New York spirit ran high as the Governors Ball Music Festival returned to Flushing Meadows Corona Park from June 5-7, with headliners including Lorde, Stray Kids and A$AP Rocky. As New York Knicks flags hung proudly from the Verizon mainstage and local government officials enthusiastically spoke to crowds, not even typical weather delays could deter the weekend’s energy.

Friday kicked off with a performance from indie rock band The Backfires, whose set got rained out last year, on the Snapchat stage. Guitarist Harry Ruprecht, who met lead vocalist and GLS alum Alex Gomez in London while Gomez studied abroad, described the experience as cathartic. 

“The nerves kind of went away,” Gomez told WSN. “There’s the idea that everything that can go wrong will go wrong, and that happened to us last year. But we’re back.”

The day also included notable sets from rising pop artist and Tisch alum Audrey Hobert, who had never performed — or even attended — a music festival before, and global girl group KATSEYE, for whom young festival attendees screamed extra loud during hit songs “PINKY UP” and “Gnarly.” The night closed out with an energized set from Lorde, who debuted a revamped version of her Ultrasound Tour — including new electronic arrangements of old songs and fan favorites left out from the tour setlist, like “Hard Feelings” and Charli xcx’s “Girl, so confusing featuring Lorde.”

Saturday proved hectic, as storm warnings caused headliner Stray Kids to perform two hours ahead of schedule and three evening sets — including headliner Kali Uchis — to be canceled, ending the night early. Still, several daytime sets provided more than enough star power to make up for the hours lost.

JimmyBoy, a rising senior at Berklee College of Music, dropped his debut EP “La Jota” from the Verizon mainstage on Saturday afternoon, bringing an electric fusion of reggaeton, R&B and Afrobeats to the packed crowd. One of Billboard’s On the Radar Latin artists and a self-proclaimed “lover boy,” JimmyBoy charmed listeners with his raps about past relationships and tropical beaches, citing Puerto Rican singer Ozuna as one of his biggest influences.

“Most people don’t understand what he’s saying, but they dance to his music and vibe to his melodies,” JimmyBoy told WSN. “That was my goal at the end of the day: have people moving and dancing. And that’s what I did.”

Fans at the Grove stage got a taste of a wide range of genres, kicking off with indie pop singer Jade LeMac. Best known for her viral track “Constellations,” the singer emphasized how special it was to perform queer love songs during Pride Month.

“Even for the people that showed up and weren’t part of the community, they’re there and supporting,” “LeMac told WSN. “I feel so grateful as a queer artist to bring people together, no matter their sexuality or gender.” 

The day continued with ’90s grunge rock band VILLANELLE, traveling from London. Across the pond, the group supported Oasis’ Definitely Maybe anniversary tour in 2024, which gave frontman Gene Gallagher — the son of Oasis’ Liam — an appreciation for the Gov Ball crowd’s warm reception as he belted out songs from the band’s new EP “Measly Means.”

“It was one of the top three gigs of my life,” Gallagher told WSN.

An overwhelming majority of Saturday’s admissions were Stray Kids superfans, so it was painfully obvious who was there to camp out at the mainstage — leading to tensions between drastically different fanbases. During his set, hyperpop rapper 2hollis yelled at the pit to “open that shit up” and mosh before calling out the VIP and Pit Viewing sections for standing still and not knowing the words to his songs. Artists at the smaller stages — including digicore rapper Jane Remover and Mexican retro-pop-funk band Midnight Generation — had audiences headbanging and swaying to every set.

“It’s our pay as musicians when people give you their all,” Carlos Amaya, Midnight Generation’s bassist and keyboardist, told WSN. 

“It’s contagious,” lead vocalist Fernando Mares added. “Whatever you put out, you get back.”

Sunday brought another bout of unpredictable weather, as passing thunderstorms delayed dance-pop singer Slayyyter’s highly-anticipated mainstage set. Luckily for the thousands who got soaked while waiting, there was still plenty of time to “CRANK” it to her slightly shortened show. Blood Orange agreed to perform at 4 p.m. after his Saturday set was cancelled, and hundreds at the Snapchat stage whipped out their phones to record cult classics “Champagne Coast” and “Uncle ACE,” featured in the iconic makeout scene from Luca Guadagnino’s “Challengers.”

Dominic Fike performed an unreleased song called “AI” and encouraged New Yorkers to try to “see if you could knock me out” if they see him wandering the streets, while Geese drew the most polite mosh pit on Earth during its song “Trinidad.” Meanwhile, BLACKPINK member and newly solo artist JENNIE drew in a tightly packed crowd for her first festival-headlining set of the year, performing three new songs and exciting solo renditions of her hit collaborations “One Of The Girls” and “Dracula (JENNIE Remix).”

Yes, Rihanna was in attendance for A$AP Rocky’s festival-closing headline set — to which he arrived 20 minutes late. The performance featured his album “Don’t Be Dumb” and had nearly every man in the crowd taking their white tees off and spinning them around during “HELICOPTER.” Backup dancers dressed as SWAT agents lined up as Rocky got “disrespectful,” zipping around the square-shaped stage with a giant megaphone for hits like “PUNK ROCKY” and “Fashion Killa” until the festival’s strict 10 p.m. curfew.

Contact Dani Biondi and Amelia Knust at [email protected].