these days is merchandise, which is one thing that All Things Go did fabulously. They leaned into their Gen Z and younger millennial market and produced unique merchandise. Two of the most popular items were baseball hats, one modeled after the Bass Pro Shops logo hat and the other after Chappell Roan’s popular Midwest Princess camo hat. Other merchandise featured dancing skeletons, unicorns, and the festival’s mascot, Boomfy.
Ultimately, All Things Go is breaking boundaries and records. They are bringing more women and non-men to festival lineups and creating a safe space to discuss political issues. They had an Activism Village at their DC location, which held panels on both festival days. Sunday’s panel, “Vote, Influence, Organize, Repeat,” was led by U.S. Representative Maxwell Frost, U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, indie musicians Aly and AJ, March for Our Lives Movement Leader Natalie Fall, and Sunrise Movement Leader Tori Whitlock. All Things Go in its tenth year continued to evolve, grow, and improve. Despite its faults, it stuffed tons of fabulous music into two days.