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Three days of drinks, food and of course amazing music. When I arrived in New York I could see the preparations for The Governors Ball on Randall's Island taking place. Large tents, gigantic signs, trucks and volunteers filled the island. The festival ran from June 6 - June 8. This was the 4th year for The Governors Ball Music Festival in NY.
The location was great. To get to the festival I walked across the footbridge everyday. IT was quite a hike but it seemed like the best way. The festival provided buses and you could of course take a taxi if you wished. Entering the festival was easy. On Friday I waited in a very short line to obtain my wrist band. Every entry after that was even easier as I showed my band and walked through the gates.
The festival included merch tents, food and drinks. I personally had a great time tasting drinks at the Don Julio Tequila Aistream. They provided craft cocktails at the festival. Both the drinks and food was reasonably priced and easy to access. Water was always available provided by CamelBack. It was very hot that weekend so it was nice that this was provided to attendees.
There were four different stages set up on Randall's Island, GovBallNY, Big Apple, Honda and Gotham Tent. They were spaced out appropriately. When you needed to walk from one stage to the next it didn't seem like a very long walk, which was nice. Most of the headlining acts performed on the GovBallNY. It was the largest stage at the festival.
It would be so hard to tell you about every great moment of the Governors Ball. There were over 65 bands that performed over the three day weekend.
Friday June 6
The day started off Janelle Monae, Bastile, Washed Out, Julian Casablancas and Jenny Lewis. All of these performances were great. My first memorable moment of the festival was Phoeneix on the GovBallNY stage. It felt I have been waiting a lifetime to see this band perform. They did not disappoint. When I hear their music now it takes me back to their live performance. I've been a Phoenix fan for years and hearing songs like "Lisztomania", and "1901" was quite memorable. TV On The Radio was next and they performed on the Big Apple Stage. It was one of the smaller stages but they of course had a great crowd. The highlight of the day was OutKast. Before attending the festival I read online many fans were upset that OutKast would be performing at the same time as Damon Albarn. Fans had to make the decision on who to see during this time slot. I chose OutKast. I'm glad I did. It had been years since the band had performed together. How could you miss this performance? The area around the stage was completely packed when they took the stage. They performed 25 songs opening with B.O.B. Following shortly after was "Rosa Parks", "Ms. Jackson" and "Hey Ya!" Energy and enthusiasm filled both the stage and the crowd. What a fantastic way to end Day 1 of the festival. I don't think The Governors Ball could have selected a better act for the evening.
Saturday June 7
After walking home and back again it was time for Day 2. One thing I noticed immediately was the conditions of the festival deteriorating. On Friday the ground was clean the bathrooms were decent and you could walk without stepping on a crazy amount of trash. Saturday things started to look a little worse and by the end of the night it was not far from completely disgusting. If they festival could improve on one thing it would be cleanliness.
The music of the day started with Hunter Hunted and Diarrhea Planet. Many great acts followed on Saturday including Fitz and the Tantrums, Broken Bells, The Naked and Famous and Classixx. The Strokes took the GovBallNY stage around 6:45. Julian Casablancas had already performed on Friday but this was THE STROKES! The band had played a show a few days prior in New York to prepare for this long awaited performance. It was unforgettable to hear favorites such as "Take It or Leave It", "Machu Picchu" and "Last Night". The band performed as if they had taken no break. For the closing performance I chose Jack White. Skrillex was performing at the same time on the Honda Stage. Jack White was by far my favorite performance from all three days. I left the festival more of Jack White fan than when I arrived. He is an incredible artist with emotional, original and captivating songs. His 18 song setlist included "High Ball Stepper", "Lazaretto", "Icky Thump" and "Seven Nation Army". Before the show I wondered if we would hear songs from The White Stripes and The Raconteuers. I'm happy Jack included some of these songs throughout the show.
Sunday June 8
Day 3, another long walk over the foot bridge to Randall's Island. I sure got a workout this weekend. We won't talk about the cleanliness of the festival on this third day. If it was bad on Saturday I'm sure you can imagine what Sunday was like. I tried to block out the trash and quickly forgot about it as the music started. Bleachers, Half Moon Run and The Kills were a few of the acts scheduled on Sunday. The Head and The Heart, a personal favorite of mine took the stage at 4:45. The weekend before the festival I was lucky enough to see them in Cleveland. How lucky was I to see them again in a festival setting?! There performance was heartfelt and sincere like always. The day was filled with some of my favorite artists. Foster the People, Interpol and Vampire Weekend were three bands that completed the evening. Vampire Weekend is one of the best live bands I've ever seen. You can't help getting lost in the music.This was my second time seeing Vampire Weekend and this time was just as magical as the first. There set was long and included 21 songs off of their three albums. In my mind this was the best band to end the weekend. They opened with "Diane Young" off their new album. They then seemed to perform every song I know, "Unbelievers", "Horchata", "Cousins", "Campus" and ended with "One' and "Walcott". I could truly sit and listen to them play for days and days.
Overall I had a great experience. I was delighted to make the trip from Cleveland to NYC to experience this previously well reviewed festival. I hope The Governors Ball can continue to host up and coming bands as well as some of the most popular. Thank you to The Governors Ball for unforgettable festival moments!