What started as a music blog in 2006, All Things Go Music Festival eventually grew into an important inclusive space for indie music. The festival returns this year with even more music, and a third new location in Toronto.
Starting out in Washington, D.C., All Things Go Music Festival (ATG) has been expanding each year to include more artists and locations. While the festival gets bigger, the size and attendance is not comparable to those of other major music festivals — such as Coachella and Lollapalooza — primarily due to ATG being a single stage festival and having no overlapping set times.
Since it’s first all-female lineup in 2018, ATG has continued to curate a diverse list of performers. The festival has become renowned in the indie music scene and is a safe space to many — especially the LGBTQ+ community.
A timeline of All Things Go
2006: A group of friends, including Zack Friendly, Adrian Maseda, Will Suter and Stephen Vallimarescu create the All Things Go music blog. They create the blog to promote new indie, rock and electronic music, with a focus on live and local bands.
2011: Through exclusive interviews, curated playlists and a consistent, passionate voice, the blog builds a loyal and engaged online community. As the blog begins to grow, they hire more staff members and show production begins to expand.
2014: The founders of the ATG music blog launch the first annual All Things Go Fall Classic. This one-day festival takes place in Washington, D.C., with a capacity of 5,000 people.
2018: Maggie Rogers — American singer-songwriter, record producer and performer — curates an all-female lineup and headlines alongside Billie Eilish.
2024: All Things Go Music Festival expands out of Washington, D.C. to New York City.
2025: All Things Go Music Festival adds a third day to the Washington, D.C. and New York City events, and expands to Toronto.
New 2025 location: Toronto
With the steady growth of the All Things Go Music Festival, the team behind this beloved fest has added more days and locations. Just one year after the addition of the New York location, the ATG team has partnered with Live Nation Women to expand to Toronto. This is the first location outside of the United States. This two-day festival will feature 16 artists.
The All Things Go community
Music festivals and concerts are known to develop a specific audience they aim to foster. Coachella for example, is known to be mainly attended by celebrities and influencers. Since the beginning, ATG has fostered a community of women and queer individuals, and the festival continues to attract more people that inhabit these communities. ATG has gained many nicknames over the years including “Gaychella,” “Lesbopalooza” and “All Things Gay.” These are not just used by festivalgoers, but are also embraced by the performing artists and company. Last year, the band MUNA lit the stage screen with “LESBOPALOOZA” before their performance. In anticipation for this years’ festival, ATG posted a throwback of the image on their Instagram.
ATG also focuses on the inclusion of women and non-binary artists.
One band that consists of both women and non-binary artists is American indie pop band MUNA, who performed at All Things Go in 2024, 2023 and 2019. The band consists of lead singer Katie Gavin, who uses she/they pronouns; multi-instrumentalist and producer Josette Maskin, who uses she/they pronouns and recently got engaged to Kelli Caton; and multi-instrumentalist and producer Naomi McPherson, who uses they/them pronouns and identifies as non-binary. The band began in 2013 after the members met at the University of Southern California. All three members of the band identify as queer and have been featured in Gay Times, a UK-based LGBTQ+ magazine.
Performing at All Things Go Washington, D.C. and New York City this year is G Flip. The Australian singer and songwriter openly identifies as non-binary, and uses they/them pronouns. They are married to American actress and real estate agent Chrishell Stause. They released their new album “Dream Ride” on Sept. 5 and All Things Go is just one of many stops on their world tour to celebrate the new album.
Lucy Dacus is also performing at this years festival. Known more for her part in the band boygenius, Dacus also identifies as queer and is currently in a relationship with her bandmate Julien Baker, which she confirmed earlier this year after years of fan speculation. Baker performed at ATG last year and boygenius performed the year prior.
More than music
One of the most anticipated moments from last year’s All Things Go festival in Washington, D.C. and New York City was the scheduled performance by Best New Artist winner Chappell Roan. Although she had to cancel her set to prioritize her mental health, the festival’s response spoke volumes. While her absence was disappointing to many fans, it underscored the festival’s commitment to fostering an inclusive, supportive environment where individual well-being comes first. In a powerful show of community and resilience, drag queen performers stepped in to perform in Roan’s place — transforming a last-minute change into a celebration of self-expression and solidarity.
“All Things Go is more than just a festival — it’s a welcoming space where artists and fans from around the world come together to celebrate creativity, culture, and community,” the ATG site states. “We value inclusivity above all else.”
All Things Go is collaborating with current ATG acts, along with artists that previously headlined, to create a 10 Years LP. The proceeds from the LP will benefit The Ally Coalition, “supporting LGBTQ+ equality and empowering young people to take action in their local communities,” according to the All Things Go merch site.
Before partnering on the Toronto location, Live Nation Women worked with ATG New York City for the 2024 Make a Beautiful Noise Campaign. The mission of the campaign was to inspire voter engagement.
Through this campaign, Live Nation Women and ATG empowered women to “harness their collective strength through the power of their voices and their votes.”
This year’s lineup
All Things Go Washington, D.C. will take place Sept. 26 to 28, at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, MD. Among the headliners are Noah Kahan, The Marías, Lucy Dacus, Clairo, Doechii, Kesha and Djo.
All Things Go New York City will also take place Sept. 26 to 28 at Forest Hills Stadium in Queens. Headliners include Lucy Dacus, Djo, Doechii, Remi Wolf, Clairo and The Marías.
All Things Go Toronto takes place the following weekend, Oct. 4 to 5, at Budweiser Stage. Headliners of ATG in Toronto include Reneé Rapp, Kacey Musgraves, Remi Wolf and Role Model.
New music
Artists performing at All Things Go next week continue to release music ahead of the festival. On Sept. 12, Djo surprised fans by releasing “The Crux Deluxe,” just two weeks before the festival. The extension of his latest album, “The Crux” features 12 additional tracks.
Additionally, Remi Wolf released the single “Children of the Baked Potato” with co-artist Thundercat on Sept. 16.
Many of this year’s performers are featured on the All Things Go 10 Years LP.
Kesha collaborated with Orville Peck to produce the track “Tennessee,” Joy Oladokun worked with googly eyes and Allison Ponthier on “Jesus And John Wayne,” Emei worked on “Talk Talk Talk,” Maude Latour created “Green Tea (Demo),” Rachel Chinouriri collaborated with Boyish for “Home,” jasmine.4.t worked alongside Jacob Alon for “Find Ur Ppl,” Baby Nova worked with Susannah Joffe for “Funeral” and Bartees Strange created “DCWDTTY.”
Whether it was drag queens performing Chappell Roan’s set or MUNA calling the festival “LESBOPALOOZA,” All Things Go is nothing short of celebrating queer joy and creativity. All eyes are on All Things Go 2025 — and we’re ready for whatever iconic moments unfold next.
A playlist featuring one song by every artist performing at All Things Go 2025:
