Governors Ball Day One Delivers Strong Performances at Flushing Meadows

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A strong opening day sets the tone for a weekend full of discovery and high-level performances

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Governor’s Ball (Gov Ball) is an annual New York City music festival that features over 60 musical acts from across the world. Gov Ball kicked off its first day on Friday, June 5th with an incredible lineup, including headliner Lorde.

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Since its start in 2011, Gov Ball has consistently delivered lineups packed with both major names and rising indie artists, and this year is no exception. With so much talent packed into one day, it’s impossible to see everything, so here’s a rundown of the artists I had the chance to catch on Friday.

I started the day at 1:00 p.m. with WHATMORE, a New York City–based hip-hop group made up of Cisco Swank, Yoshi T., Jackson August, Sebastiano, and Elijah Judah. Their set was pure energy. They were constantly moving, running from one end of the stage to the other without slowing down once. That nonstop movement translated directly into the crowd, keeping the energy high from start to finish.

At 1:30 p.m., I headed over to the Snapchat Stage to catch British singer-songwriter Absolutely. The second she stepped onstage, you were fully pulled into her world. From the dollhouse-inspired visuals to her styling to the tone of her voice, everything felt intentional. Her sound blended R&B and EDM in a way that stood out across the day, and songs like “No Audience” and “Elevator” from her album Paracosm made it clear she’s someone to keep an eye on.

By 2:00 p.m., I was back at the main stage for Audrey Hobert. After going viral with “Sue Me,” featured on the series Off Campus , she pulled in a noticeably large crowd. Opening with “I Like to Touch People,” she immediately set the tone for her sound and style. A mid-set costume change added a fun layer to the performance, and she closed with “Sue Me,” getting the entire crowd singing along.

King Princess took over the Snapchat Stage at 2:30 p.m. with a set that felt effortlessly cool. The Brooklyn native leaned into the authenticity of her music, creating a relaxed but fully engaging atmosphere. Tracks like “Hit the Back” and “Talia” had the crowd locked in, and a surprise acoustic performance of a new song about not knowing when to leave a party added a more personal moment to the set.

After that, I made my way to Del Water Gap’s 3:15 p.m. set, which ended up being one of my unexpected favorites of the day. Returning to Gov Ball for a second time, there was a clear sense of comfort and confidence throughout his performance. Even in a wool suit in 90-degree weather, he never held back. “Better Than I Know Myself” created a laid-back indie-pop vibe, while “High Tops” dug into more emotional territory, exploring love and loss in a way that felt honest and grounded.

Punk-rock icons Pierce the Veil hit the Snapchat Stage at 5:30 p.m., bringing a completely different kind of energy to the day. Their set felt explosive from the start, with a crowd that was already fully committed before the first song even began. The band leaned into their signature post-hardcore sound, blending heavy instrumentals with emotional vocals that longtime fans clearly connected to. There was constant movement, both onstage and in the crowd, with mosh pits forming and fans screaming along to every word. It was one of the most high-intensity sets of the day, and it stood out for how fully it shifted the atmosphere of the festival into something louder, heavier, and completely immersive.

6:30 p.m. brought the group I was most looking forward to on the first day, Katseye. Katseye is a six-member girl group consisting of Daniela, Sophia, Lara, Megan, Yoonchae, and Manon who has been on an extended hiatus. The group has only been around for two years at this point and has a limited number of songs to pull from, but in their hourlong set they played nearly every song in their discography. Opening with “Pinky Up”and following it with “Debut” they started off with a bang by also doing the iconic dance break from the 2024 MAMA Awards. They cover every major hit they've had online including, “Gameboy,” “Touch,” “Internet Girl,” “Gabriela,” and even “Monster High Fright Song.” Long time fans got the opportunity to see every iconic number and every dance. And of course they ended with their most well-known hit, “Gnarly,” which had the crowd going wild from the very beginning to the end of the dance break. Katseye stood out as an impressive force during the festival and proved to be an act I would want to go see again.

Headlining the Snapchat Stage at 7:30 p.m. was Baby Keem, who was promoting his latest record and tour for Ca$ino . Opening with the title track, he moved through new material like “Good Flirts” and “$ex Appeal” alongside fan favorites such as “MOSHPIT” and “ORANGE SODA,” keeping the crowd fully locked in from start to finish. What really elevated the performance was the physical staging, a massive production built around a giant broken-down TV screen that flickered and distorted visuals throughout the set, layered with bursts of pyrotechnics that hit at key moments and a Vegas-style showgirl moving across the stage. The whole thing felt oversized and intentional, turning the stage into a full visual world that matched the scale and confidence of the performance itself.

His set came to an end at 8:30 p.m., which meant it was time for the main stage headliner, Lorde. Delivering one of the most striking sets of the day, built around both a commanding vocal performance and a sharply designed stage production. Early on in the set she put “Royals,” she immediately grounded the crowd in familiarity before pushing into a sound that leaned heavily into layered synth textures, giving the whole performance a darker, more atmospheric edge than a straightforward pop set. Her vocals stayed impressively controlled throughout, cutting cleanly through the dense synth sound without ever feeling overpowered by it.. The staging matched that same level of precision, with lighting shifts and visual pacing that felt tightly synced to the emotional arc of each song rather than just decoration. As the set built toward its final stretch, the energy shifted into more urgent territory with “Green Light” hitting as a release point that lifted the entire crowd, followed by “Girl, so confusing” closing things out with a more chaotic, emotionally charged edge that still stayed anchored in her control. By the end, it felt like a set that balanced restraint and release in equal measure, with strong vocals, immersive synth-driven production, and staging that consistently elevated the music rather than distracting from it.

Friday was just the first day of an incredible three-day weekend, and the level of artistry and range of sound on display is hard to find outside of a festival. My favorites of the day were Absolutely, Del Water Gap, Pierce The Veil, and Katseye. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on what comes next from the artists I discovered, while also coming away with a new appreciation for the ones I already knew. Now it’s time to reset and prepare for day two.

Photos Courtesy of The Governors Ball & Photographers, Rich Fury, Ismael Quintanilla III, and @okaynicolita

Learn more about the festival and where to follow them to be the first to buy tickets for next year's shows on their website at www.governorsballmusicfestival.com

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_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/cabaret/article/Review-Inside-GOVERNORS-BALL-Day-One-at-Flushing-Meadows-Corona-Park-20260610)._