For concertgoers in New York, the arrival of June means one thing: Governors Ball. The festival returned for its 9th year (and it’s 8th at Randall’s Island). This was my 8th straight year covering the festival and we were excited to see what this year brought us with its lineup of acts across all genres.
Our day began with Australian rockers Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, who released one of our favorite albums of 2018. They got the day going in style and handed things off Hippo Campus who put on a fun showing inside the tent stage.
We caught Mitski next, who took her show to a new level from her performance last year at Brooklyn Steel, using just a table and chair as props but delivering one of the most captivating sets of the entire weekend. From there it was off to Blood Orange and the big time production of Brockhampton who had a mini jet on stage and began with Ciarán McDonald elevated above the crowd with a crane. They had the entire crowd going and are likely contenders to headline the festival someday in the near future.
Following their performance, we caught a strong showing from hip-hop icon Lil Wayne, before turning things over to the electronic workings of Gesaffelstein who left an impression with his ultra cool costume and atmosphere on stage.
Find a full gallery of photos from all of Day 1’s performances below.
Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever:
Hippo Campus:
Mitski:
Blood Orange:
Brockhampton:
Lil Wayne:
Gesaffelstein:
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