As the gates opened for a third day of Gov Ball, the festival brought with it a youthful exuberance that was uniquely its own. The day’s lineup took a chance with many of the acts on the bill, featuring some of the youngest but talented artists in music today as not many performers were all too removed from their debut into fame. This bet would ultimately pay off in a series of electrifying performances and some defining moments that undoubtedly fortified several projects’ meteoric rise to the top of the charts.
Playing early on the festival’s third and final day, Indie Rock band Hotline TNT woke the crowd up with their 90s-style sound and spunky attitude. As the band wrapped their sound check-up, in the moments before playing their first notes, frontman Will Anderson set the tone by asking “Are you going to be a good little crowd or a bad little crowd?” before kicking the day off with their recent hit “Protocol.”
Australian-born Indie Pop artist G Flip more than lived up to the verb in their moniker as they lept onto the stage to give an energetic performance, jumping so frequently their feet hardly had time to touch the ground. The multi-instrumentalist wasted no opportunity to showcase their talents as they put on a half-hour clinic demonstrating their passions for percussion, strings, and soulful vocals.
So rarely does anyone have the chance to experience a show while recognizing it to be a pivotal moment in a young artist’s career such as Midwest artist Chappell Roan’s performance that day on the main stage. Drawing the foot traffic of almost everyone in the venue’s attendance, the stage was set for the artist to win over a new generation of fans and do some good along the way. With a flare for the dramatics and an awareness of their location, the artist emerged from an apple dressed to the nines as the Statue of Liberty, later claiming “I am in drag of the biggest queen of all.” Taking their opportunity to make a political statement in front of so many captivated fans, the artist proclaimed “In case you have forgotten what is etched on my pretty little toes, give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free. That means freedom and trans rights. That means freedom and women's rights. And it especially means freedom for all oppressed people in occupied territories.” Missing no chance to entertain, the artist played a complete set of hits from their young career including “HOT TO GO!,” “Femininomenon,” and of course “Naked in Manhatten” culminating in an experience so complete to their brand that for a brief time, all in attendance believed, appropriately enough, that the Pink Pony Club had opened their doors in Queens.
Sending the festival off in style and closing out the Gopuff stage for the year, Mexican breakout artist Peso Pluma performed like a heavyweight as the sun set on New York City. Accompanied by more than a dozen musicians accompanying him onstage, the show was far from nonchalant. Surprising his fans at every turn, the artist brought several guests onstage to feature alongside him for several songs including Jaisel Nuñez and Rich the Kid. In an astonishing feat of showmanship and respect for the audience, the artist demonstrated just how committed they were to giving a performance of a lifetime. Midway through his set, the artist fractured his foot, which he would confirm via social media a few hours later. This setback hardly derailed the show as he projected “I can’t even stand, but I don’t give a fuck… We gonna jump or what?” even going as far as to have a member of his crew carry him to the barricade to dance with his fans at their eye level. The set served as a perfect metaphor for the spirit of the festival. No matter what adversity might arise, no force could ever be too strong to stop the music.
Check out more photos from GovBall day three.
