The Governors Ball 2024: Oh How We’ve Missed You! [Festival Review & Photos]

Oh, Gov Ball! How we’ve missed you so. For those new here, the Governors Ball Music Festival is one of the most highly anticipated music events in New York City every year. The three-day-long festival continues to boast some of the most well-curated line-ups of pop, hip-hop, and indie artists, ranging from legendary stars to iconic up-and-coming names. Each year, the festival is stacked with a vibrant list of vendors, from delicious food and drinks to lifestyle experiences to charities and community organizations.

Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens hosted the festival for this momentous year and featured three stages with over 60 bands on the weekend of June 7th. Headlining acts included Post Malone and Rauw Alejandro, The Killers and 21 Savage, and SZA and Peso Pluma. While it was exceedingly difficult to narrow down our experiences this weekend, we wanted to share our favourites, from performances to vendors to fans and festival decor.

Music:

At the end of the day, we’re all here for the music! Some fans made it clear who they were there for, whether that be the sea of pink cowgirl hats repping for Chappell Roan or the cowboy Post Malone flag that was stationed at the front of the barricade. While everyone shows up to the grand Gov Ball gates with their favourite artist(s) in mind, every year, we find at least one new artist to add to our playlists and fall in love with. The main stage headliners are always picked with perfection. But you know a festival has done its job well when even non-headlining acts are drawing out huge ocean’s worth of attendees.

On Day 1, it was Donna Missal, Qveen Herby, and Post Malone that made the day. Donna Missal started out early in the afternoon and kickstarted the weekend. Her velvety voice and ’80s-inspired tunes had us truly in a trance. Qveen Herby entered the stage with her mystical velour cape and conjured up a love spell that instantly stole our hearts. Teasing her upcoming album, she got the buy-in from the crowd to chant and dance with her instantly and made a lasting impression on both die-hard fans and passersby. Post Malone, of course, brought his all to his headlining performance, ending Day 1 on a high note and playing all his classic songs such as “I Fall Apart,” “Psycho,” and “Better Now,” to name just a few.

On Day 2, we had a blast with Hippo Campus, Sexyy Red, and Sabrina Carpenter. Hippo Campus gave us those indie summer vibes and serenaded us with their hit songs “Bambi” and “Buttercup.” Sexyy Red brought the heat and her presidential campaign to the NYC stage and totally had us cheering for Madame President. Sabrina Carpenter played during golden hour and was, well, as golden as the hour itself. Stunning the stage in a gorgeous yellow bustier and an angelic backup crew, the crowd roared when she played her newest hit of the summer, “Please Please Please,” followed by long-time favourites “Espresso” and “Nonsense.”

On Day 3, it was officially Pride at Gov Ball, in more ways than one. G Flip, Saint Levant, and Chappell Roan were our heroes. This day was full of cultural song and dance, fostering community and belonging, and (especially in Chappell’s case) sticking it to The Man. Flags were waving high, signs boasted cultural pride and political outcry, and everyone was allowed to live in Utopia for even just a few hours.

G Flip’s rockstar energy ignited the earlier part of the day and serenaded us with their trending cover of Taylor Swift’s “Cruel Summer.” They even brought out hip-hop/pop artist Lauren Sanderson for “Gay 4 Me” and drenched the crowd in lovely rainbow stage lights. Saint Levant, despite announcing he was losing his voice, performed a set to remember with both his upbeat and eclectic instrumentals and his ability to connect with fans in the crowd as if he were playing at a 50-cap dance hall.

In totally an expected yet astonishing fashion, Chappell Roan, Lady Liberty in the Big Apple herself, stole the show of the whole weekend dressed head-to-toe in green body paint and a stage decked-out in an NYC tribute. Not a single song was bereft of (what seemed like) the entire festival singing along, amplifying her voice and power.

Atmosphere:

Gov Ball is known for having some of the best art installations and vendor experiences on their festival grounds each year. The creative and “photo opp” worthy decor alone is worth buying a ticket if you’re the influencer type. Hosting again at Flushing Meadows made the art pop even more, with beautiful blooming foliage canopying stages and lining the walkways. Of course, we can’t forget the iconic Gov Ball Lady Liberty, which stood out from the crowd no matter where you were walking from.

The festival had set up a food vendor area, which made it very convenient to have one key landmark rather than scrimmaging the grounds when the hunger has set in. From doughnuts and baked goods to pizza to cultural dishes, Gov Ball catered to any possible craving you could have. We have to say our favourites were the spring rolls and fresh mango lemonade from Tica’s Hibachi. Dunkin’ Donuts was also one of our favourite vendor experiences, playing in the photo booth and having photo ops in the vibrant pink-and-orange house while drinking our favourite flavoured coffee on tap was like a dream come true.

When it comes to the actual festival goers, Chappell Roan and Sexyy Red undeniably had some of the strongest fanbases present this festival weekend. Members of the pink pony club were geared up all weekend long. Even though Chappell was set to perform on Day 3, every day of the festival had an exponentially-growing sea of pink. These fans gave us a quick demonstration of the “Hot To Go” dance before she took the stage so that we didn’t embarrass ourselves by being the odd ones out. For Sexyy Red, signs and shirts flooded the festival grounds on Day 2, as even our subway ride had a mass of fans shouting “Get it, Sexyy!” on the way to the festival grounds.

All in all, Gov Ball 2024 treated us so well. It was a blast, we saw some great artists, discovered some new ones, ate great food, and embraced all that NYC has to offer. A world without Gov Ball is one we could never fathom, and we cannot wait to see what they have planned for their monumental 15th year in 2025. Until then, shine on, Gov Ball!