All Things Go x The Ally Coalition: A Musical Match Made in Heaven
BY LIZ BAUMMERAll Things Go has launched a charity compilation ahead of the 2025 festival with 100% of the proceeds benefitting The Ally Coalition. The Ally Coalition (TAC) is one of my favorite organizations, so I was beyond thrilled when ATG announced this. TAC was founded in 2013 by Jack Antonoff, from Bleachers, and Rachel Antonoff, an esteemed fashion designer (seriously talk about one hell of a powerhouse sibling duo!!!). TAC works to better “the lives of LGBTQ youth through tours, social media campaigns and collaborative partnerships, providing meaningful support to organizations serving LGBTQ Youth.” Because of this, it should come as no surprise that TAC and ATG have built a meaningful relationship and partnership with both organizations’ strong commitment to the LGBTQ+ community. Along with their partnership with ATG, TAC has also been a fixture of outreach at many North American and European tours, engaging thousands of fans in their advocacy work. More about TAC and the incredible things they are doing for the LGBTQ+ community can be found on their website here: https://theallycoalition.org/
From TAC and ATG’s partnership, see all the details and our thoughts on the two releases that are already out below:
The first release is “Jesus and John Wayne” by googly eyes, Joy Oladokun, and Allision Ponthier. The collaboration is described in the press release as “a bold, soul-searching anthem about reclaiming faith from the grip of politics and exclusion - inspired by the NYT Bestselling novel by Kristin Kobes Du Mez. Written by googly eyes joined by Joy Oladokun and Allison Ponthier, it reimagines spirituality as a source of healing, belonging, and radical love, especially for those the church has pushed aside. The song has clearly struck a chord with listeners already, finding consistent virality on socials ahead of its hotly anticipated release.”
I personally love this song. The opening line “I loved the teachings of Jesus so much that I followed him right out the door” is the perfect hook as it is a sentiment I have seen grow in the last couple of years. The song emphasizes the intersection between the love that religion is rooted in and religion being weaponized against the very groups it is supposed to stand for, evidenced by the ending lyrics of the song “And if I had to admit, Jesus wouldn't really fit with everything you're trying to do with him”.
The song is soulful and beautiful in a heartwrenching sort of way. The guitar and soft tone to the voices while criticizing the political weaponization of religion is a juxtaposition that elevates the message of the music. The angelic voices sound pure and kind, the way religion should be, while singing about those most impure and unkind parts of religion.
Joy Oladokun is featured across all three lineups DC, NYC, and Toronto this year. Allision Ponthier was part of the DC lineup in 2024. Could this be a sign that we could see googly eyes on an ATG lineup in the future?
The second release on the charitycompilation is a collaboration between two ATG 2024 DC legends. The song by Maren Morris, who was featured on the DC 2024 lineup, is called “Welcome to the End” which is produced by Jack Antonoff, whose band Bleachers co-headlined Day 1 of ATG DC 2024. Jack Antonoff is also the co-founder of The Ally Coalition with fashion designer Rachel Antonoff.
Marren Morris shared the following about the collaboration in the press release: ““Welcome to The End” is a song about the mental sacrifices you’ll make to achieve your dream. It’s not a straight or pretty path to get there, but your own resilience can surprise you. I’m so happy we can devote its release and message to The Ally Coalition as well as my friend and collaborator, Jack Antonoff’s studio initiative to help integrate recording studios into LGBTQ+ youth shelters.”
The first thing I noticed about the song was how the music reminded me of a music box. It was almost as if there was something eerie about it with the juxtaposition of the childlike, music box elements and the heaviness of the lyrics about making sacrifices and giving up things you love in order to achieve your dreams. The song highlights the juxtaposition of feeling like you should be grateful because you have achieved what you want while your mental health degrades. This is showcased in the lyrics “It looks like you're doing great though your mental health's in flames but you love it, even at your lowest low. Yeah, this'll be a hell of a show”.
This feeling is something I’m sure most, if not all, artists (and I’m sure all people) can relate to. So often the careers we love are also the thing that drain the most from us. It’s a sentiment I hear often from other photographers as they struggle to make ends meet doing the thing they love. The song’s themes remind me a lot of experiencing burnout too. Even when you’ve gotten your dream career or opportunities you can still struggle and feel like that takes it out of you and you often can find yourself questioning just like in the song “Oh, have you forgotten
This is what you wanted?”
With two stunning releases already out, there are only more incredible things to come from TAC and ATG. Keep an eye out on socials for all the upcoming releases from this charity compilation!