From Megan Thee Stallion to Carly Rae Jepsen: The 5 best acts of Governors Ball 2021

Having legends Megan Thee Stallion, Phoebe Bridgers, and Carly Rae Jepsen all in one place did not disappoint

By Tatiana Tenreyro, Gabrielle Sanchez | September 28, 2021 | 4:48am

Music Features Megan Thee Stallion

From Megan Thee Stallion to Carly Rae Jepsen: The 5 best acts of Governors Ball 2021

The crowd at Governors Ball 2021 Photo: Kena Betancur/AFP

The renaissance of live music continues! After a yearlong absence, Governors Ball returned to New York City in a brand-new location, with a genre-diverse lineup that had something for everyone. Since we’re still in COVID times, the fest took place in its new home at Queens’ CitiField, feeling far smaller than previous fests, but safer. (Heading to its previous location at Randall’s Island required traveling by a packed ferry—which, yeah, still crowded at the fest this year, but all outdoors.)

Governors Ball seems mostly focused on targeting “the youths,” with plenty of buzz-worthy acts that dominated charts and Twitter discourse in the past year. And in this East Coast festival’s case, many of the performers who didn’t get the headlining slot proved that they’re nonetheless strong contenders to be headlining names on the posters for years to come. These are the five acts that stood out most among a crowded roster of excellent artists.

Most worth the wait

It’s ridiculous that in 2021, Megan Thee Stallion isn’t performing as a headliner at Governors Ball. The crowd seemed to agree, too: Getting a good spot to see Stallion was one of the biggest challenges at the festival, with thousands rushing the stage to see the rapper perform. It was such a huge crowd that my friends and I masked up extra carefully, given there was barely any breathing among between the sea of fans waiting to see her. She arrived to the stage 18 minutes late, but those who decided to skip out on her set due to the delay were few and far between—because frankly, it was worth it. Stallion knows exactly how to command a stage, and her dancers’ choreographed twerking was pure art. Fans were treated to crowd pleasers like “Hot Girl Summer,” “Simon Says,” “Big Ole Freak,” “Thot Shit,” and “WAP,” making this performance feel like a triumphant return to live music from one of the biggest artists in the country. [Tatiana Tenreyro]

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