Listen Live!By Briana Perez
Photo Credit: Roger Ho
On June 7-9, Governors Ball 2024 lit up Flushing Meadows – Corona Park in New York City. A diverse collection of artists filled the weekend, who took New York City storm with performances of global hits. This year’s Governors Ball, which hosted artists from around the world, had music for everyone!
As soon as doors opened on June 7, Governors Ball had everyone on their feet. The festival hit it off with performances by Ryan Beatty and many more artists, such as Mimi Webb, Arcy Drive and Yung Gravy, who absolutely rocked their sets! I added a couple of their songs to my playlist! Dominic Fike, another highly anticipated artist and one to keep your eye on, performed some of my personal favorites — as well as songs from his recent EP “14 minutes.”
Photo Credit: N. Bradley
One of the artists I anticipated the most was Rauw Alejandro, a Puerto Rican artist whose recent releases I’ve been a huge fan of. Alejandro performed hits, such as “Espectacular,” “AL CALLAO’,” and my personal favorite “2/Catorce.” Alongside newer releases like “Touching The Sky,” Alejandro performed older hits like “Hey Lil Mama” and “Reloj.” Alejandro and his incredible backup dancers had the crowd going wild!
Photo Credit: Charles Reagan
Post Malone closed the first night of the festival with an exhilarating performance. Opening up his set with a live band and a string quartet for “Better Now,” the crowd was all riled up! I always love hearing live bands, and Post did an amazing job delivering Rock versions of his greatest hits like “rockstar (feat. 21 Savage),” and “White Iverson.”
Photo Credit: N. Bradley
One song I quickly added to my playlist was “Take What You Want (feat. Ozzy Osburn)!” Post also brought out fans to sing and play guitar for “Stay.” He closed his set with the song “Chemical,” making night one a night to remember!
Photo Credit: N. Bradley
Saturday, June 8 was packed with even more amazing performances by artists like Riovaz, Quarters of Change, and Claire Rosinkranz! After last year’s success, Governors Ball brought out another K-Pop group to the stage, P1Harmony. The boys killed it and the fans were eating it all up! As a K-pop enjoyer, I was excited to see what they would bring to the stage. The boys certainly did not fail to impress! They sang hits like “Killin’ It,” “Back Down,” “Doom Du Doom,” and “JUMP”!
Photo Credit: N. Bradley (top) & Mickey Pierre Louis (bottom)
I was lucky enough to catch Sabrina Carpenter’s stage on Saturday! Opening with “Read your Mind,” Carpenter and her stage presence had the crowd in a trance. Carpenter’s set was filled with hits, like “Feather,” “Espresso,” and “because i liked a boy.” Earlier in the week, Carpenter released a new single, “Please Please Please,” off of her upcoming album Short n’ Sweet (Be sure to check it out when it comes out!), and Governors Ball had the privilege of hearing the live debut! Closing out with an iconic outro for “Nonsense,’ Carpenter left me (and probably the rest of the crowd) in awe.
Photo Credit: Paigge Warton
The rest of the afternoon consisted of performances by d4vd, Sexyy Red, Carly Rae Jepsen, Hippo Campus, 21 Savage and TV Girl! Closing up the second night, The Killers celebrated 20 years of their debut studio album, Hot Fuss! They opened their set with ‘Somebody Told Me’ and played hits like “Jenny Was a Friend of Mine” and “Smile Like You Mean It.” The Killers even brought up a fan to play the drums for “For Reasons Unknown”! I watched their set from the back of GA with my friends and it was such an incredible experience. Growing up listening to The Killers, this was a moment I will never forget!
Photo Credit: Chris Phelps
The last day of Governors Ball was by far one of my favorites! From Palestinian artists Elyanna and Saint Levant, to Malcolm Todd and Kevin Abstract, Sunday was filled with artists who absolutely rocked the stage. Many bands, such as Geese and Beach Fossils, also put on an incredible performacne!
Photo Credit: Deanie Chen (top) & N. Bradley (bottom)
Breakout artist Chappell Roan was a set you did not want to miss. Chappell came to the stage in an apple, dressed up in drag inspired by Lady Liberty. Opening up her set with “Femininomenon,” the crowd went wild. She performed lots of hits from “HOT TO GO!” to “Good Luck, Babe!” and even performed an unreleased song, “The Subway”! After watching her incredible vocals and performance, I added several of her songs to my playlist!
Photos by: N. Bradley (top) & Anna Downs (bottom)
Reneé Rapp, Stephen Sanchez, Faye Webster, and Peso Pluma hit the stage shortly after Chappell Roan’s breathtaking performance. Finally, SZA closed out the festival. I was so excited to watch her perform, especially after not being able to make it to her previous tour.
SZA celebrated 5 years of her debut studio album Ctrl! She opened her set with “Seek & Destroy” and sang many songs off of her first album, such as “Love Galore” and “Broken Clocks.” I was left in shock the second I heard the intro to “Ghost in the Machine!” I could not believe I was witnessing one of my favorite songs live! Like the day before, I watched SZA’s set from the back of GA, where I had a full view of her set and could dance the night away. SZA went on to perform many more hits, such as “All the Stars,” “Kiss Me More,” and “Rich Baby Daddy.” SZA wrapped up her set, and the festival, with “Good Days” and “20 Something.”
What an incredible way to finish up 3 exhilarating days. This was the first festival I had ever been to, and it certainly will not be my last! I loved discovering new artists, and being able to witness some of my favorite songs live was an experience that I cannot forget. I’m super excited to see what next year’s Governors Ball will have in store for fans!
