“All Things Go” attendees watching indie artist Lizzy McAlpine
perform on Merriweather’s Chrysalis Stage on Saturday, Sept. 30.

by Audrey Farris ‘25

The area’s biggest indie music festival, All Things Go, just got bigger. The festival took place on September 30 and October 1 at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland. This year was the first that All Things Go was a two-day festival. Featuring some of the biggest names in indie music, All Things Go was a jam-packed weekend full of beautiful weather, incredible outfits, and exhilarating live performances.

Headlining Saturday was singer/songwriter Maggie Rogers, who played alongside Carly Rae Jepsen, Mt. Joy, Lizzy McAlpine, Dayglow, and Suki Waterhouse as well as other performers. Sunday’s lineup included indie giants Lana Del Rey and Boygenius, among smaller artists like Alex G, Alvvays, Arlo Parks, and MUNA. This year hosted some of the most prominents artists in the festival’s history, competing with headliners Mitski, Lorde, and HAIM in previous years.

All Things Go, now in its ninth year, has flourished into a thriving festival. Starting in 2014 as small, intimate performances at D.C.’s Union Market, the festival has transformed into one of the leading Indie festivals, a large feat for an independently owned festival. Over 20,000 tickets sold out just hours after the general sale started in late April, with presale tickets following the same pattern a day earlier.

The most notable performance of the weekend was easily Boygenius’ set. Indie rock supergroup Boygenius, formed in 2018 by Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, and Lucy Dacus, performed almost the entirety of their two album discography, a set that mesmerized the audience with ethereal harmonies and reverberated chord progressions.

Lana Del Rey followed closely in the ranking of best performances, playing an even mix of her most popular songs and deep cuts. Del Rey’s set was purely elegant, mystical, and angelic. Some honorable mentions include sets by indie rock band Alvvays, capturing the feeling of pure nostalgia in a mix of airy guitar and a solid pedal board, and singer/songwriter Alex G, whos performance felt the most intimate and genuine of the night.

Even though the festival went smoothly, there still happened to be a few hiccups throughout the weekend that put a slight damper on the experience. Merriweather Post allows attendees to bring one empty reusable water bottle or one factory-sealed plastic water bottle. The problem is that for a festival of over 20,000 people, they only had two water filling stations with about 4 spigots at each. This led to extremely long lines to fill water bottles at the beginning of the festival, but they eventually shortened as the day went on. On the note of long lines, the bathrooms had even longer ones. In addition to the bathrooms that Merriweather Post already has, the facility had numerous portable toilets scattered throughout the festival grounds. Unfortunately, there weren’t enough bathrooms for the volume of people there and lines stayed consistently long.

Despite these minor issues, All Things Go was one of the most magical live music experiences. Thinking ahead to next year it’s exciting to think about what the possible lineup could be, considering how stacked this year’s was. If you like indie music in any capacity, you can’t miss All Things Go 2024.