From June 5 to 7, the annual Governors Ball returned to New York City’s Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens. Celebrating all the biggest genres — pop, rock, hip-hop/rap, electronic, and now K-Pop — the festival provided a new and refreshed list of artists representing the best and brightest in their respective genres. Coming back for another year of coverage, I was excited to make my return, mainly to check in on the state of mainstream music: who's popular, who's got diehard fans, who's got the juice for a future headline spot.
2026's iteration of Gov Ball filled me with immense hope, not just for the state of mainstream music, but for the festival goers as well. The fans of these specific artists — especially those who emerged from the underground — stampeded to barricade, enveloping us all in thick clouds of sand and dust throughout the three days. It was legendary to see people frothing for more experimental acts like Slayyyter, Jane Remover, Geese, Blood Orange, and 2hollis just as much as they were for the superstar headliners and viral pop acts like Audrey Hobert and Dominic Fike.
K-Pop finally asserted its stronghold on the music industry it's been strengthening for years through the booking of multiple acts, each providing their own, unique take on the form during their sets. It confirms that casual and diehard music fans love originality: whether it’s abrasive, hardcore techno rap, nu-metal tinged trashy pop, art rock, or electronica-infused progressive R&B, the inventive combinations these artists offered made for fun sets and unforgettable experiences.
Here’s the run-down of Governors Ball 2026:
A Well-Rounded, Ambitious Pop Lineup
Gov Ball tends to book pop acts with the Billboard charts and the front page of Rolling Stone open in another tab, but this year I was pleasantly shocked by the pop selections. For once, the artists who came represented the best aspects of the genre. Pop can be a prism for interpretation, bending the light of R&B, electronic dance, hip-hop, rock, and more into one, cohesive line. Production choices can become make-or-break moments for experimental artists to deservedly break through.
The eclectic pick of breakout star hemlocke springs, who’s still making waves with her recent debut record the apple tree under the sea, brought her dance crew to the stage, starting off Sunday on a perfectly zany note.
Later that afternoon, I was happy my beloved UK alt pop girl Rachel Chinouriri got to dazzle on Sunday with her airy, wonky alt pop — a satisfying blend of progressive R&B, early 2010s UK indie rock, and a splash of Britpop revivalism. With her standout vocal performances of the gutting “All I Ever Asked” and “My Everything,” as well as the infectious and bubbly lovesick anthem, “Can We Talk About Isaac?” the whole crowd danced on her command.
My flowers for Gov Ball's pop selection fall mostly at the feet of Slayyyter, who is unbelievable on stage. TND Staff – always on Slayyyter-watch – have tuned into her live festival performances before and astutely observed that "no performance felt as charged." At a time where the live band is almost becoming a lost art for pop stars — especially those leaning more toward total synth production — this artist drew all her power from a girtty, dirty, uber-amped nu-metal band, riling her up enough as she yelled through an entire WOR$T GIRL IN AMERICA setlist.
While "DANCE.." introduced the roaring, almost frothing crowd to her Main Stage performance with her poppiest, most Madonna-y song, she then pounced onto the extended catwalk for "OLD FLING$" and "OLD TECHNOLOGY," even breaking into all fours and screaming like Jens Kidman from Meshuggah as the band rocked on. (I did not know she could do that!) "CRANK" obviously gassed the even bigger crowd up more, establishing Slayyyter as someone sensational — a messy, hot-blooded, athletic, and unique pop star.
Lorde headlined opening night of Gov Ball, and she easily claimed the no. 1 spot for the festival. Hooked up to a heart monitor, the anti-pop star began lightly touching a semi-circle of pedals and loop machines. Confirmed as an unreleased track, the new song built upon the body-focused movement of Virgin, literally hooking the tempo up to her heart, getting faster and more throbbing as it echoes on. Then, the story began.
For Lorde, who hadn’t performed at Gov Ball since the summer of 2017’s Melodrama, her set became one of reclamation, of putting herself on display for the crowd as she learned to reconnect with her younger self on stage. Because the tracks were rearranged to fit her current musical style influenced by house and IDM, Virgin-ifying the first three records (with a trip-hop rendition of “Oceanic Feeling” securing a top three spot for me in her show), old tales of romance and heartbreak were recontextualized to illuminate Lorde’s perspective on fame, her relationship with her body, and growing older and more distant from those feelings.
Like a seasoned pop star, she knew her image would be blown up on giant screens, so she provided livestreamed footage of facial closeups on the two side TVs, added a couple more hi-def boxes, installed transparent platforms, and positioned lights all around the stage to frame her silhouette. Before the grand finale of the tear-inducing "Ribs," Lorde brought out a giant flag during “David,” with “I DON’T BELONG TO ANYONE” stitched next to a crest dated “2013.” Her freedom on stage was unbothered, hard-fought, and uneasy — it was hers.
The Feel-Good Festival Rock
With sunshine and a light breeze, some guitar and drums — a buzz to soundtrack the golden sunset — were warmly welcomed into Flushing Corona Park. The Beths, who performed at the Grove on Friday evening, brought the best of slacker rock to Gov Ball, delivering a set that found harmony in discordance, constant strumming, and a bit of punk flair to offset the easygoing vocal performance of front woman Elizabeth Stokes. They began with “Straight Line Was A Lie,” which also littered the stage with objects that decorate the eponymous 2025 album. Zany recorder solos aplenty, forceful and solid guitar solos abound, The Beths proved to a solid band for one's indie rock festival needs.
Wet Leg rocked on Saturday’s sunset, which came a little early as the storm clouds came pouring in. Even though the British rock band certainly softened up with moisturizer, their 2025 sophomore LP that finds front person and vocalist Rhian Teasdale breathlessly in love with her partner, their set still had lowkey yet firm punk undertones. They began as normal with the rallying cry of “catch these fists,” which jams in the kickdrum like a screwdriver while Teasdale doles out her threats totally cool and collected, before dipping into the 2022 self-titled debut with the cheeky “Wet Dream.”
The rest of the set was, understandably, moisturizer-heavy with “mangetout” serving as the grand finale, only nodding to the singles from Wet Leg (the cathartic, scrappy punk track “Too Late Now”, the Le Tigre-esque “Angelica”, and the classic rocker “Chaise Longue” toward the end). “jennifer’s body” aptly captured Wet Leg’s whole M.O.: while the lyrics are lovesick, the vocals are placid and almost blasé, and the percussion stays steady, it’s fried, subversive, and a bit rude — scuffed up like one’s favorite pairs of sneakers.
I’ve seen Geese a number of times a casual music fan might classify as “too many,” but thankfully, there’s always something new to say about this ever-more-popular rock band from Brooklyn. Though it was their Gov Ball debut, the young four-piece rattled through their tight set as they would any concert, unshaken by the grand size and crowd around the Main Stage. While sticking mainly to the crowd favorites of Getting Killed, some hits from 3D Country, a rendition of “2122” with a quick and non-controversial cover of Pink Floyd’s “Interstellar Overdrive”, and no songs Projector yet again, they performed as if they had blinders on, instead tapping into their knack for improvisation and mischief. Staying unpredictable, the band remains fresh and solid as ever, staying true to the in-house momentum and communication that encourages them to go big and weird.
Electronic Artists Proved Everything Is Computer
When it came to electronic music, Gov Ball 2026 went ambitious with its sound. Each act that represented this genre fully dove into other ones as well, proving that their main “instruments” are more so tools for experimentation than rulebooks for production.
Fcukers, the buzzy NYC duo running their victory lap in the house scene after the release of their debut album Ö, took over the Grove on Sunday afternoon, complementing Shanny Wise’s lower-than-lowkey emceeing with Jackson Walker Lewis’ subtle yet catchy and smooth mixing for a good dance.
Just before them were the experimental pop duo Between Friends, whose inflatable monster truck and neon outfits beamed their indietronica EDM pop over the sunny stage — clearly having a blast.
Yet, of the trendy electroclash and touch crowd, The Dare on Friday afternoon reigned supreme. As a Day One-er of the electronic project of Harrison Patrick Smith, I was happy to see many converts to his performance and music, which drew divisive criticism in the early 2020s when he began putting out singles under this project. Granted, at the time, modern music was entrenched in confessional lyricism; with Big Thief, Fiona Apple, Phoebe Bridgers/Boygenius, and more sweeping the Grammys and end-of-year lists, a self-aware, flashy, rude and lewd oddball purposefully devoid of flowery metaphors, seriousness, or introspection like The Dare was provocative and, for some, a turn-off.
But, The Dare’s set was just pure fun, soundtracked to larger-than-life, stylish beats pouring from piles of massive speakers on stage. (Even boss man Fantano was bobbing his head to “Girls,” which I will read as enjoyment.) It’s undeniable the electroclash instrumental breakdown of “All Night” — a euphoric, high-pitched wobbling echoing Sound of Silver — moves everyone into a state of madness. The thunderous, jagged, and overloaded pulsations of “I Destroyed Disco” effectively gave the otherwise boisterous track much needed grit, once again ensnaring the massive crowd in its spectacle. Likewise, the production in What’s Wrong With New York?
Bonus tracks “Cheeky” and “LCA” sneakily incorporate some of the artist’s best beat construction to date, with electric whirs and breakbeats that are strikingly minimalistic yet still beaming with energy. There’s not much insight to glean from lyrics like, “I’m in the city while you’re online” from “Good Time”, or the litany of girls he likes in “Girls”, but one can’t say Smith is “not authentic” in his music, especially when his interests lean more into the meticulous curation of a sound and a pop persona rather than talking about feelings or whatever. And a lot of people in that Friday crowd could sing every word back to him — clearly, fun is in demand.
Perhaps one of the duds of the festival were Major Lazer, whose set was as obnoxious as it was dated. It was interesting to see the new lineup of the band, now including America Foster, the first female member of the collective. Plus, on par with the K-Pop dominance of this year’s fest, Diplo made sure to feature remixes of “Pinky Up” and BTS’ Arirang to nod to his current production ventures.
The rest of the set fell more into dubstep-ifying popular pop songs and exploring the once-inescapable trio’s extremely dancehall-heavy discography, with the tropicale hit “Lean On” (feat. MØ and DJ Snake) as the centerpiece. At one point, Diplo yelled in his gravelly voice, “I NEED YOU TO FINGER SNAP WITH ME!”, and…well we did! (He did also make people do a real jumping jacks routine, counting tempo like an aerobics instructor jacked on steroids.) Diplo then completely whiffed a beat drop, miscounting aggressively into the microphone “ONE! TWO!” before the music left him in the dust.
Many times, while watching Diplo run to the front of stage with a bunch of dancers while yelling, “I’m gonna put on this Haitian t-shirt! I’m not Haitian, but I love Haiti!”, I asked, Who is this for? The neon, straight-out-of-2015 ravers? The grandparents of Stray Kids fans? People with alpine forest tattoos? Hm. Whatever, I laughed; this DJ set was ridiculous and awesome.
Earlier that day, innovation in electronic music blasted from the Grove, led by none other than Jane Remover. The 22-year-old producer and artist — a force in the genre-bending underground of internet rap and EDM — became more than just a cult favorite of this year’s Gov Ball. They were a complete, raw, and glowing pop star on stage. Balancing Revengeseekerz with the <3 EP and a dash of her leroy alter ego in remixes of “Music Baby” and “Experimental Skin” — all released in the span of a couple months in 2025 — this punchy set confirmed that Jane Remover’s energy can’t die down.
Even with the autotuned mic, their vocal performance throughout shredded the sound barrier. Full-throated screams, melodic pop runs, confidence bursting through each moment of crowd work: Jane Remover is a musical omnivore, regurgitating all the excitement boiling underneath the scuzz, mud, chaos, and hums of the machines that prompt noises from mere buttons into a cohesive, anthemic, and electrifying rave.
Governors Light Stick: K-Pop Domination
Though Governor’s Balls of years past had K-Pop representation, this was the first year one group headlined a festival, further solidifying the international reaches of this subgenre’s impact. And the headliner was none other than Stray Kids, an eight- (formerly nine-) member boy band who weave together electronic/rave music with hip-hop, rap, and pop for a particularly edgy sound.
Perhaps of the three headliners, they drew in the biggest and most enthusiastic crowd, ranging from small children who waved hi to the big screen whenever a new member appeared, to the teenagers holding clear backpacks stuffed with photo cards of the men's handsome faces, to the adults handing out bracelets with positive phrases and members’ names spelled out in glittery beads. Multiple people outside the festival gates — unfortunately unaware that an imminent thunderstorm on Saturday would move their set time up to 6:15 pm and end around 8:00 — came just to see them. I could not say the same for Lorde or A$AP Rocky.
The festival’s intention to book multiple true or adjacent groups throughout the long weekend, however, challenged people’s expectations of the showmanship. And for the fans, it gave an accessible way to see their idols, who might not have the opportunity to tour as much in the US as an American pop star.
Stray Kids, moreover, became the right first step into broadening Gov Ball’s international appeal. The boy band is a novelty: unlike most groups formed by companies (Stray Kids’ is JYP Entertainment) the lead member Bang Chan famously hand-picked each of the members on the team before debuting on the 2017 eponymous reality competition show. All members have creative control over their music, lyrics, and production. They perform with a live band — one that absolutely shreds, perfectly bringing their unique, noise rock, dubstep and phonk-inspired sound to the pop performance.
Now, do I think “Domino” sounds like “Light ‘Em Up” by Fall Out Boy a little too much in its poppy corniness to sound like an edgy, hard arena rock anthem? Yes. Did I think the costume change from devils into angels for the “Divine”/”Walkin’ On Water”/”God’s Menu” section was on par with a campy Broadway musical? Yes. The EDM versions of “Side Effects” and “Do It,” while they went hard and showed off some genuinely clean and interesting musical production, just kept piling onto a dizzying whirlwind of movement and sound.
However, Stray Kids are a machine: they know exactly how to vamp to an all-ages crowd, they hit all their marks on time, they looked great, they smashed all their nu-metal rap numbers, and their prop work with the colorful smoke bombs in “Bounce Back” was objectively awesome.
JENNIE of BLACKPINK closed out the Snapchat stage on Sunday, drawing in a sizable crowd eager to hear dance pop hits like “Mantra,” “Damn Right,” and the anthem “like JENNIE,” which, of course, closed out her set with a celebratory dance party erupting in jumps and chants for her name. If Stray Kids were a classic K-Pop band, then this girl group idol would lean more freestyle, especially because her collaborations with pop artists like Dua Lipa, Childish Gambino, Kali Uchis, and Doechii on her predominantly English-language debut Ruby was an attempt to bring her closer to Western listeners.
Her set also does not bring the same power and demand as a BLACKPINK show: lighter on choreography, devoid of costume changes, and more focused on her rapping and vocal performance, adhering only to the “tape” segmentation structure of a traditional K-Pop concert before rocking with the dancers and the live band. She also didn’t have much released material for a full, one-hour set, but at least she offered some new, unreleased music for the crowd, as well as her recent “Dracula” remix with Tame Impala! Jennie was just a true diva the whole performance; she was endearing and fun.
The Katseye spectacle on Friday evening, however, was simply confusing. What both the girls and the viewers were promised at the collective's inception — a well-rounded international girl group that could perform on par with K-Pop idols like Le Sserafim, NewJeans, aespa, LOONA, and BLACKPINK, given intense training pre-debut — had not been delivered. I’ll assign many of the flaws with the highly publicized squad to horrible management. (Why are we pretending to be mad at the firing of Manon? Did we not see HYBE prioritize TikTok fan edits over group chemistry, raw skills, and work ethic in the Pop Star Academy docuseries? Did we not watch a bunch of teenage girls hold an intervention with an adult with to tell her to her face she’s not taking this competition seriously enough? This whole fiasco was the company’s fault.) The girls themselves are around 20, and I know they have little control over their image and sound.
Katseye don’t have enough material for a one-hour, Main Stage festival slot; they haven’t even dropped an album yet. But, compared to the fine-tuning, methodical production of a K-Pop set (or even a regular pop set!), this one came across as slapdash. No one taught these girls to vamp, forcing the crowd to sit through an uncomfortable 10-minute introduction to their names, personalities, and pitches despite them not really knowing what to say to such a big crowd. My favorite highlight: Connecticut-born Lara Raj randomly lied about being a native New Yorker to justify cheering on the Knicks and calling this a "hometown show."
Sometimes, it’s clear their music is for children. The members auditioned for Pop Star Academy as minors; they perform baby sensory-like songs like the Monster High theme song, “Mean Girls,” “I’m Pretty,” and “Gameboy.” Their most passionate fans are young girls eager to perform the choreography next to them, which warmed my heart the most because the five girls are somehow connecting with a targeted demographic. But then their dancing and grinding, coupled with the more adult costumes and random calling the obviously young crowd “sexy,” say otherwise!
More importantly, there is no light behind the Katseye members’ eyes when they perform. Trapped forever to sing Charli xcx reject after Charli xcx reject, Katseye are now at the point of pantomiming their own choreography. Like robots, they activate during “Gnarly,” “Internet Girl,” and “M.I.A.”, flailing their arms when necessary, body rolling on cue, wagging their knees on the right word, but when it comes time to the more ballad-y songs, of which none of their vocal chops meet the challenges presented, they just sway motionless and awkward.
They do reanimate themselves for “PINKY UP” and “Touch,” perhaps because the first one is new, and the other is actually a decent, not-slop song. But then they’ll do a ludicrous rendition of “Gabriela” with a dance break involving cheap flamenco skirts, partner work with backup dancers, and a silly hat reveal moment from Avanzini, their only Hispanic member. Maybe if someone — ANYONE — gave them good material to work with, then they’d look less like they’re being held hostage until the non-existent debut album comes out.
A Golden Year for Rap
After a weekend of strong rap performances, including Baby Keem and the chilled out Freddie Gibbs and The Alchemist, the knockout performance by Clipse on Sunday evening easily put all the other rappers and hip-hop artists to bed with their no-nonsense, classic rap run-through chasing the high of their monumental 2025 record Let God Sort ‘Em Out. In the simple yet apt words of the person watching them next to me, “These guys are RAPPING!”
With a bumping setlist of all bangers no skips, beginning with the Pharrell-produced, electric, burning track “Chains & Whips,” the Pusha T and Malice duo flaunted their undeniable songwriting ability, their raw magnetism with a hyped-up crowd, and their ability to turn expressions of anger, protest, grief, and self-confidence into ultimate party bangers. The love for the Hell Hath No Fury classics like “Momma I’m So Sorry,” “Keys Open Doors,” and “Mr. Me Too,” all flowing one after the next, had the audience keeping up and waving their hands to every word, demonstrating the love for old school rap never dies. Closing with the angelic, Pharrell-feature slowdown on “So Far Ahead,” the Virigina rap duo wound down victorious, leaving us with the feeling of splendor and pumping adrenaline.
NYC’s own A$AP Rocky closed out the festival with a quintessential, as-expected, visual spectacle. I say “as-expected” because, with no surprise whatsoever, the Don’t Be Dumb artist, notorious for not respecting call times, showed up 25 minutes late to his 8:45 pm set, got the hard cut-off at 10 pm, then complained that he couldn’t push through the rest of his set.
However, what we did get to see was nothing short of a powerful, high-intensity performance full of effective visual imagery, hits from Rocky’s catalogue, and a monstrous dance team composed of two sections: a more modern dance-inspired, free-flowing hip-hop crew clad in all white, and a rigid, seemingly unbreakable, and menacing SWAT team.
Whoever A$AP Rocky’s choreographer and artistic director are deserve special shoutouts. The details in this spectacle — two styles of dancing expressed by the characters, only for the SWAT team to gradually break down and adopt the movement of the “rioters,” the giant helicopter suspended in air, the microphone-as-megaphone emblazoned with “D.B.D.” Rocky held throughout, the draping of the American flags around the headliner’s militaristic podium, the “HARLEM” waistband, the sea of white t-shirts waved like a propeller — magnified the rapper to massive proportions.
A$AP Rocky honored his hometown headline show with a few surprises. Don’t Be Dumb only got four total spots, with the apex being the siren-heavy, industrial-esque heavy-hitters of “STOLE YA FLOW” and “HELICOPTER.” (“PUNK ROCKY” was also there, admittedly weaning off the energy with its out-of-nowhere and seemingly too long alt rock genre flip, but it was fun. The transition to “Sundress” was overkill, however.) The set featured archive pulls from LIVE.LOVE.A$AP and LONG.LIVE.A$AP, one-off singles like the iconic and braggadocious “Tailor Swif” and the plunky Highest 2 Lowest soundtrack original “Trunks,” as well as the debut of his still-unreleased dembow- and trap-influenced banger “FLACKITO JODYE,” featuring a killer live performance from Dominican rapper (and only woman to walk the stage), Tokischa.
On top of the actual creativity and adventure behind his melodic inspirations and collaborations, A$AP Rocky is also a hilarious diva. He knows exactly which songs are his greatest hits; when the festival tech operators were just about to grab the cartoon hook to yank him off the stage during “Purple Swag,” he began shouting at his producer, yelling, “WE GOTTA GET TO THE GOOD SONGS!” Flipping through 30-second snippets of “Peso,” “LVL,” “Wassup,” and “Fashion Killa” (literally all the hits) to address all the must-haves in his concert, he kept trying to rebel against curfew in increasingly comical ways. (“AT LEAST LET ME RAP ‘PESO!’” he complained, as if this hasn't happened to him numerous times before.)
Like passengers on a roller coaster, the crowd sharply switched between “YAY!” and “AW!” But, as we all stampeded the park grounds to overcrowd the subway station, giggles and excited buzz still filled the air. It was a memorable, classically A$AP Rocky, and most importantly, fantastic.
Now, step inside the media tent for an exclusive, behind-the-scenes meet-up with some of the artists performing at Gov Ball:
