In a once music festival baron New York City, live events have now returned in full to the big apple. At the throne of live events in New York is undoubtedly Governors Ball music festival. With a wide variety of music, this year’s Gov Ball may have been one of the best festivals yet. We’re here to take you through all the magic that occurred this year at Gov Ball from the music, to the food and activations.
This year’s lineup offered a great balance of incredible acts across all genres. From the headliners to the supporting acts, the talent included on the lineup was incomparable. The first day featured pop sensation, Lorde who set the tone perfectly for the weekend. Her countless hits mad her set an impressive singalong to all those joined her for the closing set for Day 1 on the mainstage. While most festivals have conflicts to their performances, Gov Ball does a great job balancing out the acts across the 3 stages which allows most fans to be able to catch who they want to see each day. The second headliner for day 1 was Baby Keem who performed atop the snapchat stage. However, the talk of the town for Day 1 of the festival belonged to the quintet girl group called KATSEYE. Since the group’s debut release of ‘Touch’ the group has grown a tremendous amount becoming one of the most talked about pop groups in the world. The group performed their biggest hits as the second to last act on the mainstage.
Day 2 of the festival also featured a wide variety of genres. With so much talent on the star studded lineup, it was impressive to see that some of the more popular artists also started earlier in the afternoon. 2Hollis performed on the mainstage starting at 3:15 while Snow Strippers took The Grove stage at 4:50. Day 2 faced a tough situation with a projected thunderstorm in the later parts of the evening. The festival announced a last minute change to the lineup so that fans got the chance to see all the remaining headliners in the timely manner. With the pivot, fans still got the chance to see Stray Kids and Major Lazer before the storm hit.
The final day of Gov Ball was no different in the fact that it was another day of star-studded talent throughout the day. Due to a few canceled acts on day 2 due to the storm, Blood Orange was added to the final day of the festival so that fans still go the chance to check them out. By the time Geese took the stage at 4:45, most of the attendees were already in the festival. One of the biggest acts of Gov Ball this year belonged to JENNIE of BLACKPINK. She performed the Snapchat stage as the second to last act of the festival but it was almost like she was the closer with the amount of people that gathered at her stage. The final performance of the evening was none other than A$AP Rocky who brought the energy to finish off a fantastic weekend of music. He took the fans on a journey through some of his newer music but also played out all his biggest hits that fans were desperately anticipating.
Governors Ball is always more than about just the music. One of the biggest attractions of the festival was the various brands and activations that were on site that made the festival experience significantly more exciting. From activations by Patron, DoorDash, Listerine and many more, all the brands showed out in creating a unique experience for fans to participate in. Corona gave out festival bracelets, DoorDash offered exciting Gov Ball themed trinkets and Patron even had a tree house like activation with a DJ. The festival activations are definitely a must at Gov Ball so if you didn’t get a chance to check them out this year, make sure to mark it down on your checklist for next year.
The food curation for Gov Ball is also always impressive. Spotlighted some of the staple brands like Shake Shack and Walters Hot Dogs ensured a familiar experience for everyone. Other featured brands included Van Leeuwen’s Ice Cream and Matcha N’ More to diversify your dessert and drink options. The pro-tip for how to best approach food at Gov Ball is to arrive early and try a different stand for each meal of the day. Some of our personal favorites from this year belong to The Grumpy Dumpling and their delicious assortment of dumpling options.
Having covered the festival for a few years now, there is no doubt that this year was one of the best year’s of Gov Ball to date. From the artists that performed, to the unique activations and the incredible food selections, Gov ball reminded everyone this year why they are pinnacle of music festivals in New York City. If you weren’t there this year, make sure to mark your calendars for next year to partake in one of the greatest musical experiences New York has to offer.
