All Things Go, an independent US festival renowned for its female-dominated lineups, has shared details of a second 2024 event.

The Washington DC-based festival will also take place in New York City this autumn, with headliners Reneé Rapp, Janelle Monáe, Chappell Roan, MUNA, Ethel Cain and Julien Baker.

The inaugural event will take place at the 13,000-capacity Forest Hills Stadium on 28 and 29 September – the same weekend as its DC counterpart.

Holly Humberstone, Samia, Del Water Gap, Soccer Mommy, Coco & Clair Clair, Mannequin Pussy, Indigo DeSouza, Towa Bird and Annie DiRusso will also perform at the NY debut.

The inaugural event will take place at the 13,000-capacity Forest Hills Stadium on 28 and 29 September

Meanwhile, the All Things Go flagship festival (cap. 40,000) will return to DC’s Merriweather Post Pavilion for a 10th edition, which is sold out for a third consecutive year.

Maren Morris, Remi Wolf, Laufey, Bleachers, Hozier and Conan Gray are on the bill, alongside many of the same acts as the NY edition.

All Things Go started as a blog and blossomed into a one-day festival in 2014. In 2018, singers Maggie Rogers and LPX curated an all-female ATG, solidifying the festival’s commitment to diversity.

Organisers recently spoke to IQ about how curating a diverse event has paid off, saying: “The people want it! We’ve sold out three years in a row, very fast, with a mostly female lineup. At the very least, [festivals should] book 50% female or non-binary acts — there is so much talent out there across genres. Once [festivals] prioritise inclusion [their] community will be stronger because you platform voices that usually don’t get the stage.”

All Things Go has previously hosted the likes of Billie Eilish, boygenius, Lana Del Rey, Lorde, Mitski, HAIM, Charli XCX, Lizzy McAlpine, Carly Rae Jepsen and Tove Lo.

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Independent, female-driven US festival All Things Go is set to celebrate its 10th anniversary this September, with its organisers highlighting how curating a diverse event has paid off.

Speaking with IQ, co-founders Will Suter and Stephen Vallimarescu and brand partnerships and advocacy manager Carlie Webbert discuss the evolution of the DC-based festival. Launching in 2014 as the one-day All Things Go Fall Classic, organisers began curating female-led programming to highlight festivals’ gender imbalance in 2018, with that year’s edition curated by singers Maggie Rogers and LPX.

Since then, the festival has boasted a majority of female and non-binary performers, with the 28-29 September event to be led by Laufey, Bleachers, Hozier, Reneé Rapp, Janelle Monáe, Conan Gray, and Chappell Roan. It marks the third consecutive sellout for the indie event, with 40,000 fans to attend across two days. Last year, the late-summer event expanded from one day, with the 2023 edition headlined by Lana Del Rey, Maggie Rogers, boygenius, and Carly Rae Jepsen.

Gender-balanced festival lineups are rare, with 90% of headline performers being male across 50 European festivals, according to a study by IQ and ROSTR. Across complete lineups, only 35% of artists were female and 1% were non-binary. Attendees have lovingly received the event, dubbing it “Gay-Chella,” “All Things Gay,” and “Lesbopalooza”.

“Once you prioritise inclusion, your community will be stronger because you platform voices that usually don’t get the stage,” Webbert says.

Thirty-six artists will perform across multiple stages at ATG’s Maryland amphitheatre base, its biggest edition yet, including Maren Morris, Remi Wolf, Ethel Cain, and Julien Baker. Alongside the music programming, organisers will continue their one-night panel series, the Creator Summit, bringing together leaders in music, media, activism, and technology.

Here, the All Things Go organisers answer 10 questions in celebration of its 10th anniversary.

“Music is a powerful vessel for creating change”

This year marks your 10th anniversary. How are you planning to celebrate the accomplishment this year, and what are you proud to have accomplished over the past 10 years?

Will Suter: We’re celebrating our 10-year anniversary with our biggest lineup to date! We’ll have 36 artists performing over the two days at Merriweather Post Pavilion, in addition to a few surprises along the way. We’re proud to have created a robust community of music fans who circle ATG on their calendar every year and keep coming back — in addition to the new festival fans who might be experiencing the event for the first time.

This year’s edition takes place roughly one month before the presidential election in the capital. What plans do you have to intertwine social activism within the two-day schedule?

Carlie Webbert: Music is a powerful vessel for creating change. For the past few years, we’ve worked with advocacy organisations to ensure we do our part in platforming important causes. Last year we worked with Spotify EQUAL and The Ally Coalition to create a physical activism village on site with six non-profit organisations that were set up for fans to interact with. This year we’ll be working with Propeller, Calling All Crows, Headcount, Peta, Reverb, and more to drive awareness for those organisations along with raising funds. Ultimately, the advocacy arm of the festival will continue to grow and given how engaged the fans at ATG are, we are excited to see the impact that comes from it.

The cost of two-day general admission passes started at just under $200. With the cost of living and live music rising, how could you keep ticket prices down and why is it important to your team to keep the event affordable for different budgets?

Stephen Vallimarescu: Despite costs increasing substantially over the past few years, we strive to keep ticket prices as accessible as possible — and often lower than industry averages. As an independent music festival with a thriving community, we are constantly polling fans to understand what we can do to ensure a better fan experience, which includes affordable pricing and payment plans that start around $35.

All Things Go has openly called attention to putting women and non-binary individuals on the stage, but how is the organisation supporting and engaging those groups working in roles behind the scenes?

CW: Two of our longstanding partnerships are with Women in Music and Amplify Her Voice. These collaborations help us prioritise inclusion month after month. Women in Music supports us in organising the Creator Summit, a panel series held the night before our festival. This event highlights leading women in music, media, and technology. Through our partnership with Amplify Her Voice, we launched a program last year that provided hands-on backstage experiences to over 20 young women and at last year’s festival — an incredibly impactful opportunity for seeing first-hand what happens behind the scenes.

What’s the most memorable bit of feedback you’ve received in the 10 years of programming?

WS: In 10 years of programming, every year has brought new hurdles and new opportunities. We realised a few years into the festival that we need to really listen to and trust our fans. We take our post-festival fan survey very seriously and have launched a few iterations of an ATG fan club to really connect with those fans year-round. It’s ongoing feedback, year after year, on how we can improve our lineups in addition to the overall experience at the festival from the people who are buying the tickets.

“At the very least, ensure you book 50% female or non-binary acts — there is so much talent out there across genres”

Your planning process begins before the previous year’s edition takes place. Can you speak about keeping up with trends in your lineup curation process and how you are set to deliver your biggest offering yet?

WS: The planning process never really ends for the festival. We’re constantly discovering and listening to new music from emerging artists in addition to setting calendar milestones for established artists’ album releases, shows/tours and other festival appearances. The more we’re able to consume and monitor, the better — and it feels like there is more quality across music being released and live shows performed than ever before.

How would you describe the atmosphere of the festival to those who’ve never attended?

SV: The atmosphere at All Things Go is a reflection of our vibrant community, made up of both dedicated fans and boundary-pushing artists. It’s a unique and indescribable energy that covers the festival grounds. Most artists have commented on stage about the distinctiveness of All Things Go compared to other festivals. Our fans are united by a deep love for live music and a common ethos. We stand for something meaningful, and we strive to curate a festival experience that minimises scheduling conflicts and emphasises special moments that fans will remember forever.

In 2023, you hosted the first Creator Summit and brought together voices from the entertainment, music, political, and activism realms. Are there plans to continue this event, and can you highlight any major takeaways from last year?

CW: Yes! The Creator Summit is a significant part of our festival weekend, providing festival attendees with the ability to hear impactful voices from music, media and technology. The event provides a meaningful platform for engaging dialogue for our fans.

Your lineup has been female-driven since Maggie Rogers curated an all-female festival in 2018. Many festivals are still struggling to offer a diverse and balanced bill — what do you have to say to them?

CW: I would say, “Come on! The people want it!” We’ve sold out three years in a row, very fast, with a mostly female lineup. At the very least, ensure you book 50% female or non-binary acts — there is so much talent out there across genres. Once you prioritise inclusion your community will be stronger because you platform voices that usually don’t get the stage.

Describe how you’d like to see All Things Go evolve in the next 10 years.

SV: We aim to further support the next generation of artists and fans by championing their creativity not only through our annual festival but also through our expanding digital platforms. We’re allocating more and more resources to avenues such as newsletters, podcasts, and technology-driven initiatives. Our goal is to enable our community to connect and engage with each other seamlessly, regardless of where they live and beyond the festival weekend.

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Primavera Sound has said this year’s mould-breaking, gender-balanced line-up, which included headline performances by the likes of Janelle Monáe, Miley Cyrus, Solange and Christine and the Queens, received “so much love” from fans – and proved that a 50/50 gender split on festival bills “can be done, and should be done”.

Speaking to IQ, the Barcelona festival’s head of international press, Marta Pallarès, says the decision to book an equal number of male and female acts was “not about shoehorning or quotas”, but rather a reflection of the quality of talent on offer across all genders, as well as a challenge to “classist attitudes towards who is a headliner”.

“We released our lineup in the first days of December, and as the ‘best of 2018’ lists were appeared, all the names we had booked were there,” explains Pallarès, also a spokesperson for Primavera’s ‘the New Normal’ initiative. “This wasn’t a bold move made on a whim – this is about quality and about the music we are passionate about.”

Other female talent performing at Primavera Sound 2019, which took place from 30 May to 1 June at Barcelona’s Parc del Fòrum, included Erykah Badu, FKA Twigs, Robyn, Rosalía, Liz Phair, Courtney Barnett and Charli XCX.

Initially, ticket sales were “slow but steady”, continues Pallarès, “but sales kept increasing, and on Saturday 1 June we beat our historical attendance record [63,000]. And taking a look at all the reviews of this past festival, both attendees and media professionals praised the mind-blowing shows by our female headliners…”

Male headliners, meanwhile, were Tame Impala, Interpol, Future and Latin star J Balvin.

“We need to change the ‘pale, male and stale’ paradigm”

While many other events have also signed up to the Keychange pledge to achieve gender parity by 2022, only a handful, including Primavera Sound and Iceland Airwaves, have so far hit the target. Pallarès says while it’s “not her call to say” how important that milestone is, she says it was “important to us because, although it’s only a first step, we know our position in the music business and the [role] we play as one of the main festivals in Europe. And we need to change the ‘pale, male and stale’ paradigm…”

IQ earlier this week asked several European festivals for their view on gender-equal line-ups, with bookers divided on the merits or necessity of balanced male/female bills. For example, Roskilde Festival, Tomorrowland and – interestingly – Iceland Airwaves said they don’t book based on gender, while the UK’s Bluedot said it is working towards the “new normal” of a Primavera-style gender balance.

For Primavera Sound, though, there was never any doubt, says Pallarès: “We never had any other thing in our minds but to make it happen. The ‘new normal’ would happen, because we would make it happen. We started thinking about it back in 2018, when we realised that for that edition we were already booking more female acts than ever, and that we were slowly moving towards this ‘normality’. We didn’t have a 50/50 line-up split back then, but we had as many headliners as small acts who were female, we had women on every stage and every hour, one of the main stages on Saturday was 100% female…

“So we decided to make this happen, and we worked towards it since the very beginning of the booking process for this edition. We didn’t have any alternatives in mind, and this proves that if you want to do this in 2019, it can be done. There are no excuses.”

Pallarès says the changing perception of the headliner – with festivals moving towards spreading their talent budget throughout the line-up, and focusing more on the experience (many events are getting out of the headliner “arms race” altogether, the AIF’s Paul Reed told IQ recently – made the festival’s job easier.

“A black female R&B singer deserves to be a headliner as much as a white male guitar band”

“There is as much good music made by women as that made by men nowadays, and when you understand that the concept of a headliner is not the same today as it was in 2008, it’s easier to be convinced about what you are doing,” she says. “A black female R&B singer deserves to be a headliner as much as a white male guitar band…

“Our line-up is proof that whoever says this can’t be done, they are wrong. It can be done, it can be done now, and it should be done now.”

Alongside the positive press and strong ticket sales, the reaction from fans has been equally gratifying, according to Pallarès. “We received so much love,” she says. “We had very young people telling us that they finally found a line-up that represented them, because we booked many artists who speak out regarding body positivity and gender. And obviously because we believe it has been an amazing line-up – and thousands of people seem to think that as well.”

“Gender bias is a problem that affects the entire music industry,” she concludes. “We are working really hard to achieve something similar to equality, but there is still tons of work to do. Female artists are more visible now, and I believe our work environment is better for everybody – there are more women in charge of press and marketing departments, more agents – but, especially in technical jobs and in management, it’s still tough.

“Our challenge right now is keeping up the good work. We are aware that from now on, we’ll have more eyes on us – but when you make a commitment you have to stay true to yourself, and be aware that this is not something that can be done for one edition and then be forgotten.”

Primavera Sound will return in 2020, alongside a new event in Los Angeles.

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Goldenvoice has announced the line-up for April’s Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival 2019.

Childish Gambino, Tame Impala and Ariana Grande will headline both weekends of the 125,000-capacity mega-festival, which returns to the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, on 12–14 April and 19–21 April.

Other notable performers include Janelle Monáe (pictured), the 1975, Khalid, Diplo, Weezer, Aphex Twin, Zed, Billie Eilish, Bassnectar and Christine and the Queens.

According to US gossip site TMZ (so take with a hefty pinch of salt), Kanye West pulled out at the last minute after a dispute over the size of the festival’s stages.

“It’s not the boomers’ Coachella anymore”

The 2019 line-up sees Coachella – widely regarded as marking the beginning of the international festival season – continuing the youth-focused booking philosophy demonstrated by last year’s Beyoncé-headlined event, with music industry pundit Bob Lefsetz writing in his popular Lefsetz Letter column that the bill is “an extremely accurate picture of what’s happening in music today, when it’s less about gravitas than social media presence, when the album is secondary to the single – when it’s not about history but today.”

“It’s not the boomers’ Coachella anymore, nor the Gen-Xers,” he adds.

Coachella 2019 tickets are on sale tomorrow (Friday 4 January) from Coachella.com, with single-weekend general admission passes starting at US$429.

See the full line-up below:

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