Festival Recap: GovBall Day 1
Words by Carson Huffer
Photo by N Bradley
Spanning three days in the gorgeous Flushing Meadows Corona Park, the 2024 edition of Governor’s Ball aimed for the stars. Between a jam-packed lineup and various events and experiences on the grounds, the entire festival weekend was full of smiles from attendees and artists alike.
Tongue Tied’s weekend started early on Friday with the bewitching Qveen Herby on the GoPuff Stage. Formerly known for her leading work in the pop duo Karmin, Qveen Herby crafted a bold and bright set encompassing many of her viral hits, such as the vibrant “Vitamins” that had the crowd dancing along to the pulsing beat. A big character within her performance style, festival attendees seemed to keep flocking to the daylight seance Herby was putting on with ease.
The crowd then shifted to the neighboring GOVBALLNYC Stage to catch music’s golden boy, Ryan Beatty. Seated in the middle of an unassuming band, Beatty quite literally brought out sunshine and a soft breeze with sweeping vocals and soft instrumentation. Vaulting through his various hits from 2023’s Calico album, there wasn’t a single member of the crowd not lost in Ryan’s trance. A notable highlight came with “Bruises Off The Peach” careening out over the midday festival crowd, highlighting the sheer talent that comes off of Beatty in waves.
We then migrated across festival grounds to the IHG Stage to catch the rising British girl group FLO. Following a short delay due to stage issues, the trio came out to explosive applause from fans and tentative excitement from uninitiated crowd members. Within just a few bars of “Not My Job”, however, the trio had the Gov Ball crowd eating out of the palm of their hand. The sheer pop star energy radiates off of FLO in waves, and between their powerful harmonies and iconic dancing, it feels like it's only a matter of time before FLO’s world domination tour takes over the greater United States music scene.
Photo by Deanie Chen
Goth Babe also tore up Friday on the main GOVBALLNYC Stage with massive crowds jumping along to the indie rocker’s croon. While the artist laughed through a few minor mistakes and claimed it was his first show in a few months, the crowd couldn’t have been more engaged with every track of the Goth Babe set. We walked up as Goth Babe announced a special guest was coming out and to “treat him well as he has a show on the same stage later that night”, prompting a brief frenzy before a Post Malone cardboard cutout was sent crowd surfing along with massive beach balls. This set felt like a true beginning to summer, complete with dancing, singing, and full crowds jumping along to “Alone in The Mountains” and “I’m in Luv”.
Photo by N Bradley
After a quick snack break we then caught Dominic Fike on the main stage driving the crowd through a scenic ride of his music catalog with ease. Fike continually spoke about his love for New York City in between tracks, including a play of much of his recent EP 14 minutes. Our personal favorite moment came with the neon-shaded hit “misses”, a blissful 1:15 of love and loss that has been making rounds online and on charts. Dominic admitted before playing the song that it was nearly left off of 14 minutes entirely and the crowd responded with such fierceness during the track that it’s clear just how loved this single truly is. As Fike popped into the crowd to say hello and give high fives, it felt like less of a festival set and more an intimate show for friends, showcasing just how connected to the NYC crowd Fike truly is.
Closing out the IHG Stage on Friday brought the effervescent Labrinth through a foggy haze to sing some of the most popular songs in recent memory. Even through a hefty delay, Labrinth still came out to a near full crowd ready to dance along to the iconic euphoria theme song “Forever” and the bold bass of “Never Felt So Alone”. The set had stunning light shows that looked infinitely cooler in the sunset of the delayed set time, making most crowd members seemingly agree that they were happy for the wait.
Day one closed out with a headlining set from the joyous Post Malone. Posty truly looked on top of the world throughout his hour and a half on the GOVBALLNYC Stage, continually smiling and letting everyone know just how special it was to him to be there. As Malone bounced between hits like “Wow.” and “Over Now”, the stage lit up with fireworks, flames, and an explosive band – including a four piece string quartet! Ever the gracious headliner, Post Malone also continually thanked the crowd for sticking with him and the staff for keeping everyone safe as he played through his wide-ranging catalog of rap, country, and pop.
