The stakes were high for this years’ twelfth annual Governors Ball Music Festival (Gov Ball). In a move over a decade in the making, the festival would take place in the historic Flushing Meadows Corona Park for the very first time. But despite the excitement surrounding this move, the event started out with a distinct sense of trepidation.

In the days leading up to the festival, an orange haze had descended upon New York as wildfires continued to ravage forests in Canada. At the time, it seemed almost unconscionable that an outdoor festival hosting thousands of people could go ahead at a time when New York had some of the worst air quality in the world. Some denounced the festival as cursed, citing both the 2019 and 2020 editions of Gov Ball that were disrupted due to extreme weather in the former, and the COVID-19 pandemic in the latter.

But, in a welcome twist of fate, local air quality had improved sufficiently by Friday morning for the festival to go ahead. The uncertainty that had marred the buildup soon dissipated and made way for a weekend of incredible performances from some of music’s leading voices. The festival boasted a wide range of artists spanning multiple genres, from rap and hip-hop to alternative pop, indie rock to EDM. And for the first time in the festival’s history, K-Pop was represented by Aespa.

Despite this variety of genre and style, what united most performances across the three days was a distinct sense of catharsis and release. Perhaps it was the emergence from the smoke, and the near-miss with cancellation. Or perhaps it was the festival’s new setting. Previous editions of Gov Ball had been held in the parking lot area outside Citi Field, but this year, artists and festival goers alike enjoyed the lush greenery of Flushing Meadows Corona Park. 

All things considered, it was a near-perfect setting for a music festival – you’d be forgiven for thinking the festival had been held there since inception. The grounds felt expansive enough to happily lose yourself in exploration. It allowed for that wonderful festival sensation of gravitating towards a mystery performance, unknowingly stumbling upon your new favorite artist. Many were pulled towards Suki Waterhouse’s set in this fashion, her silky rendition of ‘My Mind’ reverberating around the festival grounds like a siren call.With countless mosh pit formations, one of the more viscerally charged sets came from the stellar 070 Shake. The energy was palpable and unpredictable, the bass heavy and distorted. “Let go of all the anger,” Shake advised the crowd, “it’s not worth holding onto.” The mosh pit felt healing in this regard, a conduit through which to release any pent-up rage and come together. In one of the most touching displays of the weekend, Shake brought a number of dedicated fans from the crowd to perform ‘Guilty Conscience.’ There was an obvious sense of mutual respect here, an acknowledgement that one would not be there without the other.

This sense of community within music was a common thread between artists across the weekend. Remi Wolf laid out a clear commitment to foster community in her fun and flirty Friday set. Dressed like a yassified dad at a BBQ (think jorts, white tank top, huge baseball cap), the Californian artist’s stage presence was impressive, her crowd work endlessly charming. Sex-appeal oozed out of her performance of ‘Liz,’ and the crowd went wild for an unexpected cover of Gotye’s ‘Somebody I Used To Know.’There was an endearing roughness to a lot of these younger artists’ performances. For some, though, this roughness unfortunately made way for clumsiness. Despite rallying a huge crowd for an early Sunday set, London-based Tik-Tok sensation PinkPantheress frustratingly struggled to build sufficient momentum in her performance. At times the heavy bass felt needlessly distracting, the flow between songs too disjointed. All the while, anticipation built for a potential on-stage feature from Ice Spice for viral hit ‘Boy’s a Liar,’ but fans were ultimately left disappointed, having to fill in the gaps left by the Bronx rapper themselves.

HAIM, conversely, delivered one of the more polished sets of the weekend. Their crowd enjoyed debut-album-hit ‘Don’t Save Me’ straight out the gate, a towering cut with punchy drums, infectious melodies, and anthemic lyrics. It was a privilege to watch such talent at play, especially any time Danielle Haim jumped on the drums. Their rendition of ‘My Song 5’ felt fearless and defiant, but a few bigger tracks from more recent releases were conspicuously absent from the setlist. ‘3am’ didn’t make it to the main stage, nor did ‘I Know Alone’ (although perhaps this absence was in an attempt to avoid performing the now infamous and heavily memefied choreography).

Metro Boomin’s set was interrupted by a sudden torrential downpour on Friday that sent  festival goers running for cover but thankfully, the rain passed just in time for Lizzo’s dazzling headline performance. The adverse weather certainly had not deterred her adoring fans. A tender moment came in the opening number ‘Cuz I Love You,’ when the artist was visibly stunned at the volume of the crowd singing the words back to her. Although there were a handful of awkward technical issues with the set, the performance still exuded positivity and self-love in buckets.Some of the biggest artists in dance and electronica also made appearances across the weekend – albeit to differing levels of success. As golden hour took hold on Saturday, Kenny Beats mixed songs from the likes of Azealia Banks, Kylie Minogue, and Tyler, The Creator, in what turned out to be a sensational power-house of a set. On the other hand, there were diminishing returns to Diplo’s Friday set. Whilst certainly a crowd-pleaser, the performance felt ultimately self-indulgent. With beats that felt incessant and visuals that felt repetitive, it was difficult to tell whether the experience was immersive or simply oppressive.

Where Diplo might have missed the mark, Saturday’s main-stage headliners, Odesza, passed with flying colors. Easily the most technically impressive set of the whole weekend, the electronic duo’s performance included rows of marching drummers, intense light shows, and a guest appearance from Naomi Wild for ‘Higher Ground.’ Truly a sight to behold, the performance felt other-worldly in its ambition and execution.Sunday was far and away the busiest day of the festival. New Yorkers had come out in droves to see main-stage headliner Kendrick Lamar and, unsurprisingly, he did not disappoint. The now legendary California rapper delivered the most enrapturing performance of the weekend. Lamar brought out cousin Baby Keem for a special performance of ‘Family Ties’. Kinship was displayed loud and proud on stage, but extended across the crowd and could be felt acutely between Lamar and his devoted fans. What was most apparent from the set was the astounding extent by which Lamar’s music reaches people, and the power it instills; the energy of the crowd during ‘Alright’ was a testament to this, nothing short of electrifying.

It feels fitting for Gov Ball to take place during Pride month, as the festival showcased some of music’s biggest and most beloved queer artists. Kim Petras, who made history this year for being the first openly transgender artist to win a major-category Grammy Award, headlined the Bacardí stage on opening day. Day-two featured standout performances from Syd, Snail Mail, and Rina Sawayayma, all out and proud queer women making waves in their respective genres. And Lil Nas X, dressed in a metallic golden bodice, closed out the weekend with a special Pride shoutout during his lavish Sunday set. One of the biggest takeaways from this year’s edition was the success of the festival’s new park location. The greenery provided an excellent backdrop to the weekend’s festivities, trees to shelter under from the rain and the sun. With sponsored tents and activities from Coca-Cola, Dunkin’ Donuts and some of America’s other biggest corporations, the festival did feel heavily commercialized, however – something that is perhaps unavoidable at such a scale. But this was admittedly counteracted with plenty of independent food trucks and charitable endeavors. If you’re a music-lover, though, a lot of these considerations were simply background noise: the force and talent of the performing artists was rightfully the focus.

As the sun was setting at Flushing Meadows Corona Park concert goers were heading to their next show. 

Photo by Brooke Cullen 

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