Unpacking Gov Ball: A massive-yet-intimate summertime music hang

June 11, 2014

03:06 PM

| Photo by Rachel Barrish | rachelbarrish.com

Friday started off like a whirlwind. An epic journey from Philadelphia–>North Jersey–>Brooklyn–>Randall’s Island.

The final destination was where this year’s Governor’s Ball took place, about a 20 minute trek over the Triborough Bridge. This intimate, yet vastly sizable island was the perfect place for a music festival. The grounds made for a good fit for four large stages and a sensational line up of music. The line up was diverse and well suited with everything from electronic rock to progressive hip hop to rap artists to indie rock favorites like Spoon and The Strokes. Nostalgia was definitely a major part of the weekend, seeing bands like OutKast who have been around for twenty years and haven’t put out an album in about eight. Other blasts from the past included Neko Case and TV on the Radio, a bit timid in the beginning of their performances but overall glad and excited to be performing.

The festival grounds held about 100,000 people from all walks of the East Coast and some from across the border (Canada). There were girls draped in hippy flower crowns and sometimes nothing else but tape over their chest. Noticeably there were a lot of flower printed Hawaiian shirts and apparel, including Earl Sweatshirt and Julian Casablancas during his performance with The Strokes. The summer vibes were certainly in swing, no one could have asked for a more perfect sun-filled weekend. New festival favorite gimmick was flotation devices, people brought in their own pool floaties and were able to chill out on the grass without getting dirty. Check out a full recap of photos from Gov Ball in the gallery below; for our daily recaps, click here.