Governors Ball kicked off the 2023 edition on Friday, June 9th, showing off their new digs in the sprawling in Flushing Meadows Park. After many years on Randall’s Island, and a brief stint in the parking lot of Citi Field, Governors Ball made the long anticipated move to the famed Queens park. Nestled amongst the giant trees and iconic landmarks, the festival feels right at home in the World’s Borough. The Canadian wildfire smoke cleared out entirely for the day, letting perfect weather shine for most of the day.
On the GovballNYC stage, Saba set the tone with his early afternoon performance. He got the crowd going with hits like “Ziplock” and “Photosynthesis.” Over at the GoPuff stage, Tai Verdes kept it cool with “A-O-K” to get the crowd ready for Brooklyn’s own Joey Bada$$. Joey went through songs across his entire discography and made sure to let his hometown crowd feel his energy. Joey made a tribute to XXXTENTACION by performing their song “infinity (888).”
The GoPuff stage did not disappoint with later sets from Ice Spice, Metro Boomin, and Lil Uzi Vert. Ice Spice drew one of the biggest crowds of the day, and took the house down with her viral songs “Much” and “In Ha Mood.” Metro Boomin’ followed up Ice Spice’s performance with an intricate DJ set. Rain started to pour but that didn’t stop the fans from screaming every word, bar for bar, during Metro’s performance. Over on the Bacardi stage, the brief rain shower made for an even raunchier set than normal from pop icon Kim Petras.
Lil Uzi Vert closed out the night with a bang. Interacting with fans throughout the set, he even announced that the highly anticipated “Pink Tape” will drop at the end of the month. Uzi went through the hits, brought out Ken Carson and Destroy Lonely and ended the night with their latest hit “Just Wanna Rock.”
Meanwhile, over on the GovBallNYC stage, Lizzo dominated the stage with her larger than lifer performance. Flanked by a sea of dancers, backup vocalists, a killer live band, and several outfit changes, Lizzo’s powerful voice reverberated through Flushing Meadows.
Day 2 gets going today, with sets from Finneas, Snail Mail, Rina Sawayama, Lil Baby, and Odesza. Stay tuned for our Saturday recap tomorrow morning.
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