The All Things Go festival celebrated its tenth year with performances at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Md. on Sept. 28 and 29. Concertgoers say it was an overall success.Â
Thousands of people packed into the pavilion and lawn over the two days. Adorned in glitter, flowy skirts and Doc Martens, people were ecstatic to catch a glimpse of their favorite stars. Headliners included Laufey, Bleachers, Janelle Monáe, Reneé Rapp, Conan Gray and Hozier. The performances rotated between the main stage under the pavilion and a second smaller stage known as The Chrysalis.
Fans were disappointed when headliner Chappell Roan dropped out less than 24 hours before the festival. Fans from across the country had flown to Maryland to see her. All Things Go had to act fast to find a replacement, and they delivered.Â
On day one, the background music paused and the screens all changed to an announcement that MUNA would be replacing the spot once reserved for Chappell. The audience rejoiced and speakers started blasting the band’s hit “Life’s So Fun.”Â
“I was very impressed with how fast All Things Go was able to find a replacement for Chappell Roan’s spot after she pulled out,”said University of Maryland junior criminology and psychology major Hannah Scopp. ”They did a great job at hyping up the crowd even though it was last minute.”Â
On Saturday, performances from Remi Wolf, Bleachers and Janelle Monáe brought the energy. Remi Wolf’s crowd stretched as far as the eye could see and the positive energy could be felt throughout the whole venue.Â
Jack Antanoff pumped up the crowd during the Bleachers performance by jumping on speakers, rolling on the ground and encouraging the audience to get up on each other’s shoulders. The night ended on a peaceful note with Laufey and the National Symphony Orchestra serenading the crowd into a dreamlike state.
“My favorite performance of day one was definitely Ethel Cain, seeing her that close up at the Chrysalis was life changing,” said senior psychology major Tori Paone. “Bleachers was awesome and brought so much energy,” she added.Â
Sunday’s line-up was stacked and fans prepared for a day of running back and forth between the stages. The lawn was incredibly crowded and muddy from the week’s rain which led to a slip-and-slide situation, and many white maxi skirts were covered in mud by the end of the night. But, the weather didn’t stop fans from dancing the night away.Â
“My favorite performance was ReneĂ© Rapp. Her vocals are just incredible and it was the highlight of the day for me,” said junior public health science major Kousalya Gaddam.Â
Conan Gray put on a stellar performance that balanced his new era of 80s vibes and dance-worthy tunes with the tearjerkers we all know and love. Conan opened his set with “Fainted Love” off of his latest album “Found Heaven” and the crowd went wild. Of course, no Conan show is complete without the fan favorite song “Heather.”
“His stage presence was unbeatable, his outfits were amazing and he captured my attention the entire time even though I wasn’t familiar with all of his songs,” said junior criminal justice and communications major Lindsay Fisher. “I was left in utter awe.”Â
Hozier concluded the festival on Sunday night and was the perfect ending to the weekend. The audience sang along to hits such as “Too Sweet” and “Take me to Church.” Even though everyone was muddy and tired, nobody dared to leave before Hozier had sung the very last note of the night.
All Things Go is set to return to Maryland in the fall of 2025, but until then we will just have to watch all of our videos from the weekend on repeat.