Baking in the morning yet shivering in the evening, the attendees of New York City’s All Things Go waved goodbye to summer in a mellow, seasonally-appropriate way. The festival, held at Queens’ Forest Hills Stadium, varied in energy throughout the weekend. Friday started off with a strong series of synth pop acts—reaching its peak with Djo’s electrifying, electronic and psych-rock-heavy performance—before winding down with the melodic, warm headliner, Lucy Dacus.

On Saturday evening, the stadium was packed to the brim with both excited people and explosive sets, with closers Remi Wolf and Doechii getting everyone dancing and screaming along in the rain. Sunday finally settled us down with a whole string of delightful, hypnotic sets by bands like The Last Dinner Party, The Marías, and Clairo, all before the night was abruptly cut short by neighborhood curfew rules. Now, here’s the full breakdown of my weekend at this year’s edition of All Things Go: NYC.

Friday, September 26 (Day 1)

Sarah Kinsley at All Things Go 2025 Festival by Bobby Nicholas III

Sarah Kinsley inaugurated the festival with a bright, soft rock-meets-synth pop set. The artist, still on the come-up but already with a dedicated fan base, balanced her set between crowd favorites like the dreamy rock track “The King” and the emotional guitar song “The Giver” with the debut of her latest single, “Fleeting.” This track in particular played well with the crowd, who were enraptured by the singer’s honeyed, pristine, almost operatic voice that delicately contrasts with the blaring, reverb-heavy noise of the band. Kinsley is airy, and based on “Fleeting”, she’s heading in a new and exciting direction with her music, tapping into a more 80s pop sound to write a track that’s airy, feel-good, and optimistic about the future.

rachel chinouriri at All Things Must Go 2025 Festival by Bobby Nicholas III

Rachel Chinouriri

If anyone should be bigger in pop, it should be Rachel Chinouriri! Balancing the intimacy of channeling personal reflections in some of the slower ballads with the self-aware fun and danceability of her lighter, more upbeat tracks, this singer-songwriter with a stunning and delicate voice put on a downright delightful show. Her performance of “My Everything” flaunted her soulful vocal talents, while the funny hit single “Dumb Bitch Juice” showed off the funky, sultry R&B groove of her accompanying live band. She’s an artist who isn’t afraid to discuss her own mistakes, often writing out her frustrations with love and past relationships in songs like her 2018 single “So My Darling”, but her seemingly endless outpouring of love makes her so endearing. Her message to the crowd, “Love: you can’t underspend it, but you should always overspend it!” still rings in my head, as well as her indulgent, bubbly, and free-spirited track “Can We Talk About Isaac?” that gushes about her current boyfriend and brought the whole crowd into a group dance. (She even brought out Isaac for his first-ever trip to New York! Adorable!) Chinouriri was nothing short of sweet.

DJO at All Things Go Festival 2025 photo by Bobby Nicholas III

Djo

Partly due to personal taste, I walked away from ATG on Friday thinking Djo had the strongest set of the evening. Surrounded by giant LED light boards and a thick cloud of smoke, he began his set with a synth-loaded jam session with his band that blended the 80s new wave sound of 2022’s DECIDE and the 70s psych rock groove of the latest record, The Crux. His performance focused mainly on the new album, including the zippy pop single “Basic Being Basic”, the relatively minimalistic hit “Delete Ya”, and The Beatles’-influenced whimsical piano ballad, “Charlie’s Garden.” But, the other two albums weren’t abandoned completely. From the 2019 debut Twenty Twenty, the band played the slow, dreamy rock track “Roddy”, the first single front man Joe Keery released under Djo. (I personally wished more Twenty Twenty songs were on the setlist, as I adored that funky, trippy DIY album when it came out, and tracks like “Chateau (Feel Alright)” and “Mortal Projections” would have sounded glorious under the golden sunset during his performance.) DECIDE also got some love, whether via the electrifying and effortlessly cool performance of “Half Life”, the shimmering DJ instrumental interludes, or the mystical finale of his breakout track, “End of Beginning.” But honestly, if I wanted more from the first two records, I’d just go to a proper Djo concert…Which after this weekend, I’d definitely attend!

Lucy Dacus

At first glance (and admittedly, for the first half of this performance), Lucy Dacus was not a typical headliner for a festival. Instead of being the show-stopping, final burst of energy—the “moment you’ve all been waiting for,” as the cliché goes—she just let the songs float from one to the other. With her performed a strings band, who injected a bit of Forever Is A Feeling into the rest of her setlist, giving all her music that romantic, bookish, chamber-like glean from the latest album. In typical Lucy Dacus fashion, she had a series of surprise guests to join her for a small portion of the evening, whether it was the half-dozen LGBTQ+ couples she legally married on stage, the actress and model and “Ankles” star Havana Rose Liu. She also surprised us with a gorgeous strings-based cover of Sufjan Stevens’ classic hit “Chicago”, the namesake of the festival. Dacus’ mellow, alto vocals sounded impeccable in the stadium (even if it drained all the adrenaline left in my body), and the crowd was overall enraptured by her, either passionately singing along or just leaning back, closing their eyes, and just letting the music pour over like a gentle fall breeze.

Saturday, September 27 (Day 2)

Remi Wolf at All Things Must Go 2025 Festival by Bobby Nicholas III

Remi Wolf

Aside from being a vocal talent—hitting every single belted high note and sustaining it, no matter how challenging—Remi Wolf’s stamina is out of this world. Marrying the sporty visuals from her 2024 album ‘Big Ideas’ with the location of Forest Hills Stadium (the home to the annual US Open), she and her band wore matching tennis outfits and brought giant tennis balls as part of the scene design. The fun of her look matched the absolute blast that was her performance, as she managed to run to every corner of the stage like a rocket throughout the evening. “Cinderella” came second in her set, but it absolutely set the tone for all the dancing,

chanting, and rocking out that was to come. Remi Wolf gave us a well-balanced sampling from her discography, ensuring that—between the Big Ideas staples like “Toro” and “Kangaroo”—we also got to dance along to bangers like “Disco Man”, “Liquor Store”, an outstanding cover of Rascal Flatts’ “Life Is A Highway”, and for the finale, her breakout track “Photo ID.” I’m still in shock she could get through that whole set and still have the energy to run from side-to-side screaming in a perfect belted high note, but I’m also incredibly grateful to have caught such a rowdy penultimate act.

Doechii

Doechii Sure, we ended the evening absolutely soaked by rain and set, but doing it to see Doechii perform was absolutely worth it. She is a powerhouse in rap and hip-hop: from the moment she stepped on the grassy platform to begin “Nosebleeds”, she did not stop, making sure to fill every second of her hour-long headlining performance. Joined by her bubbly and fresh DJ Miss Milan, she seamlessly ran through songs from her catalogue like “NISSAN ALTIMA”, “Persuasive”, “BOILED PEANUTS”, “Swamp Bitches”, and “Anxiety.” There were plenty moments for dancing (pretty much the entire set), and both Doechii and DJ Miss Milan had an endearing, hype, and humorous moment singing “DENIAL IS A RIVER” at the front of the stage together. After a whole day of exciting build-up, Doechii was the epic finale we all needed to kick off our Saturday nights.

Sunday, September 28 (Day 3)

blondshell at All Things Must Go 2025 Festival by Bobby Nicholas III

blondshell

Blondshell (aka Sabrina Teitelbaum) started off my final day with a rock set full of contrast: though the band was slow and relaxed—giving me an end-of-summer, slacker rock vibe from both the complex guitar riffs and slightly monotoned vocals—the front woman’s lyrics were hard-hitting and visceral. Her opening song “23’s a Baby” sound plain and simple at first, banking on the repetition of “23’s a baby / Why’d you have a baby?” in the chorus, but its nonchalant nature only makes the depicted experience of being a lost early 20-something year-old all the more frustrating and relatable at the same time. Teitelbaum balances the emotion of her rock music with her natural wit, often introducing heavy-hitters like “T&A” with joking yet slightly crude remarks about the subject matter. She was a refreshing burst of fun and messy rock in a sea of pristine pop acts.

The Last Dinner Party at All Things Must Go 2025 Festival by Bobby Nicholas III

The Last Dinner Party

The Last Dinner Party are a capital-B band, naturally coming together to put on a harmonious show. Theatrical, fun, and most importantly, confident in their own music and personal style, the British band sang a mix of songs from their debut, Prelude to Ecstasy, as well as new tracks from the forthcoming album, From The Pyre. (They performed “Count The Ways” at the festival, which has yet to be released, so fans had even more insight into the new direction for the sophomore record.) The lead vocalist Abigail Morris is a captivating watch, frolicking on stage in her lush draped fabrics as she sings in that dramatic, Kate Bush-esque, operatic voice that delightfully contrasts with the harder, rockier music the rest of the band composes. I also greatly enjoyed keyboardist Aurora Nischevci’s precious, hymn-like solo in her Albanian mother tongue, briefly but powerfully stopping the high-energy from the beginning of the set with this beautiful, celebratory moment.

The Marías

The Marías capped off their Submarine promotional tour with a hypnotic set, bathing in flashing lights, fog, a cool breeze that poured over the stadium, the final rays of the setting Sun, and the buzzing of their guitars and synths. Front woman María Zardoya commands the show with grace and charisma, leading her band’s sultry, jazz percussion-influenced, slow jam sound with her crooning, dream poppy vocals. The uber-packed audience erupted into a dance during their flowery cover of The Cardigans’ “Lovefool” (a song that propelled The Marías into online virality this past year) early in the set, and the excitement continued for the lush performance of their 2017 hit, “Only In My Dreams.” Zardoya then dedicated a portion of the evening to the Latin American fans at the show before singing her endearing ode to her Puerto Rican family, “Lejos de Ti.” For those into psychedelic pop, incredible visuals, and chill yet captivating vocals, The Marías is a knockout band to see live.

Clairo at All Things Must Go 2025 Festival by Bobby Nicholas III

Clairo

It’s sad that, at least according to the artist, no one contacted Clairo’s team about the strict noise curfew policy Forest Hill Stadium enforces after 10 pm. Yet, while she couldn’t have finished the set she planned for her first-ever festival headline performance, as the stadium cut her mic off mid-“Juna”, I think it’s more important to focus on the wonderful music she played beforehand. Like Lucy Dacus, Clairo was certainly a mellow choice for a finale, but the jazz band from her 2024 record Charm spiced all her tracks up, giving the crowd many opportunities to dance along to all her hits. (All Things Go definitely has some footage of me skipping around with fellow reporters to “Amoeba” in an SD card somewhere.) The setlist included a sampling from each album and EP, even going back to the earliest days of “Flaming Hot Cheetos” and “4EVER” for the die-hard fans. And while the Charm songs were mesmerizing—the impressionistic piano solo in “Terrapin”, the bright flute section in “Thank You”, and the sunny instrumental break in “Add Up My Love” all got their well-earned raucous applause—I found myself happily surprised at all the love for Sling in this setlist. (She sang “Bambi” AND “Harbor”…what a treat!) The whole concert felt like a house party, with a whole crowd dancing and having fun in Clairo’s living room as we indulged in her gorgeous music.

Words by Victoria Borlando
All photography by Bobby Nicholas III

More info on All Things Go HERE