Just under a decade-and-a-half ago, New York City ended its drought of music festivals with a small one-day electronic fest on Governors Island (QRO recap). The following year, it expanded to two days mixing electronica & indie on Randall’s Island (QRO recap). The next year in expanded to three days, though one was cancelled due to torrential rain (QRO recap). Since then, it’s shifted to a decidedly more pop-friendly line-up, as well as moving to the parking lot of CitiField after COVID (QRO recap), and finally to neighboring Flushing Meadow’s Park last year. And on June 7th-9th, Friday-Sunday, Governors Ball returned to Flushing Meadow’s for another big party.
For all the aged hipsters’ complaints that Gov Ball has gone all teen pop mainstream, ’24 actually started with some good ol’ fashioned indie-rock (albeit of the more recent variety, because this ain’t a nostalgia fest…). Blondshell started with the great “Veronica Mars, 2004”, even if much of the crowd hadn’t been born then (and only know Kristen Bell from Frozen…), with singer Sabrina Mae Teitelbaum noting that she used to go to this festival, the last time wasted as hell and with mono. Arcy Drive also provided some energy early on under the sun, accessible and not relying on visuals that’d be invisible early on under the sun. Durry was shades of Kings of Leon (QRO photos at Governors Ball ’13), albeit from Minnesota and not the South. It wasn’t quite Gov Ball 2014 (QRO recap) – but also of note was being much closer to gender parity, because this also ain’t 2004…
As the first day shifted into the meat of its line-up, the artists did shift to more contemporary sounds. Qveen Herby brought gangsta rap in a goth queen package at the gopuff Stage, while later on there it was Soundcloud rap star Yung Gravy bringing rhymes the crowd knew well. Ryan Beatty was soulful & beautiful on the main stage, though everyone on that stage seemed to be sitting down, so maybe a bit too soothing if you were wilting under the heat. Goth Babe brought back some of that indie-rock to the big stage for the first show in eight months (as well as being joined by [a cardboard cutout of] headliner Post Malone). The more distant IHG Stage was both harder to reach and running late, leaving Teezo Touchdown to touchdown twenty minutes behind the schedule.
One trend across music festivals has been them finally embracing Latin sounds, and Gov Ball was no exception. The gopuff Stage hosted Farruko spitting beats & spitting fire, and later Rauw Alejandro brought hip-shaking Puerto Rico to a big crowd. Meanwhile, it was energetic Gen Z indie-pop to his own big crowd for Dominic Fike at the main stage.
Post Malone might be the perfect pick to headline a festival nowadays. He’s got a wide sound & appeal, with rock, rap, pop, and even country, having surprised guest-appeared the day prior at Nashville’s CMA Fest. But he’s also got a deep well of hardcore fans who were out in force. He’s even got a great public presence, lovable stoner (& drinker, as seen Day Drinking with Seth Meyers). In short, many, many people were saying, “I Like You”.
It was a diverse early part of the day on Saturday of Gov Ball. You had Quarters of Change covering “Don’t Fear the Reaper” because, “we all need more cowbell,” while Bakar challenged each side of his crowd to outdo the other. Claire Rosinkranz brought great active girl-pop, Jessie Murph had a strong soul mix with her dance, and Doechii went into the audience because she needed to be with her “tomboys.”
The middle of the day was dominated by female pop, as they’ve more than earned. Sabrina Carpenter played the main stage, but relatively early for the woman who’s already got the ‘Song of the Summer’ – probably she was scheduled then before the world got a shot of “Espresso”. And there was a massive crowd for her, including VIPers getting off their butts to pull their tables & chairs up closer (and super-VIPers trying to find their friends to get them backstage). And the time of day worked for her super-sunny pop, the Pennsylvania-to-NYCer expressing love for her new home – and giving her latest ‘Song of the Summer,’ “Please Please Please”, it’s live debut.
It was unfortunately for d4vd over at the distant IHG Stage, with the unenviable job of playing against the ‘playing too early hit artist,’ but he gave it his all. Meanwhile, Sexyy Red had her giant red ‘Make America Sexyy Again’ stage piece hat out as she brought out mad amounts of booty-shaking.
Admittedly compared to Carpenter’s massive crowd, Carly Rae Jepsen’s at the main stage afterwards couldn’t match, but it was still big. What’s more, Jepsen showed how to be more than just a one-time ‘Song of a Summer,’ how to have an extended pop career (while also still looking like a teen pop star…). Of course a huge reaction to her breakout “Call Me Maybe”, which interestingly wasn’t her closer – that did mean some fans left after that.
Moving over to the gopuff Stage for 21 Savage. He did have his DJ/hype-man come out first, eating up time that was limited at a festival, but the crowd knew the songs they were asked to sing along with before the rapper even appeared. Indeed, he could be headlining his next festival circuit.
Headlining their umpteenth festival circuit was The Killers. At a festival as focused on contemporary music as Governors Ball ’24, the boys from Vegas were a bit of an outlier, given that only the day before was the twentieth anniversary of their hit breakthrough, Hot Fuss. But The Killers have somehow not only survived among the breakthrough ‘The’ aughts acts, but stayed at the top of festival bills, even when they’re the oldest act on those bills. Perhaps the anniversary inspired the band to play a number of Fuss songs early, opener “Somebody Told Me” (their first hit), “Jenny Was a Friend of Mine”, and “Smile Like You Mean It” – plus incorporating a cover of fellow aughts great Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ classic “Maps” into their “Runaways” (and full cover of Erasure’s “A Little Respect”). They even fulfilled the wish of a fan named Anthony to come up and play drums on “For Reasons Unknown”, the sort of thing singer Brandon Flowers noted that they hadn’t done in a long while (drummer Ronnie Vannucci Jr. got to play guitar while Flowers was on bass – but the singer didn’t seem ready to share his mike…). And, of course, they skill closed with “Mr. Brightside”, because their career started with it, and it ended up like this…
After all the action of the prior two days of Gov Ball, it was easy to take it easy at the start of Sunday. Former Brockhampton member Kevin Abstract brought his solo show to the gopuff Stage, while Beach Fossils delivered their own beautiful relax – recently heard on last year’s Bunny (QRO review) – to the IHG Stage. Later Cannons would have the unenviable duty at that more distant stage, to be playing at the same time as the early day highlight act.
Because just as Saturday had a booming, of-the-moment artist playing relatively early on the main stage, so did Sunday in Chappell Roan. The singer came out dressed as “the biggest queen of all,” the Statue of Liberty, from crown & torch to head-to-toe painted green (also came on smoking a blunt, though had to hand it off to perform). This performance was buzzing both in the big, excited crowd and online, from trending on still-call-it-Twitter to being cited by the highbrow likes of The New Republic, for Roan noted that she turned down playing The White House for Pride – “We want liberty, justice and freedom for all,” she said. “When you do that, that’s when I’ll come.” She cited the inspiration for her costume, “In case you had forgotten what’s etched on my pretty little toes, ‘Give me your tired, your poor; your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.’ That means freedom and trans rights, that means freedom and women’s rights, and it especially means freedom for all oppressed people in occupied territories.” Oh, and she also debuted new song “Subway” (undoubtedly pleasing the folks behind the Subway Lounge that looked out on the stage), and did a mid-set costume change to match her taxi cab-clad band. Festivals are always looking for you-were-there moments, and this was definitely one.
The big crowd continued at the gopuff Stage with Don Toliver, even if it was hard to see the Houston rapper in his black wardrobe-on-black backdrop. Later, Peso Pluma was similarly black clad (even if fans wanted to see his hair) – and fractured his ankle on stage. This didn’t stop narcocorrido star, who just ran off to get his foot wrapped & returned. He was limping through the set, but still dancing. When a chair was brought out for him to rest his leg, he instead announced, “Fuck this chair!” and threw it. Another massive performance for Gov Ball ’24, Pluma was joined by Josiel Nuñez, Rich the Kid, acoustic Spanish guitars & horns, and dancers.
Like Carly Rae Jepsen the day before on the main stage, Reneé Rapp was the one to play that stage after the big early hit. It’s understandable that Rapp was scheduled higher on the bill this year, having already made cinematic splash starring in the musical version of Mean Girls this year, and if she didn’t make the same sort of big statement, she still brought her energy.
But the fans were here for SZA. It’s taken too long for festivals to start booking her as headliner, but after her SOS tour she’s been doing it, and doing it big, including her SOS elaborate, sea-themed backdrop set-up. Her performance included SOS, 2017’s Ctrl, some of her collaborations (“All the Stars” with Kendrick Lamar, “Kiss Me More” with Doja Cat, “Rich Baby Daddy” with Drake) and even this year’s “Saturn”.
Governors Ball has changed many times & in many ways over the years. There’s obviously location (‘Governors Ball’ hasn’t been on Governors Island since the first year…), with Flushing Meadow’s Park its most beautiful locale, if a bigger hike from public transportation, and all those trees that provide shade also making it harder to figure out where you are & where you’re going at the festival. It’s decidedly younger-and wider-appealing, appealing to both city kids and suburban kids whose parents will let them go into a safer New York. It’s also decidedly reaching for the big-time, not just in headliners but artists breaking into the big time right at that time. Yet it’s always still impressively pulled off, in the biggest & best city in the world.
-words: Ted Chase
-photos: Joyce Lee
