The dark, rainy weather didn’t deter the crowds who flocked to the All Things Go Music Festival at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia this weekend. Thousands of people showed up in their best outfits and favorite artist’s merchandise and sang the weekend away with headliners Reneé Rapp, Hozier, Laufey, Bleachers and Janelle Monáe.
This year’s festival marked 10 years of All Things Go and was celebrated with a packed lineup, as well as a new festival location. Performers traveled between Columbia and Forest Hills Stadium in Queens, New York, over the weekend.
At Merriweather, festivalgoers bopped between the Chrysalis stage and the main stage under the pavilion, muddying their shoes as they trekked between the two. Seen among the crowds were sparkling outfits, flowing skirts and many, many pink cowboy hats — a nod to a star who was conspicuously absent from the concert.
While more than 30 artists performed, including Remi Wolf, Del Water Gap, Conan Gray and The Japanese House, the original lineup featured Chappell Roan, a pop star who quickly rose to stardom after performing at Coachella this spring. After the “Pink Pony Club” singer faced backlash for comments about the presidential election, she dropped out of the festival one day before it began.
Promoters worked quickly to fill Roan’s spot with indie pop band MUNA taking her hourlong slot on Sunday.
MUNA, the three-member band from Los Angeles headlined Saturday for the first day of the festival in New York and traveled to Columbia for Sunday’s lineup, where they played a cover of Roan’s song “Good Luck, Babe!”
The day Roan was scheduled to perform, hundreds of people wore the singer’s merchandise and themed outfits, including someone dressed as the Statue of Liberty — just like Roan when she performed at Governors Ball in New York in June.
“Her not being here is a bummer obviously ... [but] still dressing up and supporting her not being here, it’s an ode to her in a way.”
Megan Bosisio, attendee
At the merchandise tents, Roan’s items were on sale, along with official All Things Go merch like a baseball cap with “All Things Go Music Festival” in pink letters on camouflage print, similar to Roan’s “Midwest Princess” hat.
Despite her absence, the crowd seemed pleased. By the end of Day 2, the seats and lawn section were packed for Hozier’s performance. The rain drizzled as the night came to a close, an official end to a decades’ worth of fun at All Things Go.
This article has been updated to correct the name of Boomfy, the All Things Go mascot, in a photo caption.