New year, new Governors Ball lineup for NYC-area music fans to take in and flip out about. The jam-packed annual festival will return to Randall’s Island on June 1st-3rd, and even though it feels far off in the midst of #bombcyclone, anticipation for the summer fest has been building since before the holidays with the release of cryptic clues – which were finally decoded this week with the unveiling of their 2018 poster.
While the lineup is perhaps more chill than in previous years, there’s some good rock representation with headliners Jack White (his first major solo performance since he finished touring on 2014’s Lazaretto) and Yeah Yeah Yeahs, plus The Gaslight Anthem (performing second album The ‘59 Sound in its entirety), Dirty Projectors, Japandroids, Wolf Alice, and Third Eye Blind sharing the bill. Hip-hop stars like Eminem (for his first headlining show in NYC since 2010), Travis Scott, Post Malone, and N.E.R.D are generating a lot of buzz – as is Silk City, the joint debut of Diplo and Mark Ronson. Of course, there are many crowd-pleasers for lovers of indie, alternative, and electronica. Attendees can expect a carefree and dance-friendly fest with familiar names like Halsey, CHVRCHES, Damian ‘Jr. Gong’ Marley, Sylvan Esso, Alvvays, Flight Facilities, and Middle Kids interspersed throughout the weekend.
And with the good folks at Founders forever building suspense, there’s also one still-to-be-announced act concealed by a yellow bar – a “FUN SURPRISE COMING SOON,” as Gov Ball noted on Twitter – which has been stirring some serious speculation and image analysis. Between that and everything else in store, including mini golf, silent discos, interactive photo booths, life-size board games, and all the awesome art and food, we’re definitely marking our calendars for this year’s festivities. Not everyone is as pleased with the news, however; most notably, 2 Chainz, who just posted a complaint about his low placement on the flyer. No word yet on whether it will make or break his attendance, but font-size wars aside, it’s still looking like a good year.
GA and VIP tickets are currently on sale here and already in high-demand, so grab them fast if all of the above is making you do a happy dance (totally understandable). We’ll see you on the grounds this summer.
Article: Olivia Isenhart
