We first tumble serendipitously into Rostam’s set on the Panhandle, a smaller venue for comfy indie artists. The former Vampire Weekend shredder hosted a lovely welcome for attendees, a quick and violent contrast from the upcoming nightmare awaiting us at Land’s End.

Lil Uzi Vert fans are a scourge. For an artist that has a considerable affiliation with mental health awareness, I’ve never seen a fan base so miss the point completely. There was no humanity in that crowd, between people pulled over the fence for crying and our photographer Nate nearly getting his gear obliterated, it echoed sentiments of Travis Scott’s infamous headline.

Jack Harlow was a toothless replica of Uzi although I’m still cross that I tolerated health hazards for such a bland act. Admittedly he was unlucky – placed between Mac DeMarco and Green Day, both of whom explored two ends of the sonic spectrum. Mac DeMarco’s profound chill boat-rhythm bumps compared with BJ Armstrong just going complete apeshit on the American Idiot tracks was an epic contrast. There simply was just no room for Harlow, nor was there room for him to bring up some significant social updates in his hometown of Louisville. But I digress.

Pussy Riot did satisfy my expectations because a literal Russian designated foreign agent took her shirt off to reveal a “FREE BRITNEY GRINER” message. Nadezhda has functionally inherited the band at this point, with the other past 10 members forgoing a less mainstream role for a more actively political one. Not sure if the crowd was ready for her succubic death-pop screams, however. Personally, my favorite part was when she cracked a blood-red whip over and over again while the word “VASECTOMY” lacerated on the big screen.

One thing, in particular, OSL likes to flaunt is a section on the festival grounds where the purchasing/consumption of cannabis is safe and legal. Grass Lands comprises the southernmost section of the park, practically a carnival that folks use to get away from the Land’s End aural blast zone. Ambulances and police were on standby, though much like previous iterations of the fest there was no urgent need for their intervention. It made for a lovely pit stop between stages.

All hyperpop acts were backlogged into Sunday, so the Lord’s afternoon was enhanced by palpable chaos. Glaive into 100 Gecs into Kim Petras is complete nonsense. 17-year-old Glaive’s unreleased track “Florida” is a four-on-the-floor banger, a necessary moment for a shy crowd to get to know one another via slam jamming. Petras performed Slut Pop in its entirety, a staple for her latest shows and one the crowd was quite notably looking forward to. Gecs flew too close to the sun; their set was cut short although that seems appropriate for them to be honest.

With how quick each turnover was, every headliner was set for success before their gig even started. Polo & Pan’s visuals were some of the best. Ani Kuni received a syllabic word-by-word visualization of the sampled Native American chant. Disclosure’s latest track “Waterfall” is some of their best work since the Settle days, evoking a Mura Masa-esque production that sent the crowd in every direction. 

SZA was the only artist done dirty. She started off her CTRL-era ballad “Drew Barrymore” smoothly enough but her monitors cut out, knocking off a beautiful song in her repertoire. The sound team turned it around before the next track. As such the audience experienced a cathartic performance, one that concluded with SZA compensating for her vocal prowess in front of a gorgeous lighthouse-themed stage décor. 

It was smooth sailing the entire weekend. Major 3-day music festivals will take it out of you, they’re an endurance test if nothing else. OSL at least attempts to streamline the experience into something less arduous. Straight up, I’ve never had better music festival snacks from any other concert experience. The scrumptious food almost made the inflated prices worth it.

It takes one thousand things at once to operate in tandem to make an event of this magnitude flow as well as it did. The lands beyond have proven themselves to be worth trekking to, a tall order considering the sheer number of fests on the west. In no uncertain terms:

Outside is the right side, man.

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Friday’s set list was packed with artists and was a fairly hip-hop-heavy day, but Aly & AJ kicked off the event with a flash from the past but chose to omit “Potential Break Up Song” from their set which left some fans quite disappointed. Coi Leray gave a fun and energetic performance that got her whole crowd movin’ and groovin’. Her fabulous red bikini fit also rocked everyone’s world.

left: Dev Coi Leray after her set; right: Del Water Gap

It was a rap-filled afternoon after the first few sets and JPEGMAFIA gave a vibrant and entertaining performance. He completely lit up the stage, dancing and interacting with the crowd. This was arguably one of the best performers of the weekend. His cover of “Call Me Maybe” was beautifully haunting and a perfect break in between his more brash and intense numbers. 

Some craziness and complications clearly happened in the day leading up to Friday, because a single time slot was replaced not once, but twice last minute. First MIGOS were replaced with Lil Wayne and then (an hour before) Lil Wayne was replaced by A$AP Ferg [cover image]. A rollercoaster of emotions for hip hop and rap fans, but A$AP Ferg did not disappoint. A$AP Ferg took the stage with confidence and charm, commenting on the situation:  “I was just chillin’, and then I got a call from the festival like, ‘Yo Ferg! We need your ass to come right now!” The whole crowd laughed and A$AP Ferg gave an incredible performance despite being a last-minute addition to the lineup. The ground was shaking during “Plain Jane”.

Jack Harlow gathered what seemed like one of the biggest crowds of the night. The air was filled with excitement for this set, but while Harlow’s looks and vocals were very much on point that set felt deflated, something was missing in his surprisingly subtle stage presence. In parallel to this performance Kid Cudi’s set began and halfway through Harlow’s set a stampede of people headed towards the main stage for Cudi’s performance. Kid Cudi‘s fantastic energy and performance brought day one to an incredible end. there wasn’t a person in the crowd who wasn’t jumping to “Memories” or “Pursuit of Happiness”.

Day two started off a little cloudy and was fairly mellow with the earlier performers. Gus Dapperton and his band gave a calm and emotional set. Things REALLY picked up when Tove Lo took the main stage. Her crowd was enormous, especially for an afternoon time slot. People were thrilled to see Lo and everyone screamed their hearts out to her classic OG hit “Habits (Stay High)” and her brand new single “No One Dies From Love”.

Ashnikko was also a highlight on Saturday, femme fatale in her songs as well as on stage, she brought a crazy fun energy to her performance. Proving she’s not just a TokTok viral star, Ashnikko took the party to the crowd and everyone was vibing during her reimagined cover of Avril Lavigne’s “Sk8ter Boi”.

The night ended with a fantastic performance by Flume which people were talking about well into the next day. Naturally, Halsey stunned the audience with her gorgeous vocals, she even gave all the Stranger Things fans a beautiful cover of “Running Up That Hill”.

Sunday started out with the threat of rain, but luckily it never came. No make-up was ruined and no outfits were soaked. It was actually near-perfect weather for jumping to your favorite tunes in the middle of a sweaty crowd.

100 gecs was another crowd favourite performance. They had a really large crowd despite it being relatively early in the day. Definitely one of the wildest crowds of the weekend! Head banging, moshing, and screaming all naturally took place.

Del Water Gap also gave a stunningly beautiful performance, once on the Bacardi Stage and then again in a more intimate setting at the Bud Light Seltzer Sessions. “Ode to a Conversation Stuck in Your Throat” is just one of the most subtly striking tunes you could hear. After the set, we were able to chat with Holden about his performances and his festival experience:

“Big shows are great because you’re just getting all this energy and all this adrenaline. It’s like gasoline! But little shows are great because you can be a human, and it’s intimate, you can talk and take your time. Festivals are great because you get to be around new people, you get to be outside and I just love being around other artists too. I mean especially after the last two years. I made all these friends on Instagram you know, these other musicians, and getting to walk out of my trailer and see a musician I admire and walk up to them and be like hi were here together. It’s just such a gift.”

Another amazing performance was given by Jazmine Sullivan. Her insane vocals reached new levels of perfection and had many fans in tears by the end of the set. She was extremely honest on stage, gave beautiful vocal runs, and was sending love to each and every person in the crowd.

J Cole was the final artist of the festival and ended the night on a high note. J Cole is one of the biggest artists in the rap universe so it was legendary to hear iconic songs like “Wet Dreamz” and “No Role Modelz”.

The atmosphere and ambiance were unique at Governors Ball this year. People were riled up and ready for music festivals again. Some sets bumped, some disappointed. The sun was burning hot all day, but that didn’t stop people from having a great time. Every artist came out with full energy for the fans. What was the best moment of the festival? Kid Cudi’s absolute fire performance of “Pursuit of Happiness?” A$AP Ferg’s heroic save of Friday’s afternoon? Tove Lo flashing a crowd of thousands? Guess that’s up to each attendee’s personal opinion.

photos by Devin Kasparian

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