ALL THINGS GO DC… A Wonderful Day and a Glorious Way to End
BY LIZ BAUMMERThe last day is always bittersweet, I would argue even more so now that it is three days. Last year there was just the first and the last, now with three days there is also a middle and somehow that makes it harder for it to come to an end. Although if I’m being honest, I’m not sure we could have gone for much longer than three days… four max… at some point you do have to sleep. Even though all good things must come to an end, at least Day 3 was without a doubt as glorious of an end as it could be : )
When I say there is so much to say about day 3, that is an understatement. While I could never choose a favorite day (feels like choosing a favorite child lol), day 3 was special…
The day started off a little chaotic with gates opening at 11:30 instead of 11:00. I’m not exactly sure why this was, but I heard soundcheck may have run a bit late (maybe that’s the reason, maybe it’s not *shrugs* unconfirmed). However, if one thing is true, it is that the staff at Merriweather are superb at their job. With sets now starting just 30 minutes after doors opened, fans were lined up all the way down the street from the venue. The Merriweather staff were incredible at safely and efficiently getting the fans inside so that they were prepared for the first artists to take the stage. I’ll touch more on it in my overall weekend article coming later, but the staff at Merriweather is without a doubt one of the reasons we get to have as much fun as we do all weekend. They deserve our endless thanks.
Once again, the day began with one of my most anticipated artists on the lineup. Out Jamz and I have both championed Molly Grace’s music as she continues to rise. I have been saying, ever since I covered her earlier this year, that she was the perfect fit for the All Things Go lineup. When I tell you I screamed when the lineup was announced, I did indeed very much scream. Plus I love that ATG listens to what fans want. Molly Grace mentioned that she wanted to play ATG while playing The Atlantis in DC earlier this year and fans have also been mentioning her name in the conversation around the lineup. ATG regularly books artists that express interest in playing the festival and artists that fans say they want to see one the lineup. I believe there has already been a survey for 2026 floating around… LET YOUR VOICES BE HEARD PEOPLE!!! Also I’ve got a few ideas so keep your eyes out for articles to come about some up and coming artists I think should join the 2026 roster.
After photographing Molly Grace, we learned that there would be a shift in schedule as Lola Young was no longer playing. We are sending her all of our love and support and are so glad that she made the choice to prioritize herself. No commitment is ever worth your health, and we will be excited to champion her when she decides to return to the spotlight in whatever capacity is best for her. The other change that came with this schedule change was that Role Model moved from the Chrysalis to the Pavilion to adjust the schedule. The All Things Go team was great about communicating these changes. Very soon after news broke that Lola Young would not be playing, ATG put out an adjusted schedule and pivoted accordingly. The team even did their best to get fans who were barricade for Role Model at the Chrysalis over to the pit in the Pavilion so that they did not miss out.
There were several artists on the Sunday lineup who had been on my concert wishlist for quite a while. Particularly: Ashe, Maude Latour, Rachel Chinouriri, and Griff. All of them were amazing and blew me away. Ashe’s music has been on repeat for me for a long time, and her stage presence was just as effortless as I expected it to be. Plus, I got to make friends with a group of her fans on the barricade who had made sashes for their group. When I was walking to the other stage, I looked up at the screen to see that Ashe had put on one of their sashes. I was so happy for them, and I hope that moment was everything they wanted it to be and more. Maude Latour was just as energetic and chaotic (the really cool and fun kind) as I expected her to be. She was so fun to photograph, and she is absolutely so cool. One of my favorite photo galleries from the whole weekend came from Rachel Chinouriri’s set. She has so much raw emotion and performs with such power. She also has one of my favorite moments of the weekend where her mic stand broke on stage, and she threw the pole before declaring that she needed a new mic stand. I was laughing so hard in the photo pit as it happened. Honestly, ICONIC. I missed Griff when she played at 9:30 Club last tour, so I was psyched to catch this time around. Her voice is angelic, and I loved her choice of outfit. Not only did the long, flowy dress photograph beautifully, but her spinning around in it onstage really fit the vibe of her music.
At this point we were almost halfway through the day, and the energy was still going strong. The Pavilion pit was packed and ready to go as Role Model took the stage. It was so fun to talk to the fans about who they thought Sally was going to be (plot twist it was Griff!!!!). While I had previously heard bits of pieces of Role Model’s music, this performance really turned me into a fan. I love the amount of energy he brought to the stage. It was clear he was having fun which I firmly believe means the fans also have more fun. He’s also quite funny, often telling little white lies for the plot and perpetually committing to the bit. On top of that, I’ve learned in the time since ATG that his fanbase is full of wild and hilarious inside jokes that range from small and innocent to absolutely absurd (even after research, there’s still a few jokes I can’t seem to decipher lol). His fanbase is definitely a fun place to be lol. As I said before, Griff was the iconic Sally for the night. She actually covered Sally, When The Wine Runs Out when she was opening for Gracie Abrams, and I feel like that has to be some form of manifestation.
Doechii played the Pavilion after Role Model. Originally scheduled to close out the Chrysalis, DJO and Doechii were switched in the week leading up to the festival, and I think it was a great choice. Not only does the Pavilion accommodate more people, it has a higher stage. With Doechii’s raised lift as part of her production design, this put her significantly above the crowd which created a stunning visual. The Chrysalis stage is slightly lower, and while she would look incredible no matter where she played, I personally liked that the higher stage put her higher above the crowd at the Pavilion. Doechii’s set was legendary. I have never heard such loud bass in a set before. Unfortunately, I was not able to stay and watch the entire set from the crowd as I was in the media tent working; however, I saw videos of the crowd… INSANE! I am so jealous of anyone who got to dance to Alter Ego in that pit. That looked like one of the most fun concert experiences I have witnessed.
The last act at the Chrysalis was DJO. Fans were so incredibly excited for this set. There were so many super fun signs along the barricade and in the audience. The fans were also super sweet, and I had a great time connecting with some of them while we waited for DJO to take the stage. I really enjoyed how DJO’s vibe matched the Chrysalis. As I’ve spoken about before at length, the Chrysalis at night is a special place. DJO had lots of dramatic lighting options that read really well inside the dome of the Chrysalis. I particularly liked his heavy backlighting and the lighting choices to highlight his hands during numerous parts of the set. The fans were also super fun to photograph as their enthusiasm was contagious.
The final act of the whole weekend was our hail mary prediction in our original lineup article… Kesha. I was so hopeful she would be on the lineup, but I thought it was like wishing on a stage. And we got a special guest: Governor Wes Moore came out to talk about keeping Maryland a safe space for everyone, and then introduced Kesha! I grew up on Kesha’s music. Tik Tok was the first radio song I remember learning the lyrics to - taught to me by a friend in 5th grade art class lol. So when Kesha opened her set with Tik Tok, I may or may not have shed a few tears. I loved her showmanship throughout her entire set. She carried around a replica of her head for the beginning of the set to honor her old self. Her acknowledgement of who she is becoming while honoring who she was is something I think we can all learn from. Kesha has been through a lot of hard things, and I am so glad to see her coming back and reclaiming her power. She even talked about reproducing some of her old music so she could play it for fans again. She was also joined on stage by some incredibly talented dancers who added significantly to the storylines, visual impact, and showmanship of performance. Above all, Kesha’s performance made me happy. I know it sounds basic, but in the most straightforward way, I couldn’t contain the joy I felt for her, for younger me, for current me, for the fans. To see her reclaiming her music and getting to do what she loves after all these years. To know the younger me singing Tik Tok in art class had no idea what she would eventually do. To know that current me should be proud of herself for all that she was accomplishing even when it is hard. To see the fans having the time of their lives together at the last set of the last day. To know that this was the best ending to the best weekend. Kesha reminded me exactly what pure joy felt like.
And just like that, a whirlwind 72 hours came to a close just like that. It’s hard to imagine that something you’ve worked on for so long just abruptly comes to a halt (time to start planning for 2026 lol). But this weekend was worth every second of effort and energy that was put in. I am always, without a doubt blown away by how wonderful an ATG weekend can be. Keep an eye out for a full weekend recap that covers more outside of the music to come soon! Plus we’ll be doing some expanded galleries where you can see more content from different performances throughout the weekend!
