Let’s Go Music Fest Continues Tradition as one of the Best Under-the-Radar Festivals

Let’s Go Music Fest took on another year at the Anne Arundel County Fairgrounds this June 5-6. In what was the sixth iteration of the festival, the lineup and fans brought a diverse range of music and vitality to the fairgrounds. This year with a bit more of a genre mix then the previously rock heavy audience. Without question an independent festival of this size always impresses with its ability to bring in such big names to what might not be considered your typical location.

Each year opens with the incredible kids of the local School of Rock. A tradition of the festival that shows off the local up and coming talented youth musicians. Each year you get a new variety of songs, but my favorite bit of their performance is always the dedication to a Paramore song each set. This year’s choice… Ignorance. They absolutely crushed it and I always enjoy seeing who might be the next big thing in music. A lot of talent throughout their two days of opening performances.

As for the continuation of day one. Doll Apartments took the first set of the main stage. Hailing from Suburbs of Rockville, MD. Most bands were called upon directly for the festival, but Doll Apartments had to get here via a different route. Battle of the Bands! Now, this was more a social media competition than a direct performance battle but they pulled together a solid audience. The self described dirtbag midwest emo band is young and eager to bring the energy to the stage. I’d be excited to see where they end up next.

A special part of the fest is the non stop action. It takes you two sets to realize that. The two sets take place at stages in earshot of each other, but no two bands play at once. Rather it is nonstop action as one band plays, the other sets up and will begin within moments of the previous band ending. The result is an unmatched endless music atmosphere. Attendees roam back and forth for artists big and small throughout the day, giving at minimum a fair crowd for everyone involved.

Now would it really be a festival without a hiccup or two? Well, for day one that was a late announcement that, due to the unfortunate circumstances, Joe P would be unable to perform. With just minimal notice, Telescreens were able to fill in and try their hand at Let’s Go. The synth rock band with a George Orwell inspired name is best known for their song “Phone Booth.” However they too just released a new album “Why The Lights Flicker” which is already pulling in new fans from all over the world. As for their set, it was incredible that the festival could get so lucky booking a band to come out with as much hype and intensity as Telescreens has. While the visuals were more stripped down (possibly due to how late this set came to be), the band was still incredibly eye-catching and polished. I would love to see what sort of work they put together on a full tour.

My personal favorite set of the day was Fitz and The Tantrums who brought the energy and the funk to the stage. Going into the set I knew I had some knowledge of their music but I had never seen the band in person. The frontman known as Fitz brought a lot of energy but it was Noelle Scaggs who is co-lead vocals that caught my attention with some outstanding dancing alongside the duo’s fantastic vocals. “The Tantrums” certainly didn’t spirit themselves. Of course with songs like “Out of my League” and “The Walker” were among crowd favorites. The loudest moment of the whole first day had to be just the catchy rhythmic sequence during “HandClap.” Alongside bright colorful visuals and some beautiful lighting, it was truly a cannot miss performance.

The finale of day one was no shock, the most anticipated performance with the iconic Sublime taking the stage. The original members of Bud Gaugh and Eric Wilson continue to set an incredible standard as the band takes on classics like “Santeria” and “What I Got.” Of course the band now has Jakob Nowell, son of the late Bradley Nowell (original Sublime frontman), has done an absolutely exceptional job keeping the sensational sound of the band moving forward. As is the standard, the performance included psychedelic visuals and a couple of massive inflatable dogs to round out the set design. The band has a new album out, the first and possible only, post Bradley’s passing. It was a momentous night with the upcoming release and fans lined across the barricade to scream alongside their long time favorite band.

After a trip home, and a night of good sleep, the crowd returned for Saturday’s new look lineup. In past years, Let’s Go has held pretty tightly on to the rock/alt genre, with few outliers, but this year two headlining artists AJR and Natasha Bedingfield sprinkled in a mixture of pop on the day. Before all of that got started however, we still had a few more indie/rock artists to take the stage.

As is tradition, the School of Rock kids returned to the stage to open the day and was just as exceptional as the prior day. One of my favorite smaller acts at the festival was Cinema Hearts (amazing name) who took the stage in incredibly designed white and red jerseys with Washington Nationals hats to match the color combo. Which could lead to no surprise that the DMV based band is a name inspired by the Cinema Arts Theatre in Fairfax, where the lead singer used to work. They recently have seen some success with “Your Ideal,” and the stage presence is very much appealing to the crowd. I am most interested in hearing upcoming releases and seeing how they plan to follow up what has been a hot year of music so far.

Last night, before leaving the festival, another photographer told me if there was one thing I needed to do it was to listen to Edgehill on the 45 minute car ride back home. I did just that and it put them as one of the most anticipated performances for the second day of the festival. Personally, I was grabbed in by their song “Love To Go,” which was an immediate favorite when I saw it live as well. I was also extremely impressed with the vocal control from vocalist Chris Kelly. Their album Ode to the Greyhouse just released in February and I would 100% recommend finding a moment to see them live as they continue on tour this coming fall.

Remember how I said, “Now would it really be a festival without a hiccup or two?” Well day two had a storm delay that luckily didn’t last too long but did result in the cancellation of a performance from Valley. Hopefully, we find an opportunity to have them return in the near future.

Natasha Bedingfield would have a slight delay starting her set due to the aforementioned storm. However, a double rainbow and well controlled but efficient reentry of the fans allowed for another much anticipated pop performance of the ages. When it comes to Natasha you simply can’t go wrong weather wise. “Pocket Full of Sunshine” is incredible on brand when it comes to a post storm sky. “These Words” will forever remain among the 2000s cult classics. Truly it is not a thorough set without the loudest sung song of the weekend “Unwritten.” This is my second time seeing her perform in the last year and I must say the audience participation levels when it comes to shouting, “FEEL THE RAIN ON YOUR SKIN” is unrivaled. It is by and large a festival favorite and will always gather a crowd to her sets for as long as she is willing to perform. That being said, rumor has it Natasha is working on some new music which I cannot wait to hear once it is released.

And now…the moment you’ve all been waiting for… AJR! The crowd for AJR was lined up at the barricade well into the start of the day. Several fans I made friends with as I watched them grind out a hot Saturday afternoon waiting for their favorite band. When the delay occurred I was worried they would lose their spot amongst the crowd but to my surprise practically everyone on the barricade prestorm was still there as the “OK Overture” began. AJR is known for their visuals and let me tell you that it did not disappoint from the jump.

The face that pops off the screen is visually stunning and one of my favorite things I’ve seen to introduce a band. What I did learn however was that AJR is actually “JR” as of now for live shows. Adam (the A in AJR) is dedicating more of his time to climate efforts and his book Amplify. That was a little disappointing but Jack and Ryan gave their full energy for the entirety of the set. Plus an additional touring member, Arnetta Johnson, might be one of the coolest trumpet/horn players I have ever seen. She was matching every bit of theatrics brought to the table (especially with Jack). As for myself, I was most excited for “Steve’s Going to London” and “Way Less Sad.” Performance to which I was left smiling ear to ear.

However, if there was one moment I wanted to leave the set with, it would be the absolutely adorable and thoughtful game of Rock Paper Scissors that was played between a recent graduate and Jack, in a game of cap for cap. That student was successful in the endeavors and was able to secure the coveted trapper hat Jack wears for his performances. Leaving me with one final question, how many of those hats do you think he has!?

As the festival wrapped, I once again left feeling that this is truly one of the most incredible festivals you can attend. That is because of its uniqueness, especially this year. It is unusual that a festival of this size is able to not only bring in such big name acts from multiple genres, but also maintain (and even grow) throughout the many years it has run so far. I really look forward to Let’s Go every single year, and I hope it continues its success in 2027! Speaking of that, you can secure very cost friendly tickets to next year’s festival right now if you want to go purely on vibes. Although the lineup won’t be announced for a while, I can promise based on prior years, the festival will be sure to bring in at least a few favorites for everyone interested in live music.

You can get tickets here. Seriously if you are in the area and like live music, they are so incredibly affordable at this time, I struggle to see why you wouldn’t want a weekend of fun for under $100.