Governors Ball Music Festival at Randell”s Island Park in NY. All photos taken by Miguel Crespo for RESPECT.
Nothing says “Summer In New York” like The Governors Ball music festival. The star-studded, east-coast festival has returned for its ninth straight year and the 2019 installment was another one for the books. Randall’s Island Park was full of diverse people, good food and great vibes once again as Gov Ball weekend arrived.
GovBall NYC on May 31st – June 2nd is three days of diverse musical acts headlined this year by Tyler, The Creator, Florence + the Machine and The Strokes. With four stages (plus a side stage), it boasts the hottest rock, pop, contemporary R&B and hip hop acts. Whether you line the rail in wait for your fave, hang in the back with your crew, or graze the stages and food trucks all day, you can’t go wrong.
Prancing and screeching across the stage in a neon green suit and his new blond, bowl-cut wig, Tyler, the Creator stole the show on Gov Ball 2019’s inaugural night. Without special guests or a backing band, the ever-eccentric rapper captivated the crowd with songs from his just-released new album, “IGOR,” as well as fan favorites from his deep catalog. Although “IGOR” has only been out for a couple of weeks, the audience knew many of the lyrics and shouted along fervently — to the heartfelt appreciation of the seemingly surprised Tyler, who also served as his own hype man.
American Eagle Stage
On Saturday, the performance to watch came from Atlanta native, Playboi Carti. The young Hip-Hop phenom brought energy to the Honda Stage that was unmatched. A rocking crowd full of fans couldn’t keep their feet grounded as heavy bass shook Randell’s Island. Vince Staples also graced the Honda Stage but not before a smooth and melodic performance by Ty Dolla $ign over at the American Eagle stage.
Playboi Carti
Unfortunately, there was a surprise headliner for Sunday, terrible weather. Storm cells had been brewing in the tristate vicinity since late into Saturday night. Rather than plow into the final day as scheduled, organizers preemptively cancelled most of it before it even began.
Doors were pushed to open at 6:30pm, immediately nixing anticipated acts such as Charli XCX, SOB X RBE and SZA from the lineup. When most of the day proceeded to be blue-skied and beautiful, organizers issued an announcement that the festival would actually open earlier than scheduled, at 5pm.
KAYTRANADA was angled to start at 9:30, but the instant he walked on stage, all screens went black with a stern announcement: “Due to approaching severe weather, all persons should move quickly and calmly to the nearest exit and seek shelter for your safety.”
Despite Mother Nature deciding to end the party, Governors Ball 2019 left impressions on us all. Another epic Gov Ball weekend in NY was a success and we are already excited to see what the 2020 installment has in store.
Denzel Curry
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