Photo Courtesy of Jacob Lewis
The Governors Ball Music Festival celebrated its 10th anniversary in style and extended hot girl summer to the end of September. This year, the three-day festival, traditionally held at Randall’s Island in early June, took place on Sept. 24-26 at Citi Field. Over 60 acts performed across four stages and drew tens of thousands of attendees, leaving no doubt in people’s minds that festival culture is back in full swing after the over one-year-long hiatus due to the coronavirus.
Almost every performer made a reference to the COVID-19 pandemic during their sets. Billie Eilish was met with roaring cheers and applause when she told her audience to “Give [her] all that you’ve been saving up this past year and a half,” and she maintained that energy throughout her performance despite microphone troubles which made it difficult to hear her vocals. However, not every artist was as successful as Eilish after months away from the stage. A$AP Rocky, in particular, had a rocky performance, failing to get more than a timid response from the crowd and yelled in vain at security to “open up the f—ing mosh pit” on several occasions.
Many people bought tickets to see the top-billed Eilish, Rocky and Post Malone, who stood out most at the festival. Other big names such as Megan Thee Stallion and Young Thug commanded raucous crowds while the more indie performers provided a much-needed escape from the intoxicating but ultimately overwhelming festival atmosphere. Phoebe Bridgers brought her trademark melancholy and compassion to her show, leading the crowd in sing-alongs and stopping mid-performance to point out the medical staff on-site if someone needed assistance.
Twenty-two-year-old R&B artist Umi led her fans through breathing exercises before the start of her set and created a sense of tranquility that was not felt anywhere else at Citi Field.
Although the excitement of live music coming back in a major way was a draw for many people, the 10th Governors Ball was by no means perfect. The new venue, chosen by organizers because they could set up stages in a circular fashion to prevent sound bleed, was hard on the feet and poorly lit at night. The patches of artificial turf, strategically laid down near the prohibitively expensive food trucks, were beer-soaked and only marginally better than sitting on the asphalt. The trash strewn across the ground became treacherous in the packed crowds where space was a precious commodity.
On the first day, performances started on time but by Saturday, the schedule started to slip. 21 Savage came on stage over half an hour late on Sunday, resulting in pushing back multiple artists – even those not performing on the mainstage – that resulted in headliner Malone being told to cut his set short.
However, most everyone was simply happy to be there. No outfit was too outrageous and no music was too loud. Although some attendees opted to wear masks, fears of the coronavirus were generally abated by the mandatory proof of vaccination or negative COVID-19 test. At each of the four stages, at all times of day, fans were singing along to every word from their favorite artist – making it impossible to not feel the positive energy that live music instills in people. New York City is back, and Governors Ball is here to stay, 10 years later.
