5 Best Sets From All Things Go NYC Festival: Review

I'll be honest: before All Things Go, Holly Humberstone was merely a name I had seen on tour announcements for Olivia Rodrigo , girl in red, and Taylor Swift. I was keen on checking out her set on Saturday because I wasn't familiar with her game—and I'm so glad I did. The England-born singer-songwriter has an effortless, cool-girl stage presence; The six strings on her back aren't an emotional support object but an essential part of her story. Her breathy vocals carry well over an acoustic guitar or synth-heavy track while tracks like "Dive" and "Ghost Me" prove that her writing is equally somber and quick-witted. A highlight of Holly's set was a surprise performance of "Into Your Room" with MUNA's Katie Gavin, but what ultimately reeled me in was her emotional rendition of "Elvis Impersonators," a sweet track dedicated to her sister who lives halfway across the world in Tokyo. I firmly believe the best way to discover new talent is by attending a live show, and Holly is a prime example; I left that performance a fan, immediately adding her music to my library.

— SO

Sunday's nonstop light rain perfectly complemented Julien Baker's heartfelt performance of 12 of her most memorable songs spanning across her decade-long career, many with new arrangements. Everyone in the audience stood in awed silence as Julien belted lyrics like, "Maybe it's all gonna turn out alright / And I know that it's not, but I have to believe that it is / I have to believe that it is." In fact, with Julien dressed all in black like a priest, it felt almost like attending a church service. Which isn't to say the entire hour was serious. In between sets, Julien chatted and joked with the crowd, halting an attempt at "Happy Birthday"—it was her 29th—with a guitar riff and a short rant about hating her birthday. Spotted in the audience: the other two-thirds of boygenius, Lucy Dacus and Phoebe Bridgers , who Julien allowed to give her a birthday cake backstage .

— Erika W. Smith , senior editor

ATG marked my third time seeing Reneé live, and I'm just going to say it: She gets better every. Single. Time. As "Talk Too Much" opened her headlining set, the Snow Angel singer emerged through Forest Hills' crowd in brat-approved sunglasses and a baggy black co-ord set, complete with dazzling silver chains. I already knew Reneé's All Things Go performance was going to be one of her best as she broke into her Mean Girls knockout, "Not My Fault," shook ass to her melodically chill ballad, "Willow," with her guitarist Ari, and fed into fans' crowd-chants during the deep cuts. She introduced her tourmate-turned-girlfriend, Towa Bird, as the "love of my life" and continued their tradition of performing "Tummy Hurts" together. Once they shared a kiss on stage, the crowd erupted in ear-piercing screams (the only correct reaction to queer joy, really). She then took us to church during "In the Kitchen" and closed things out with "Snow Angel," complete with women and non-binary performers from the Resistance Revival Chorus. The high-energy moments met with Reneé's charisma carried the entire set, but let's get one thing straight: This woman is a VOCALIST, and she'll never let you forget it.

— SO

Please—I Beg You—Stop Calling It a "Lesbian Renaissance"

This closing set was the PERFECT way to end the festival. The costume changes! The audience participation! The brass band! Janelle's performance was a party the whole way through, from the moment they walked onstage in a Midsommar-esque floral ensemble and sang "Float." One highlight was a performance of the eating-out anthem " Pynk ," complete with the pussy pants and hats from the music video. Another was a sexy performance of "Yoga," in which Janelle directed the cameraman to get a close-up of their ass and flashed their nipple at the line, "You cannot police me, so get off my areola." The theme of the night was queer joy, with Janelle proclaiming us all "free-ass motherfuckers," shouting out the "weird kids," and talking about how glad they are to be family with the LGBTQ+ community. They also thanked the audience for standing up against Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, and anti-Blackness; for Gaza; and for reproductive rights. As Sam Olson put it as we left the venue, lives were changed. Ours.

— EWS

After MUNA's set on Saturday night, almost every single person I talked to raved about how amazing they are. This was actually my *FIFTH* time seeing MUNA, and I have to say this was the best live performance I've seen from them yet. There was plenty of silly fun, like an opening animation proclaiming this "LESBOPALOOZA" and a "new song" that was really a cover of Vanessa Carlton's "A Thousand Miles." There was plenty of sex appeal, with lead singer Katie Gavin's wardrobe malfunction-risking, high-cut bodysuit and plenty of dirty dancing on stage. And throughout it all, there was an earnest, heartfelt call for a better world. Before a cover of "Good Luck, Babe!" (with Naomi McPherson raising "masc soprano awareness"), Katie talked about how fans have allowed MUNA to grow as a queer band over the course of their career and said she hopes that Chappell is given the same grace. Later, Katie introduced the song "I Know A Place" with a moving two-minute long speech about "believing in the capacity to dream of a better world that doesn't exist yet" and called for abolition, disarmament, and a free Palestine. Oh, and Lucy Dacus was a surprise guest for the last song, "Silk Chiffon." New York, we won.

— EWS

When MUNA refers to themselves as "The Greatest Band in the World," they mean it. I'd only seen them once before their All Things Go set—at Madison Square Garden's MUNA-genius show the year prior—and knew I was in for a treat. But what I didn't know pre-Lesbopalooza was it would become one of my favorite live shows of all time (a stacked statement, considering the number of shows I attend). Every detail was carefully curated as all the hallmarks of a MUNA show were present at All Things Go. The outright horniness of "No Idea" fed the crowd of queer hotties, they were joined by surprise guest Lucy Dacus for "Silk Chiffon," Stacy the inflatable horse made her triumphant return to the stage, and Naomi McPherson ran a bit that they wrote Vanessa Carlton's "A Thousand Miles" before the audience joined in for a massive singalong. The lovable unseriousness of MUNA was also met with sincerity as they shared a heartfelt moment in honor of Chappell Roan and gave emotional speeches that called out our current political climate. During a stunning performance of "I Know a Place," I took everything in and looked at the folks around me: chosen families singing at the top of their lungs, strangers sharing warm embraces, and couples having main-character moments with slow dances. Without a doubt, this became a core memory for everyone involved.

— SO