Rain or shine, Governors Ball dazzles NYC concert goers

Governors Ball returned for a third year in a row to Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens, NYC. However, the beautiful weather from last year did not return, and the festival saw rain all three days of performances. This may sound disheartening, but it actually lowered the temperatures and made the festival a little cooler, which is always appreciated when you’re jumping, dancing, and sweating along with your favourite musicians. This year also marked the 15th anniversary of Governors Ball, bringing musicians from all over to New York City.

T-Pain by Roger Ho for Govenors Ball. Cover image: Benson Boone by Charles Reagan for Governors Ball.

Taking the main stage on Friday evening, T-Pain was definitely a highlight, playing hits like “Buy U a Drank” and “Hey Baby (Drop it to the Floor).” Role Model also came out to the Grove stage to an extremely large crowd all ready to hear his hit “Sally, When the Wine Runs Out”. Role Model brought out Conan Gray to be his “Sally,” and they smooched on stage in the middle of the bridge. Back over on the main stage Mk.Gee gave a fun, atmospheric performance to his fans playing his biggest songs like “Rockman” and “Alesis.”

Benson Boone performed to a crowd absolutely filled with adoring fans, all awaiting his famous backflip. His performance was incredibly earnest, and he seemed to be enjoying himself just as much as his fans. Just last month, Boone performed to even bigger crowds at Coachella, but he brought the same energy and stunning vocals to Queens, NY. To the audience’s delight, he threw out multiple backflips for them and performed his biggest hits, “Beautiful Things” and “In the Stars”!

Left: Benson Boone by Taylor Regulski for Governors Ball. Right: Role Model-Conan Gray by Deanie Chen for Governors Ball.

Conan Gray by Deanie Chen (left) and Paigge Warton (right)for Governors Ball.

Tyler the Creator by Roger Ho (left) and Deanie Chen (right) for Govenors Ball.

Finally, Tyler the Creator took the main stage just as the sun was going down to much excitement and anticipation from the fans. Tyler began his set by performing the first four songs off his latest album, CHROMAKOPIA, released last year, and then ended with some of his biggest hits like “Balloon” and “See You Again”. Tyler gave one of the most enigmatic, dynamic performances of the festival with explosive dance moves and even a huge fireworks display to close out Friday night.

Saturday took a strange turn when the entire day was delayed four hours due to rain and wind, but that didn’t stop music lovers from showing up to support their favourite artists. Sadly, several acts had to be cancelled due to the delay.

Artemas kicked off the afternoon with an angsty set and played his huge hit song from last year, “I like the way you kiss me”. MARINA took the main stage to a huge crowd, most of whom were here lining up early for Olivia Rodrigo. MARINA’s new album, Princess of Power, was released the day before on Friday, and she debuted several songs live, including “Princess of Power” and “I <3 You”.

Marina by Paigge Warton (left) and Anna Downs (right) for Govenors Ball.

Conan Gray was a wonderful opener for Olivia Rodrigo, as most fans know of their close friendship and even encouraged everyone to make sure to stay and watch his friend. He opened with his new track “This Song” and delivered beautiful vocals on each and every one of his tracks. Olivia Rodrigo opened her set with “obsessed” and dazzled the crowd with more tracks from her two albums, Sour and Guts. It was a very family-friendly set, as most of the crowd was filled with kids under fourteen there with their parents. Rodrigo even brought out Talking Heads member David Byrne for a duet of “Burning Down the House”. It was a very fun, bright set to close out a rainy, gloomy day filled with setbacks.

Olivia Rodrigo by Dusana Risovic for Governors Ball.

Sunday was still a little gloomy, but the festival kicked off on schedule to everyone’s delight. RAYE had a particularly sparkling set, performing with a full band and insane vocals. She was all smiles and looked just so happy to be there performing. RAYE was also extremely vocal about how much she appreciated all her fans who came out to see her perform.

The Japanese House went on to a crowd full of cheering fans, opening with “Touching Yourself” and playing other hits like “Something Has to Change” and  “Boyhood”. She shouted out the Queer community and specifically Trans People, letting them know that they are loved and belong.

The final act of Governors Ball, Hozier and his band, closed the festival Sunday evening. He told the crowd he and his band were recovering from a cold, but were happy and ready to perform. No one could even tell because Hozier’s voice was just stunning. Singing through some of his most popular tracks, “Cherry Wine” and “Too Sweet”, and ending with his old hit song “Take Me to Church,” Hozier truly gave a magical final performance.