All Things Go: The Return of the Fall Classic Festival

Music festival season may be coming to a close, but All Things Go’s Fall Classic is about to hit the District. The third annual festival will take place tomorrow at Yards Park, featuring Empire of the Sun, Passion Pit, Christine and the Queens, and more.

“People like to go to fun outdoor events where they can eat good food, see new music [and] maybe see artists they already like,” festival co-founder Will Suter says. “We really want it to be something that the DC community gets behind. They feel like they don’t have to drive 45 minutes or an hour away.”

From its beginnings in 2014, the festival has grown at a steady pace – so much so that the festival had to relocate from Union Market to the spacious Yards Park, a venue unavailable until about six months ago.

“From a growth and technical perspective, we were definitely bursting at the seams last year [at Union Market],” Suter says. “We wanted to provide people with a larger, more spacious venue for the event this year.”

The talented minds behind the electro-pop festival have brought up-and-comers to the DC area just before their transcendence into superstardom, including Tove Lo and Kygo, to go along with widely-known acts. This year’s headliners are no exception.

“Empire of the Sun was a dream artist for us, [and] Passion Pit as well,” Suter explains. “And [beyond] that, we added in some really cool developing artists like Christine and the Queens. We definitely pride ourselves on not only having established artists, but having developing and emerging talent as well.”

A decade ago, DC locals Suter, Zach Friendly, Adrian Maseda and Stephen Vallimarescu launched All Things Go as a music blog, with the mission to discover emerging talent like Walk the Moon and Nikyee Heaton. Over time, the founders realized their blog was meant for something bigger, and the group decided to transform their passion project into a full-fledged music festival based in their hometown.

“It’s a very important music community and music scene to us,” Suter shares. “Growing up, [we went] to the Black Cat and 9:30 Club, [and] supported local artists. That’s why we chose to do it in DC. It was kind of a no brainer – DC feels like home to us.”

More than 12,000 people are expected to attend this year’s festival. Along with music, there will be live art, a photo booth and other fun attractions. Plus, the yummy food lineup is to die for, including local favorites Shake Shack and Buredo. As a bonus, food inspired by the festival acts will be served, including TaKorean’s “Empire of the Ssam” taco and Timber Pizza’s “Squash Venesso” pizza, dedicated to Slyvan Esso.

“We love food, we love music and we love our city,” Friendly says. “It’s exciting to bring all of our passions to the forefront during one event that DC continues to support so loyally.”

Doors open at 11:30 a.m., and the main event starts at 12 p.m. Both general admission and VIP tickets are still available for purchase, starting at $75.

The Yards Park: 355 Water St. SE, DC; www.allthingsgofallclassic.com

Photo: Courtesy of All Things Go