WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT ALL THINGS GO
BY LIZ BAUMMERLast year I was lucky enough to secure tickets to All Things Go at Merriweather Post Pavilion. 2023 was headlined by Maggie Rogers, Lana Del Rey, and Boygenius. The lineup was stellar, but I want to talk about the overall experience. There are a number of things I want to talk about that make All Things Go special outside of the music. Who knows, maybe you’ll find my experience last year helpful in planning your weekend at this year’s festival!
Merriweather Post Pavilion Venue:
There is a lot to love about Merriweather Post Pavilion in my opinion. Firstly, free parking is always a plus especially because concert tickets can be so expensive these days. Merriweather has multiple parking sectors as well as ADA parking located closest to the venue. When you purchase a ticket to a show at Merriweather, you have the option to get a free parking pass to go along with your tickets. All Things Go offers four ticket prices based on the layout of Merriweather. Attendees can buy lawn only, lawn + unassigned pavilion seat, VIP pavilion assigned seat, or super suite VIP tickets. The super suite VIP tickets allow attendees to access the unobstructed viewing balcony in Merriweather along with other benefits. While concert tickets are definitely expensive, it is nice that All Things Go offers different tickets at different price tiers. I personally purchased a lawn + unassigned pavilion seat ticket which is the second cheapest option as I wanted somewhere to sit down out of the heat or any weather (Merriweather shows are typically rain or shine, with an exception of course being lightning and severe storms). They also have tiered pricing so a certain amount of each ticket type was allotted at a “lowest price” and then each ticket type price increased as more were bought.
All Things Go has two stages, and I simply cannot pick a favorite. The Chrysalis is a large green stage set at the bottom of a hill and then The Pavilion that Merriweather typically uses for shows. For the Chrysalis all of GA is together in one pit and then there is a fenced off VIP viewing area. Then the Pavilion is where having a ticket with pavilion access allows you access to the covered pavilion. Behind the covered pavilion is a large hill that serves as the lawn where attendees with lawn tickets can watch the mainstage. One of the best things about All Things Go is that the stages are a mere 5 minute walk from each other making it easy to hop between sets and make the most out of the lineup. When there are not overlapping sets, Merriweather provides live video feed and audio from the act playing to the stage that does not have an artist on. Last year I split time between both the Chrysalis and the Pavilion. I personally am not a big fan of being in the GA pit at concerts. I am much more a hang-around-the-back-of-the-pit or sit-in-a-seat kind of person so the Pavilion was the best fit for me. I loved the live feed because I could still enjoy the Chrysalis performances without forcing myself to wade into the GA pit. One final, fun viewing option at Merriweather is the Sky Lawn. The Sky Lawn is the highest balcony of the pavilion and is open to anyone who has a ticket. It is a super awesome, high vantage point that provides a great view of the pavilion stage.
Merriweather has a lot of food options. There were the standard concessions along with other vendors that are brought in for the festival specifically. I did not get to try any of the new vendors last year due to the line length, but I’m hopeful that this year there will be even more food options which should help with the lines. Additionally, Merriweather’s policy allows attendees to bring in food in a sealed plastic bag. This helped me save money because I brought in granola bars, protein bars, and crackers to snack on between meals. Merriweather also allows you to bring in either one factory sealed water bottle or an empty reusable bottle. Last year there were two refillable water bottle stations. One of the biggest issues the festival faced last year was that lines to refill water bottles at times were over an hour long. I vaguely remember that after the festival last year, there was discussion about how this issue would be resolved for this year, so I’m interested to see the ways in which this was addressed.
Merriweather also had multiple merch spaces last year so while lines were long they were not unbearable. There are two permanent structures that sell merch on either side of the main pavilion. The one on stage right of the pavilion, near the South box office, housed most of the artist specific merch last year along with the festival pieces. The merch stand on stage left and the tent located in Boomfy’s Bazaar sold festival merch and some headliner pieces last year. Boomfy’s Bazaar was located near the North box office and held the specialty food options, merch tent, sponsor tents, photo ops, and a large grass area with picnic tables and space to put down blankets and chill. Because the venue is so compact, while you can’t see either of the stages from this area, you can still hear the music from whichever stage is being played loud and clear.
All Things Go also had a section at Merriweather where attendees could sign up and support causes important to them including registering to vote through HeadCount and supporting feminist movements through Calling All Crows. Attendees were also able to assemble care packages for LGBTQ+ youth and the festival supplied attendees with Narcan, a nasal spray that can counter the effects of opioid overdose, which is an incredible tool to support harm reduction. I really enjoy being able to support festivals and events that give back to the community and support causes that are important.
The Boomfy’s Bestie Upgrade:
I personally bought the Boomfy’s Besties package ticket upgrade, and I believe it was 100% worth it. Boomfy’s Besties last year had a number of perks. The first perk, and arguably the most impactful, was early and expedited access to the festival. Bestie’s could enter the festival an hour earlier than everyone else, and use the same fast entry lane as VIP to enter so lines were shorter. For me this was perfect because I did not want to queue early, and I was able to secure a good seat in the pavilion before GA arrived. Plus I was able to get in early to merch shop which allowed me to secure some headliner merch for my younger cousin before they sold out.
My other favorite perk of being a Boomfy’s Bestie was the ability to access a special early presale for the 2024 festival. This presale was before the lineup for release but for many people this was not a deal breaker. All Things Go consistently delivers stellar lineups so I was not worried about buying tickets before the lineup was announced.
Boomfy’s Besties also received exclusive merch including a commemorative lineup card, friendship bracelets, and stickers. In addition to the merch they were sent, Besties received early access to online merch shopping guaranteeing that they were able to secure the merch they wanted without having to buy it and carrying it around the festival. I personally did this, and it made festivals days so much less stressful as I did not have to carry around multiple festival t-shirts since I had already bought them online.
This year, 2024, Boomfy’s Besties comes with stickers, pins, a keychain, a festival poster, and an adorable tote bag. Besties will also get early access to the venue (9:45am while GA gets in at 10:30am) and use of the fast lane for entry. There is also a Besties photo op before the festival starts. And my favorite perk… Besties will get an early presale for tickets to next year’s festival which is invaluable to secure tickets to a festival that sold out two locations in less than an hour this year. Overall, I will always recommend being a Boomfy’s Bestie if possible. I definitely think it is worth it!
A Bonus: The Creators Summit!
Last year All Things Go also held a Creator Summit in DC where festival attendees could listen to panelists talk about the music industry and different causes All Things Go supports. This took place in DC the Friday night before the festival. This was 100% free and simply required an RSVP to attend although there was a cap on the number of people they could accommodate. The panels includes leaders across music, media, and politics. We got to hear from Amplify Her Voice founder Kristina London about why female representation in the music industry is so important. Edith Victoria, of Meet Me At The Altar, talked about representation in the music industry and why she was excited to be playing All Things Go. Maxwell Frost, United States Representative from Florida, also joined the discussion to talk about music as a force for social change.
I also found that the event was a great place to meet other festival goers, especially as someone who was attending alone last year. It was so much fun to make friends and hear from industry professionals. Plus they brought festival merch for people to buy if they wanted to get theirs to wear to the festival or hadn’t been able to order what they wanted online. Overall, while the Creator Summit isn’t happening this year, I think it was a fun and informative addition to last year’s agenda. I’m hoping to see it come back again in the future!
