Governors Ball rocked Flushing Meadows Corona Park over the weekend for an epic three-day music festival kicking off an ultimate summer experience.
Coachella better watch its back because Governors Ball showed what the East Coast is made of as it returned for the second year in a row to the crown jewel of Queens Park with an out-of-this-world music festival.
The pulsing vibration coming off of three stages states served as the beating drum to which thousands marched to as they trekked through the grassland. Governors Ball lit the skies with fireworks, pyrotechnics, and smoke machines, as revelers donning pink cowboy hats, boots, denim skirts and glitter makeup saw their favorite singers and discover new ones.
Over 60 artists were invited to perform, including mega stars Post Malone, The Killers, SZA, Carly Rae Jepsen, Sabrina Carpenter, Peso Pluma, 21 Savage, Rauw Alejandro, Sexyy Red, Chappell Roan, P1Harmony, and Reneé Rap.
Governors Ball embodied the Woodstock esthetic and the electronic chill vibe of Coachella but with New York City panache. Between a Statue of Liberty Statue, graffiti lounge and other photo booth locations, there was a lot to do in between music sets.
It was Taynasia Sistrunk’s first time at Governors Ball. She shared that it was important to make this journey from Hillside, New Jersey to Queens after spending years of watching festival videos from the sidelines. For the 2024 showcase, she decided to don her a Y2K styled outfit and geared up for an epic Friday night on June 7.
“What brought me here is really all of the fun videos I’ve seen over the years and I’m excited to see Teezo Touchdown, Dominic Fike, and all of those,” Sistrunk said excitedly.
The killer lineup is what also drove Taylor Dilisi, 21, and her friend Anja Kranenburg, 21, to also travel from New Jersey to Governors Ball for the three-days of mosh pits, delicious food, and dancing.
“The lineup this year is out of the park,” Dilisi said. For the pair on their second day of rocking out, Post Malone was by far their favorite performance with his showmanship, use of pyro and musical style.
“He put on such a good show with the fireworks and everything. It was so good,” Kranenburg added.
While a wide variety of diverse music was the driving force for many fans, artists in attendance chose to use their platform to spread awareness and elevate their voice. P1Harmony made sure to represent Korean culture as the only K-Pop group, while Chappell Roan dressed as the Statue of Liberty to express LGBTQ+ freedom albeit while exiting a life size apple bong and holding onto a joint. Peso Pluma and Farruko rocked Latin pride to a roaring audience, and Elyanna and Saint Levant brought awareness to Palestine.
Fans weren’t the only ones excited to be at the festival, rapper extraordinaire Yung Gravy shared his enthusiasm to be with the crowd and is getting ready to gear up for his Grits & Gravy Tour and a new album set to be released this summer.
“I just dropped an absolute country collaber with Shania Twain and it’s called ‘White Claw,’” Gravy told amNewYork Metro.
Fresh off the ‘gopuff’ stage, New York City-based rock band Hotline TNT told amNewYork Metro they were still pumped with adrenaline after their performance and were eager to see Chappell Roan, Faye Webster, and Sza.
“I think it’s cool there are a bunch of kids here having a good time. It’s an all ages kinda deal,” Hotline TNT said.
Over 150,000 were in attendance at the festival this year.
