Everything you missed at Gov Ball! Day 2 and 3! 🪩🎵

By Mia Savidge

The 2025 Governors Ball at Flushing Meadows Corona Park held in Queens, New York ran this past weekend June 6th through June 8th. Throughout the festival there were continuous musical sets, food and beverages, shopping, pop ups and so much more all weekend. Join me as I review each musical set I saw during the 3-day event!

 

Saturday (some sets cut due to weather)

Marina 👸

Truly a Princess of Power, Marina gave a powerful and dazzling performance highlighting her songs including “CUNTISSIMO”, “How to Be a Heartbreaker”, “Primadonna”, “Bubble Bitch”, and  “I <3 You” from her new album. This set gave energy, aesthetics, and power, enchanting the crowd with her vocals and expression.

 

Wallows 🪻

An incredible set accompanied by the craziest timed rain persuading the audience to let go and enjoy every moment. Wallows performed both newer hits such as “Bad Dream”, and older hits such as “Pleaser” and “Quarterback” hyping up both new and old fans alike. The sudden downpour halfway through their set only added to the vibes. Lead singer, Dylan Minnette, also added to the performance by using the catwalk of the stage to get into the crowd and interact with fans. Overall, this was such an amazing performance even despite undesired weather circumstances and one of my favorites of the day!

 

Conan Gray ⚓

One of the most creative set designs of the whole weekend, Conan started his performance with waves and a sailboat on the stage as he emerged to sing. He was greeted by a trumpet opening from his band and performed songs including “Wish You Were Sober”, “People Watching”, “The Cut That Always Bleeds”, “Memories”, and a cover of “Jolene. Immediately following Conan surprised the audience with performing some of his most famous songs, “Heather” and “Maniac”. His shoutout of his best friend, fellow Gov Ball artist, “Olivia Rodrigo” got the crowd so excited for the rest of the night. 

 

Olivia Rodrigo 💋

I am actually speechless at this performance, what can I even say like wow. Her stage presence and ability to put on such a great show is seriously unmatched. Olivia gave fans exactly what they were craving by playing songs from her new album, Guts including “vampire”, “bad idea right?”, “so american”, “all american bitch”, and  “get him back!” along with older hits like “jealousy jealousy”, “driver’s license”, “favorite crime”, ”enough for for” (her favorite song she’s ever written), “good 4 u”, and “happier”. On top of all of the excitement, she also brought out surprise guest David Byrne to perform Talking Heads single, “Burning Down The House”.  Her set, video effects, song introductions, band, and outfits all made this set so incredible to watch. The immense crowd filled with huge Olivia fans belted their hearts out with the pop star creating a magical end to the night. Overall, I was left feeling so happy and starstruck after seeing this star perform and I am so grateful for this opportunity to witness this show. 

Sunday

Kids Rock For Kids 🎸

Such a wonderful start to the day highlighting kids performing covers of songs displaying a wide range of instruments and talents! This nonprofit based in Brooklyn, New York gives a chance for talented youth from around the globe to pursue their passion. 

 

Snow Wife ❄️

This energetic performance featured dancing, catchy songs, and pop vibes. Snow Wife performed some of her most popular songs including “Sweat”, “Yoyo”, and “If God is Real Then Heaven is a Club” while also focusing on her project that dropped a couple days before, Bodyology which is described as the study of pop music through dance. Overall, this performance served distant 2000’s party nostalgia reminiscent of the club scene. 

 

Nourished By Time ⌛

This set was all about the music incorporating different sounds in order to create something entirely unique and new. Such a groovy and psychedelic vibe adding to the experience. 

 

Miliarie Gun 🔫

They are so cool omg!! Say hello to this Los Angeles alternative band keeping rock in their middle name. They were giving a jumping mosh pit vibe the entire set along with announcing their newly recorded record. Overall this hang banging performance was nothing short of an entirely good time. 

 

Joey Valence and Brae 📼

Quite possibly the most fun I’ve had in a while. Entering this Hip Hop duo getting the crowd jumping and dancing throughout the entire set. They performed hits such as “THE BADDEST (BADDER)” and “WASSUP” while highlighting other popular artists such as Charli XCX remixing her songs from her “BRAT” album. The most accurate word I can use to describe this whole performance is energy times a million. It felt like a genuine party the entire time. 

 

Raye 🎶

Her presence, her band, the aesthetics, her twirls, her vocals, everything was so amazing!! She loves a dramatic ending as she told the audience and it showed throughout her whole set. This jazzy pop fusion mixes in elements of old school music to create a new kind of sound. Her voice alone sold it with her ballads serenading us with classics such as “Escapism.”, “Prada”, “Black Mascara.”, and so much more. 

 

The Japanese House 🏠

Wow, this one was such a treat to witness! The Japanese House delighted the audience with serving up indie vibes and music so wonderfully. They performed fan favorites such as “Touching Yourself”, “Boyhood”, “:)” and my all time favorite, “Sunshine Baby” among others. With a grounded and down to Earth set featuring meaningful and emotional music, you’re bound to be drawn into this group and have a wonderful time all together! 

 

Royel Otis 🦪

What a genuinely fun time here with Royel Otis! They delighted the crowd with aesthetic lighting, light rock vibes, and bangers like “Oysters in my Pocket”, their cover of “Linger – Sirius XM Session”, their cover of  “Murder on the Dancefloor – triple j Like A Version” along with so much more. Such a fun time overall!

 

Clairo 📿

Oh my god this whole performance was just overall stunning in every way. Clairo had the audience captivated from the start coming out on stage with her band laughing and talking together to playing songs like “Second Nature”, “Add Up My Love”, “Juna”, “Sofia” and so many others. The vibe was simply immaculate and was perfectly true to her music’s aesthetic. It was such a treat to be able to see her live!

 

Glass Animals 🎠

Woah I don’t know what I was expecting but this set was so engaging! Starting off with cool and aesthetic lights and images behind the band, they set the tone for the rest of the performance. Speaking of aesthetics, they played some of their most popular songs such as “A Tear in Space (Airlock)”, “Creatures in Heaven”, “Gooey”, and “Tokyo Drifting” among many others. Pairing these tunes with amazing crowd interaction, you’re bound to have had a wonderful time with this set. As if it couldn’t get better, they ended by playing their worldwide famous hit, “Heatwaves”.

 

Hozier 🌳

I actually have no words for this performance I think, I was and continue to be speechless. This was one of my most anticipated sets to see and it turned out to be one of my favorites of the entire weekend. The set, the visuals, his band, his songs, the music, HIS VOICE?! Everything was incredible. He played crowd favorite songs such as “Francesca”, “Jackie and Wilson”, “Someone New”, “Would That I” (which I almost cried over), “Work Song”, “Eat Your Young”, “Cherry Wine”, “Like Real People Do”, and “Take Me to Church” among so many more. I cannot express the absolute joy I felt hearing these songs live that I’ve been singing for so long. Pairing beautiful musicianship along with activism, Hozier brought awareness to our current political and world climate and used his platform to advocate for others which was something really special. Overall, I am so grateful that I had this incredible opportunity and will continue to enjoy and appreciate his wonderful music.