Governors Ball: NYC’s unofficial start to summer splashes away expectations with SZA, 21 Savage, and Post Malone

What would a summer in NYC be without a music festival luring in audiences from all across the Tri-State area? The sun could not shine as bright around here without Gov Ball each year!

As a local growing up in New Jersey, Gov Ball’s annual hype rings as a reminder of my proximity to the beating heart of American rap and pop music. New York City is no stranger to some of the biggest names in these genres. Previous headliners that have graced Gov Ball stages include Kendrick Lamar, Billie Eilish, Childish Gambino, Tyler The Creator, and Drake. This year, SZA returned for her third time to join headliners Post Malone and 21 Savage for the three-day music festival, which spanned from June 7-9th. 

Doechii and DJ Miss Milan

In the past few years, the festival has moved from its traditional location of Randalls Island to Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens, making it easily accessible by subway from Manhattan. Upon entering the festival grounds, I was thoroughly pleased with the ample space allocated for attendees and the thoughtful organization of security, free water refill stations, and festival stages. With approximately 150,000 twenty-somethings packed into massive crowds, I want to acknowledge the challenges of successfully orchestrating a mainstream music festival at this scale. The meticulous efforts of Gov Ball management to ensure the weekend ran smoothly with enough space, paramedics, and law enforcement were evident and appreciated.

Over the course of the three-day festival, I was exhilarated to experience many of my favorite rap artists and singers live. Making her Gov Ball debut, Doechii, a Florida-native rap star, lived up to her “swamp princess” title and decorated her stage with a park trailer and greenery. She delivered a fierce set, dancing alongside her swamp crew to her hits “What It Is,” “Persuasive,” and closing with “Alter Ego.” Doechii, a proud supporter of the gay community, expressed to her audience that they should always live as their “Alter Ego”—as in, whichever version of themselves they wish to be.

On stage next to dazzle crowds was Sabrina Carpenter, the Pennsylvania-native who welcomed the NYC audience as her local “family.” Following her career from her Disney channel days, it was marvelous to see Sabrina now as a powerful young woman taking on the main stage. With her ballads, love stories, and set filled with life advice, she enchanted her crowd with her recent hit “Espresso” and other popular songs like “Please Please Please” and “Vicious.”

Returning to rap artists to finish day two, the Gov Ball crowd could not have had more fun while dancing along to Sexyy Red, a Missouri-based rapper who has been taking the industry by storm with her audacious lyrics and sexually empowering motifs. With a gigantic hot pink “Make America Sexyy Again” cap taking up half the stage, her amusing spirit glimmered through each song, including “Pound Town,” “Get It Sexyy,” and her iconic hit “SkeeYee,” a phrase now conventionally used in reference to her music.

21 Savage

For the headlining act of Saturday evening, 21 Savage, a London-born and Atlanta-raised immigrant rap star, first shocked his crowd with a breathtaking voice memo from his mother, detailing the obstacles she navigated to raise her son and her wishes for him to attain his “American Dream”—a phrase that titles his current tour. Growing up in poverty, entangled in gang violence, and witnessing the death of his closest friend at the young age of 21, the rapper’s performance at Gov Ball stands as a testament to his success in overcoming the many tragedies he faced as a young man. Inspired by rappers like 50 Cent to share stories about hardship and loss, it was uplifting to witness 21 Savage reach arguably the pinnacle of his “American dream” at this major NYC music festival. He performed classic hits and fan-favorite features with tracks including “redrum,” “Jimmy Cooks,” and “Runnin.”

Don Toliver

On the final day of Gov Ball, I tuned into sets from Don Toliver and Reneé Rapp, ending with SZA. Don Toliver is a Houston-based rapper who regularly collaborates with Travis Scott on musical projects. Embellished in a “Hardstone Psycho” motorcycle jacket, Toliver brought his rager spirit and made his crowd jump to his set, taking breaks to hype up his audience when they were not serving the energy he desired. He performed tracks such as “After Party,” “WHAT TO DO?,” and “Lemonade,” compelling his fans to mosh along with him. Before closing his fiery show, the rapper brought out Kali Uchis to briefly wave hello, whom he has been publicly romantic with. Their relationship and the upcoming birth of their baby has been driving fans to excitement via social media this year.

Following Don Toliver on the main stage was Reneé Rapp, the talented North-Carolina-native actor and singer known for her roles in Mean Girls (musical) and The Sex Lives of College Girls (TV show). She flirted with her fans and the camera with her love ballads, storytelling, and ferocious dance moves. As an openly gay woman, she cherished and celebrated Pride month throughout her set.

Reneé Rapp

To tie the bow together for Gov Ball was SZA’s ethereal performance from her SOS tour. The New-Jersey-raised R&B star and poet rose to fame from her early mixtapes and Grammy-nominated studio album Ctrl. She transformed her Gov Ball stage into a ship lost at sea with her background visuals and stage props. Her dramatic entrance began with “Seek & Destroy,” which left the audience in awe and chanting her lyrics as she twirled across the stage alongside her talented dance crew. She transported her crowd with classics from her fan-favorite album Ctrl, performing tracks such as “Garden (Say It Like Dat),” “Broken Clocks,” and “Drew Barrymore.” She closed her set with more songs from SOS, including “Ghost in the Machine,” “Shirt,” and “Low.” From the lighting, her talented band, the choreography, and the vivacious energy she poured into each song, SZA’s angelic vocals were the icing on top of a jaw-dropping and artistically baked performance. 

It was a great pleasure to join Governors Ball this year and witness some of the most talented singers, rappers, and storytellers of our generation mesmerize audiences. I have no doubt that next year’s festival will exceed the quality of this event, as it continues to do annually, fueling NYC with highly anticipated performances as the first splash into summer festivities. 

Article by: Natasha Thussu Dhar

Photos by: Josh Sobel, Sam Balaban, N Bradley, Itchyeyephotos, Anna Downs