By Adyra Fine
Never did I ever think I would spend my fifth weekend of my freshman year of college singing by myself in the pouring rain, jumping in muddy puddles alongside thousands of feet. But there I found myself at All Things Go: a weekend complete with two stages and nearly 20 artists, some of which I’d never heard of.
On Friday afternoon, I boarded the bus that I had paid too much for, trying my best to avoid using my nearly dead phone for the 2-hour ride to Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, MD. It was unlike any venue I’d ever been to, mainly because I had never attended a music festival before. It was adorned with loads of greenery, picnic tables, tents and trees that did their best to keep us safe from the rain.
When I arrived, the sun was shining and I clopped up to the already extremely long line. Waiting for them to open the gates, I had no idea what I was getting into. Being by myself, I was quite intimidated by the idea of moving stage to stage and trying to enjoy the shows while paying attention to my surroundings. Just to top off my slight anxiety, many of the artists were new to me, but with hopes that my love for other artists would introduce me to even more cool concerts, I was ready. As I stepped through the gates and saw the rolling hills, the beautiful stages and, especially, the audience demographics, I knew none of that would be a problem. Surrounding my brand new friend I had met in line, Nori Griffiths and I, were strictly the girls and the gays, as one might say, with some boyfriends tagging along.
The first act of my Friday evening was SYML. Being my first artist at my first music festival, I was introduced to the possibility that festivals could be even better than concerts, purely because you’re thrown right into the deep end of artist discovery. SYML’s sound is smooth and piano-centered, bringing me right down to Earth as he serenaded us at the tree-covered Chrysalis stage.
I’d seen Rico Nasty once before, when she opened for Kehlani in 2022, but this time I got to witness loads of millennials bopping their heads to OHFR while also looking slightly put off. Rico Nasty is not part of my everyday playlist, but getting the chance to see her live took me right back to 2020 when I would mouth the lyrics in the mirror and pretend I was the coolest teen girl the world had ever seen. Her stage presence got me on my feet immediately. It has this very attractive and accessible bounciness that can be hard to find in other rap-heavy music.
Following her was underscores, who, admittedly, was one of the only artists that I didn’t know and actually looked up before the festival. The name underscores sounded cool, so I dug a little deeper but not quite deep enough to get an idea of how fantastic her performance would end up being. She has the most unique hair with bleached streaks in the form of a pair of white headphones that give her the aura every highlight-haired girl wishes for, but aren’t quite bold enough to pull off. Her songs are upbeat and have a sound similar to Charli XCX and although her dancing was a bit awkward, it added to the intrigue.
Next, it was time for Rainbow Kitten Surprise.I promptly tramped on over from the Chrysalis stage to the main stage and set up my jacket as a blanket in the field, the closest I could get with my general admission ticket. I only knew a few songs, but every single one made me dance. Good thing I was dressed in a flowy skirt. Ela Melo, the lead singer, is quite adorable and her voice is silky smooth and super soft. The music hit especially hard because of the many flanneled-up 20 year olds who very clearly were feeling it deep in their bones. Their sound is unique but also very folk-like mixed with rock. You probably know “It’s Called: Freefall,” but if flannel, bonfires in the fall, and a bit of smooth yodelling calls your name, I’d highly suggest checking them out.
Slayyyter brought me back to the Chrysalis stage, so I snuck through the crowd to meet up with a few friends I had met before arriving. When I turned to tell my friend Alex that Slayyyter was new to me, she just told me I would have yet another favorite. If you’ve ever heard Slayyyter, you must be jealous of anyone who has had the privilege of hearing her live and you should be. Her vibe is party girl x unique pop x sexy yearning and it’s wonderfully put together in a perfect electronic-pop-freshman-year-of-college-all-the-way-through-your-20s package.
To carry on the night of yearning, I dragged my friend over to the main stage to see the primary reason why I bought my ticket in the first place, Ethel Cain. She graced us with her slightly demonic rock sound and beautiful vocals, that, full disclosure, I was honestly a bit scared of before. That was until my friend from back home in Minneapolis, directed me to listen as I hit upper body in the gym. I’ve never been more hype to lift heavy weights. Try it, and get back to me. Trust. While I have confidence that everyone who purchased the fancier ticket got to see her face better than me, at least I got to be in her presence and hear her voice in real life. Her music’s raw emotional narratives combined with the power of her voice, made me feel like I was levitating, even from at least 2 yards away.
Next up for me was Magdalena Bay at the Chrysalis stage and while I couldn’t hype myself up to squeeze through the crowd again, the view from the middle right was just as magical.Their music is strange in the best way, with Mica Tenenbaum, the vocalist using a keytar (keyboard & guitar) as she sings alongside Matthew Lewin playing other guitars, keyboards, and synthesizers. The background screen featured a wide array of videos and images, some relating to the songs and some not. At one point, as Mica (donning a flower petal arrangement around her head) sang the lyrics,“Sorry like a flower that never gets any sun, I hang my head down, let the bees do their buzz” from their song “Vampire in the Corner,” a video played behind her of people with full-face masks sitting on the ground making weird movements. That snippet of their performance sums up the fascination I developed from their show and for me, fascinating artists = 10/10 performances.
After the first full day of shows, you might assume I’d be exhausted, and you’d be correct; however, I also believe more than one thing can be true at once. Dragging my roommate to Shenkman for breakfast, I had even more excitement building up in me. I hustled to board the $80 Uber, which, luckily, I split with new friends. At that point, I knew what to expect, and for the most part, my nerves were settled. This nicely set me up to be quite content, even when it rained from noon until Zara Larsson’s set at 8:45 p.m.
When we arrived, we made a breakaway to get all the free goodies for the new girls who hadn’t been there the first day. Then, obviously, we had to take some good pre-rainfall pictures. So, after spending ample time trekking around on the hills, getting free ice cream, temporary tattoos, and fries, we made our way to see Naïka at the Chrysalis stage.
Naïka’s voice was captivating and pulled us in even from the brand trucks giving away free stuff, so I knew I had to go see who was making the cloudy day sound so sunny. Her music is a bit different from the other alternative artists who were at the festival and that felt refreshing to me. Coming from a really diverse ethnic background, she sings in both English and French and brings in a beat that you just can’t help but dance to. It’s pretty similar to Doja Cat, specifically her Planet Her album, as well as Kali Uchis. Her sound is bouncy, smooth and very magical. Her performance was also fabulous, exemplified as she danced around the stage while maintaining a beautifully steady singing. The sprinkling rain coming down did nothing to hamper my enthusiasm for this new-found wonderful artist.
We stayed put at the Chrysalis stage as the New Zealand band The Beths made their way onstage. I was first introduced to The Beths in 2021 by a girl whom I now would not even consider a friend, but I’ll still give her credit for the introduction, I guess. At this point, the rain was really coming down, but if you haven’t listened to The Beths before, grab some earbuds next time it’s raining, turn on their discography and go outside to splash in the puddles. Although looking around I didn’t see many people who knew the songs, everyone seemed to be happily bopping their heads along with the music. Being able to hear accents in songs is one of my favorite things and lead singer Elizabeth Stokes’s sweet accented voice as she sang about anything and everything about the performance was just blissful.
As the rain continued to sprinkle down, I realized that the band She & Him actually features the renowned Miss Jessica Day, aka Zooey Deschanel from one of my absolute favorite shows, New Girl! So, I skipped on over to the Pavilion main stage to see her play some tunes, including “I Thought I Saw Your Face Today,” which was the only one I actually knew… slightly. While I try not to feel lots of feelings when I get to see celebrities-I think it’s just not that big a deal; they are really just people too- it was quite exhilarating to think about the fact that I was in the same vicinity as this woman whose show carried me all through high school.
At that point, I had lost track of my buddies, since they had the tickets where they could get up close and personal to the main stage. Yet, I got as close as I could with my peasant ticket to see the great Suki Waterhouse. She wore a red fur-lined cardigan jacket as she frolicked up in front of the giant metal heart disco ball. “OMG” and “Moves” have been my personal favorites since freshman year of high school and her performance most certainly furthered my love for both, even as far as I was from the stage. During her performance I was actually wishing I had purchased the closer tickets because all I wanted to do was scream the lyrics to “Moves” alongside other people who actually knew them down in the pit. Even if I was much farther away from the graceful Waterhouse than I originally wanted,I absolutely adored her performance.
Next, I made my way back to the Chrysalis stage to see another band I actually knew (Wow! Doing better than the previous day). Del Water Gap was one of my highest anticipated performances of the weekend, even though I couldn’t help but think of that talking stage that I wish never happened during junior year of high school. Samuel Holden Jaffe was one of very few male artists featured in the lineup, and I’d say he represented his gender well, keeping the best songs coming and even coming down from the stage to dance in the rain with us. As big circle and horse balloons flew above the crowd’s heads, the sun set and the rain fell harder, the crowd was definitely not tired out yet, or maybe it was that Del Water Gap is nearly impossible to stand still to.
I was ready for MUNA, the next band on the main stage, but I realized pretty quickly that the rain had thoroughly soaked and seeped through my jacket. I again regretted not buying the closer tickets for the Pavilion stage because I was missing the warmth of body heat from being in the packed crowd. So, even though I was trying to avoid spending the big bucks on merch, I caved and bought a hoodie. It was not a regrettable purchase by any means. Once properly dressed and ready to take on the wind at the top of the hill, looking down at the main Pavilion stage, I found myself entranced by MUNA. I’m not their “Number One Fan,” but I found myself singing along to the song anyways.
Then,it was Zara Larsson’s turn, and as I looked around throughout the entire day, I could tell a number of the people had bought tickets to the festival, specifically for her set. This surprised me at first, but after witnessing her performance, I fully endorse their decision. You couldn’t keep your eyes off the stage decorated with a beautifully colorful background set and her iconic dance team. Like everyone else and their mother, I’d seen the “Lush Life” dance where she brings an audience member up to the stage, but I hadn’t yet witnessed her incredible all-women band members. I was so hyped when she played “Ain’t My Fault” and mixed it with Sexxy Red’s “Looking For the Hoes.” Even though the people around me were dancing, I felt like nobody else was as appreciative about the mash-up as I was. I couldn’t keep my phone down, because as soon as she finished one wonderful song, she would start singing yet another. I appreciate her new songs as much as the next person, but I was so excited to see that she played “Never Forget You” and “Symphony,” as well. It’s those 2016-2018 radio songs that I never thought I would have the chance to see live, but there I was. I can confidently say that she was my favorite act overall. Even as I was freezing my ass off, she transported me to the heat of Euro Summer.
Grabbing some overpriced hot cocoa for the final act of the weekend, I made my way over to The Hayley Williams Show. I honestly don’t know many of her solo songs, but she and her band grooved their way into my heart. It was harder for me to connect to any of the artists I didn’t know from so far away at the Pavilion stage, but it was cool to witness the excitement the people around me had for Williams’ performance.
Leading up to this weekend, I nearly tried to sell my tickets because of nerves I had about going alone, but I’m so glad I didn’t. This was probably the greatest introduction to the world of music festivals and I wouldn’t change it for the world. From being thrown back to middle school with Rico Nasty to being introduced to new favorites like Naïka, it delights me to say that I attended and survived All Things Go 2026.
