It happened right on cue. As The Beaches launched into "Lesbian of the Year" on the opening afternoon of All Things Go Toronto, a rainbow stretched across the sky above the RBC Amphitheatre. It was the first weekend of Pride, and for a few minutes, the timing felt less like a coincidence and more like the festival announcing exactly what it was about.
That sense of community carried through the entire weekend. All Things Go has built its reputation on centering women and queer artists, and at its second Toronto edition, the lineup made that mission obvious.
“Without a doubt, the coolest festival in North America,” says Lorde.
All Things Go started in Washington, D.C. as a direct answer to how few women and gender-diverse artists were getting booked on major festival lineups. Years later, it's grown into something closer to a movement than a one-off event, and the expansion into Toronto's second year confirmed the format works outside its home city. The bill was almost entirely female-fronted, the single-stage setup meant nobody had to choose between overlapping sets, and the crowd, made up largely of women, non-binary, and queer fans, treated the whole thing like a reunion rather than a typical day out.
The venue itself helped. RBC Amphitheatre sits right on Lake Ontario with the CN Tower in view, and between sets, fans wandered between the lawn, an array of food trucks, friendship bracelet tables, and photo booths instead of rushing to catch a competing act somewhere else.
The day built steadily, opening with rising names like Bella Kay and Sofia Camara before Holly Humberstone and Rachel Chinouriri took over. But the crowd jumped a level when The Beaches walked out. As a Toronto band playing in front of their hometown, they barely got a sentence out before the audience drowned them out with cheers, and that's the set the rainbow chose to show up for.
Kesha closed the night, and the energy never came down. From the first lines of "TiK ToK," the lawn turned into one continuous singalong that held through her newer material and a costume change into red latex. It was a theatrical performance that transfixed the crowd.
Sunday moved through genres fast, Flower Face's folk, Momma's indie rock guitar work, and Wet Leg's deadpan pop, before the night handed itself fully over to Lorde. She opened with "Royals," mixed in songs from her newer, more introspective work, and at one point left the stage entirely to walk through the crowd during "Ribs," singing among the people who'd been singing along all weekend!
Before that, between songs, she told the audience plainly that this was her favorite festival to play. Coming from an artist of her caliber, in a venue built specifically to spotlight people who don't always get the biggest stage, that line seemed cement All Things Go’s mission and vision.
By the time the lights came up Sunday night, the rainbow from two days earlier didn't feel like a one-off. It felt like the entire weekend had been building toward proving the same point: when you build a festival around the people who can usually be an afterthought, you don't lose anything. You just get a better festival.