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- September 29, 2021
As one of the first multi- stage festivals to return to NYC, Governors ball had a lot to live up to. With its relocation to Citi Field instead of Randall’s Island where it has been for years, it had even more to prove. But the bottlenecking of people excited to be outside and artists eager to perform created a festival energy that was palpable that popped like champagne and continued to a chaotic bubbling and fizz that at the end of the 3rd day with Post Malone the energy was stable.
Friday was hectic as people reoriented themselves to the rhombus-like positioning of the 4 stages with various food vendors and one hidden Bud Light small stage, rounding out the perimeter. It didn’t help that Friday had so many must watch performances of varying genres landing with Billie Eilish, ending the day right after Rufus du Sol .
For the day 3 day goers, finding their food and drink spots to go to with the music was crucial, and Governors Ball had strategically placed beverages and various kinds of food within each space of the stages so there’s was always something for everyone. Pictures with the various installations would have to wait for another day. One thing was for sure, everyone was there for good vibes, letting off some steam with some singing, rapping, dancing, and moshing. The lines for said vendors moved pretty efficiently, and unless you were on some reckless timing , were never long enough to have you miss a performance,
This is all without talking about how incredible the artists, each and every one, came to perform. There were more live band instrumentation in the hip-hop acts than ever before (RMR, 24K Goldn, Bankrol Hayden, Cordae) bringing their best to the table, The sound system in place at every stage was incredible, bringing every vibe, scratch and remixed sounds to the other artists like (Freddie Gibbs & and The Alchemist, Ellie Goulding, Megan Thee Stallion, Amine) and electronic artists (Rufus Du Sol, The brothers Macklovitch, Duck Sauce), the rock bands sounded crisp ( MUNA, Phoebe Bridgers, Ritz La Vie).
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RMR -
Tate Mcrae -
EARTHGANG -
Mazie -
Nation of Language -
Pink Sweat$
The technical difficulties were few and far between, the Governors Ball team definitely put in the work to ensure everything was up to par, and transitions between performances were smooth and the audio sounded great at every distance. Speaking of the Governors Ball team, they were extremely flexible as a few artists couldn’t make the festival and without hesitation they updated schedules and announced the replacement artist, who was no slouch, in BJ the Chicago Kid.
The Governors ball Twitter was great, people got pictures throughout the weekend, if there’s a festival trying to make its way on to the NYC scene in this post- pandemic world, Governors ball. I tip my hat to you as the template moving forward.
Check out the photos of some of the people enjoying the festival.
And if you’re curious about the sounds, check out the playlist below.
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