After last year’s summer-defining performances at Gov Ball that gave me some of the biggest FOMO I’ve ever had, I was very excited to be able to attend this year. And while I did catch a lot of good music, meet a lot of great people, and had a fantastic overall time, I may have set expectations too high. With the exception of a few quick instances, I left last night feeling like I was missing those show-stopping moments that make a festival, especially one in New York City, feel special. Gov Ball is one of the premier music festivals in the self-described “greatest city in the world,” and it’s about time artists (especially headliners) give it the recognition it deserves instead of treating it like another stop on the tour.

However, that doesn’t mean the weekend lacked any talent that comes from bringing together some of the best local and touring artists in the current music scene to the beautiful and historic Flushing Meadows-Corona Park.

FRIDAY, JUNE 6

Mannequin Pussy

After getting some photos of Jean Dawson and Matt Champion, two artists who each filled their respective stages and brought in good-sized crowds early in the day, my Gov Ball experience formally started with Mannequin Pussy on the Kiehl’s stage. And wow, what a start. Mannequin Pussy is pure and unapologetic punk, with lead singer Marisa Dabice giving passionate speeches about challenging gender norms, encouraging men to be better allies, and getting the entire crowd to yell “pussy” at the top of their lungs. This is a band that knows they’re cool, and I’m surprised their set was so early in the day.

The Beaches

Shortly after, over on the Grove Stage, I caught The Beaches. I was unfamiliar with this band, but found myself having a great time as they felt like a bunch of friends on stage having fun, playing great music, and sounding clean, even as lead singer Jordan Miller claimed she was still dancing off a hangover. The all-female band even treated the crowd to a new song that’s never been played live before, titled ”Did I Say Too Much.”

Mk.gee

After a brief weather scare that turned out to be nothing, Mk.gee took the main stage bathed in some of the densest stage fog of the weekend, which matched his hazy atmospheric music. To complement this, the three screens on the stage showed a custom video feed from hand-held cameras on stage encircling Mk.gee and the band in a way that filled me with nostalgia like watching videos of music festivals from the 1990s.

JPEGMAFIA

The crowd for JPEGMAFIA was one of the best ones of the weekend, with them chanting “Peggy, Peggy” as we waited for Peggy to come out. Before this chant, they gave a little tongue-in-cheek chant for “Benson Boone,” almost in a mocking way, who was playing at the same time on another stage. Peggy knew to play into the crowd’s anticipation, as he slowly came out on stage, stood at the front with a hand in the air in silence for a few beats, and then went into his set, commanding the stage. The audience was going crazy, with security constantly pulling people out for crowd surfing.

Tyler, The Creator

Ending the first day was Tyler, The Creator. Despite stating how tired he was from being in the middle of a tour, Tyler gave it his all and delivered a deep, raw, and cinematic finale fitting of a headliner. If anything, the exhaustion he was feeling made this performance feel more personal, and it really pulled me in despite not being much of a Tyler listener beforehand.

SATURDAY, JUNE 7

Plagued by a weather delay that had multiple sets cut and the rest of the sets shortened, Saturday felt like a blur as I was running from stage to stage to get photos and catch a bit of each artist without getting stuck in the mud.

The Lemon Twigs

With their set starting just after the delayed doors (which were packed with lines snaking throughout the whole park), The Lemon Twigs had a small crowd waiting for them on stage. That didn’t stop them from delivering a great set with high jumps and tongue-in-cheek comments like thanking “the governor if [they’re] listening” and thanking them for throwing this ball.

Wallows

Without knowing much about them, Wallows’ music sounds very nostalgic, which was emphasized by playing the viral TikTok nostalgia-bait song “aquatic ambience” by Scizzie. The ‘aquatic ambience’ became more literal as a sudden downpour came in the middle of the set, which didn’t deter anyone in the crowd. With Dylan Minnette running through barricades to sing with the crowd, this was a set that started to make this festival feel like a bit of that special experience I was looking for.

Car Seat Headrest

Car Seat Headrest is a very talented band with intricate music and storytelling capabilities, so they didn’t need much theatrics during their set, aside from some airy visuals on the screen and a whole bunch of stage fog (which, as a photographer, stressed me out). The first few songs that I was able to catch were all of their new album The Scholars.

Conan Gray

The biggest viral moment from the first day of Gov Ball 2025 (that I missed, ugh) was Conan Gray kissing Role Model as ‘Sally’ during their set, so I had to rush to the main stage to see how Conan was going to kick off the next era in support of his upcoming album, Wishbone. Donned in a sailor’s outfit with a nautically-decorated stage, Conan wowed the massive crowd through a deep, personal set full of the light-theatrics one would expect from someone as much of a performer as he is a talented singer.

Clairo at Governor’s Ball 2025 photo by Bobby Nicholas lll

Olivia Rodrigo

The crowd was packed and pushing up towards the barrier all day as fans, many of them young and accompanied by their parents/caretakers, eagerly waited for Olivia Rodrigo. Continuing to build on the momentum from her massively successful GUTS world tour, Rodrigo played through her catalog of hits from her two albums. Backed by an all-women band, the set consisted of explosive and loud songs such as “bad idea right?” and “so american” mixed in with quieter, personal moments like “drivers license” and “enough for you.”

The most talked-about moment of the night, and perhaps the entire weekend, was Rodrigo bringing out David Byrne for a cover of Talking Heads’ “Burning Down The House” that had the duo doing a funny dance together down the catwalk like a goofy uncle and niece dancing during a wedding.

SUNDAY, JUNE 8

Sunday’s lineup is what I was looking forward to the most, with The Japanese House and Clairo being the two names that stood out to me on the entire bill. The final day of the weekend was marked with cooler temps, light rain, and a lot of me running between stages to get photos and catching only the beginning of most sets. The day was marked with good memories for me, and as I was leaving the press area in the evening, it felt like the end of a summer camp of some of New York’s best journalists and photographers..

Nourished by Time

Standing alone with his mixer and laptop on the massive mainstage, Nourished by Time brought a cool synth-funk energy that filled the festival grounds. Marcus Brown, the solo project’s creator, didn’t need to add much more flair than a scarf tied to the microphone stand to encapsulate the growing crowd.

Militarie Gun

Fresh off of recording a new record, Militarie Gun took the Kiehl’s stage early in the day for a midday punk set full of energy. From the little bit of the set I caught while getting photos, the band has great songwriting capabilities and stage presence as a good, honest punk rock band.

Frost Children

I went into Frost Children completely blind, having never heard of them before. I was blown away by how energetic and exciting their set was. I’m a newer fan to the hyperpop world, and am always happy to discover a new band. Frost Children immediately turned me into a fan by coming out with giant gold and silver flags, dancing, and going into the crowd multiple times to scream alongside the audience.

The Japanese House

One of my top songs of 2023, and perhaps the decade so far, has been The Japanese House’s “Touching Yourself,” so imagine my excitement as they opened with that song while I was right at the front of the stage in the photo pit. The set sounded exactly as they sound on the records—with ethereal, otherworldly multi-vocal track layering that takes me to another place.

Royel Otis

Royel Otis is another artist I didn’t know much of before their set, but I still found myself singing along to some of their songs that I had never heard before (aside from the “Murder on the Dancefloor” cover). Throughout the set, the band displayed semi-comical plain text on the screen behind them to accompany music, saying things such as “you’re so f*cking gorgeous” and “lyrics to a new Royel Otis song are supposed to go here.” I remember this bit being popularized a few years ago by Portugal. The Man, and feel it’s a little overplayed.

Clairo

Clairo is amazing, and knows how to turn a festival set into a show. She spent the first couple of minutes sitting on the stage, designed to look like a lounge, conversing and laughing with her friends. With her back turned towards a crowd, she turned around now and then in a semi-teasing way—like she was egging us on. Despite a passing rainstorm starting to get heavier, the crowd ate this up. After a bit, she moseyed her way to the microphone and performed a set full of the indie/bedroom pop that has launched her into stardom over the last few years since she last played Gov Ball in 2019.

Words and Photos by Bobby Niholas lll

Car Seat Headrest at Governor’s Ball 2025 photo by Bobby Nicholas lll