Highlights from Governors Ball 2024, Day Two

The Killers Feature a Guest Drummer, 21 Savage Models Supreme, and Carly Rae Jepsen Sings with Swords

Governors Ball Day Two on Saturday saw the throngs of attendees arrive earlier than on Day One on Friday. By mid-afternoon, the lines for food and swag were long, and the crowds before the performers were thicker. Fortunately, the weather cooperated well once again.

The Day Two co-headliners, the Killers and 21 Savage, drew the largest numbers, with Carly Rae Jepsen, Sabrina Carpenter and Sexyy Red coming close. Veteran indie-rockers TV Girl, Hippo Campus, and D4vd gained new fans, and newcomers Doechii and Jessie Murph also impressed. P1Harmony, only the second K-pop band to ever play the festival following Aespa in 2023, and experimental rocker Bakar, a Brit of of Yemeni and Tanzanian descent, ethnically diversified the lineup. Early arrivals were exposed to three hot indie bands from New York’s local club circuit, Quarters of Change, Telescreens, and the Thing. The 21 acts on Saturday offered something for most every millennial’s taste.

The Killers

Eight years after headlining Gov Ball in 2016, the Killers returned to close night two on the Gov Ball NYC stage. The Killers warmed up for the headlining show by performing at the much smaller Bowery Ballroom the night before, on the 20th anniversary of the release of Hot Fuss. The Gov Ball set started and ended with the biggest hits from the album, the career-launching "Somebody Told Me" and "Mr. Brightside." Over the course of almost 90 minutes, the Killers performed rockers from other albums, but nothing from the band’s most recent album, 2021’s Pressure Machine. The set also included a cover of Erasure‘s “A Little Respect,” and a snippet of the Yeah Yeah Yeah‘s “Maps,” which the band worked as an interlude in “Runaways.”

Formed in 2001 in Las Vegas, Nevada, the Killers is now a legacy band, older than many fans in the Gov Ball audience. Vocalist Brandon Flowers, the band’s only consistent member since its origins, said to the audience, “If you came here tonight looking for some rock and roll, you came to the right place.” He paused and continued, “We happen to be the purveyors of some of the finest rock and roll on planet Earth. Can I get an amen?”

A fan in the audience caught Flowers’ attention by holding up a sign asking to play drums on “For Reasons Unknown” to celebrate his grandmother’s 73rd birthday. Flowers invited him on stage and, after introductions and logistics, announced to the audience that the guest was Anthony from Mamaroneck, New York. Flowers did not know that this was the same fan who played guitar on a song in Post Malone’s Gov Ball set the night before. Once again, Anthony did a magnificent job.

21 Savage

Before 21 Savage came onto the GoPuff stage, the audience heard a taped message by his mother claiming that every choice she made was for his betterment. Born Shéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph of West Indian descent in London, England, raised in Atlanta, Georgia, the 31-year-old Savage now was co-headlining one of America's biggest music festivals. Mom did a good job.

Dressed neck to ankle like an advertisement for a Supreme advertisement, even down to gloves on a warm spring afternoon, 21 performed an hour-long set of his hits and his collaborations. His repertoire was heavily autobiographic, with numerous references to his violent and criminal history. Otherwise, he covered familiar material by Drake, Metro Boomin’, Young Nudy, Travis Scott and Post Malone, rapped in his trademark monotone drawl. The fans rapped along with him, even filling in lyrics for him when he moved his microphone away from his mouth.

The set included a video interlude of news clips detailing his immigration saga. In 2023, 21 Savage became a lawful permanent resident of the United States and received his green card. He is eligible for American citizenship in 2028.

TV Girl

While 21 Savage drew the majority of the festival attendees across the park, TV Girl played to a smaller yet sizable crowd from the IHG stage. Midway through the set, the band’s founder and lead vocalist, Brad Petering, spoke to the audience about TV Girl’s most recent album, Grapes Upon the Vine. “I know a lot of people did not like it, but then I realized, no, you people are wrong.” The band then continued to play selections from the 2023 album.

Carly Rae Jepsen

Carly Rae Jepsen has not had a hit song in nearly 10 years, and certainly not since she last appeared at Governors Ball in 2021, yet she performed on the main Gov Ball NYC stage and commanded a vast assemblage of enthusiastic singing fans. In particular, her performance of “Call Me Maybe” sparked a massive rush toward the stage. The former Canadian Idol contestant briefly drew closer to the fans by venturing to the edge of the audience. The fan connection was genuine; fans gave her two separate inflatable swords as she sang “Cut to the Feeling.”

Hippo Campus

Soft indie-rockers Hippo Campus performed on the IHG stage, performing some of the same songs that the band performed at Gov Ball in 2019. Lead vocalist Jake Luppen's flippant between-song banter included comments such as “your parents may not love you, but Hippo Campus loves you.” Ouch.

Sexyy Red

Janae Nierah Wherry, known professionally as Sexyy Red, was a blonde and not a redhead this year on the GoPuff stage. Since her debut performance at GovBall in 2023, where she was one of the breakout stars, she has grown far more popular. With increased popularity comes the ability to provide a wilder show. Not every performer brought an elaborate stage set to Governors Ball 2024, but perhaps the most memorable belonged to Sexyy Red. A massive red MAGA-style baseball cap loomed over the stage, reading "MAKE AMERICA SEXYY AGAIN.” The “Sexyy for President” Trump-cosplaying campaign was in full swing.

A dj revved the crowd below, promising that Sexyy Red was about to perform. She finally came on the stage, escorted by a man cosplaying as a member of the presidential Secret Service. The set consisted of a series of twerk-a-thon staples. Red spoke little between songs, though at one point she announced that she was looking into the audience for the biggest hoes, an introduction to her song “Looking for the Hoes (Ain’t My Fault).” Red concluded her set with “Pound Town,” at one point adjusting the lyrics for the sake of Gov Ball. “I’m out here in New York, lookin’ for the hoochie daddies.”

D4vd sang a duet with his sister Emily

"I’m about to play some unreleased for you," D4vd said to the audience at the IHG stage. "It’s called 'Is This Really Love,' and when I get done singing it, I want y'all to tell me if I should drop it or if I should keep it to himself."

Nineteen-year-old David Anthony Burke, known professionally as D4vd (pronounced David), returned to his geographic roots with Gov Ball, having been born in Queens. He later moved with his family to Houston, Texas. His indie-rock set on the IHG stage included some of his better known songs, including  “Feel It" from the Invincible television series.

D4vd invited his young sister, Emily, onstage to sing “Here with Me” with him. Halfway through the duet, D4vd said to Emily, “You wanna show them your trick?” She then did a cartwheel.

Sabrina Carpenter

Before coming onto the Gov Ball stage, Sabrina Carpenter’s production team teased her audience with a series of projections that read “I’m about to come out, but I need to hear you first. What was that? Okay, I’m coming out. Whoops, too early. I forgot my mic. One sec.” The 25-year-old Disney star then pranced onto the heart-themed stage decor in a short mellow-yellow dress with a heart-shaped cut out in the center of her chest along with matching platform boots that masked her 4 '11" stature. Within moments, a crew of 10 dancers flanked around her, and Carpenter began a few choreographed moves of her own. At one point, she dropped to her knees in front of her guitarist as he jammed a solo; the two mirrored each other’s moves on the ground as Carpenter whipped her hair.

In her introduction to “Already Over,” Carpenter said, “New York is one of the best cities in the world to play music because you’ve figured music out in a way that hasn’t been studied by science yet.”

Fans in the crowd raised signs that read “Please, Please, Please Sing ‘Please, Please, Please.’” She asked the audience, “Did you hear my new single, New York?” Responding to cheers, she then asked if anyone had seen the track’s video, which incidentally stars her real-life boyfriend Barry Keoghan. She introduced the song by stating that “I know I said I can’t relate to desperation, but turns out I’m just a girl.” The festival marked Carpenter’s first time ever performing the new song live. Despite it being a new song, many in the audience sang along.

“Throw your phones in the river,” Carpenter instructed the audience before singing “Fast Times.” She added, “I want you to be present.” Carpenter did not lead by example.

Introducing “Because I Liked a Boy,” Carpenter asked the audience to chant “I’m a slut” on the count of three. Perhaps a little shocking to newcomers, the song's chorus has Carpenter calling herself a "heartbreaker, I'm a slut."

"What's something that stunts your growth? I heard caffeine stunts your growth," she asked the audience. She joked about having a caffeinated drink as a pick-me-up. She then said, "Oh! Espresso!" and started singing her 2024 hit, “Espresso.”

At each concert, she closes with “Nonsense,” giving the song a unique, city-specific ending, usually commenting on the event or location. “Do I text him back, it’s such a tough call/That won’t fit inside me, bro, I’m dumb small/People who hate Pride can suck my Gov Ball,” Sabrina sang. She wished everyone a "Happy Pride, New York" and left the stage. The screen then advertised the album she is releasing on August 23, Short n' Sweet.

Doechii

“Where the f*ck are the gays?” asked Doechii, generating enthusiastic cheers. “You know this world would be nothing without you!”

Jaylah Ji'mya Hickmon, known professionally as Doechii, rose to prominence with the viral success of her 2021 song "Yucky Blucky Fruitcake." At the GoPuff Stage, she began that rap with “Hi! My name’s Doechii with two i’s! I feel anxious when I’m high!” Later in the song, she chanted “Doechii (Doechii), Doechii (Doechii), You forgot to take the chicken out."

“Do you know how often I’ll be out on the street and someone will come up to me and say, ‘You left the chicken out?'” she told the audience. “It’s crazy, but I love it.”

Doechii premiered an unreleased song, “Sweat,” at Gov Ball. Meanwhile, Doechii’s “d-d-d-d-doechii!” sound effect played exhaustively during her 45-minute set.

P1Harmony

P1Harmony made history on the IHG Stage as the first K-Pop boy band to ever perform at Gov Ball, following the girl band Aespa last summer. The six-member group was introduced to the world in 2020 through the film P1H: The Beginning of a New World, and later that year released its first EP, Disharmony: Stand Out. The performance at Gov Ball was all about synchronizing choreography and vocals.

Jessie Murph

Gov Ball attendees heard a taste of country pop music on day one when Post Malone sang “I Had Some Help” and Yung Gravy rapped and sang some country-influenced mixes. Jessie Murph, a 19-year-old singer from Alabama, pushed just a bit deeper into the country pop genre, although the end result was far more pop than country. Her singing style, however, sounded similar to that of Rihanna. She even asked the audience if anyone there liked Rihanna.

Claire Rosinkranz

When she was eight years old in California, Claire Rosinkranz began giving her father ideas for the jingles he was writing for television programs and commercials. At age 16, she had a recording contract based on her performances of the songs she posted online. Now 20 years old, the prolific singer-songwriter premiered on the IHG stage at least four as-yet-unreleased songs, presumably from her next album.

Quarters of Change

On the IHG stage, New York City-based Quarters of Change became the only act at Gov Ball to introduce a guest rock star. As the band introduced a cover of Blue Öyster Cult’s “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper,” vocalist Ben Roter introduced Blue Öyster Cult’s drummer, Albert Bouchard, who would play in addition to the band’s regular drummer, Attila Anrather. The band did a fine cover of the classic rock song. Roter commented “more cowbell,” an inside joke for class rock fans.

Bakar

Abubakar Baker Shariff-Farr, whose chosen professional name is Bakar, is a British singer of Yemeni and Tanzanian descent. On the GoPuff stage at mid-afternoon, Bakar’s experimental music included covers of Boffalongo’s “Dancing in the Moonlight” and Dominic Fike’s “3 Nights.” He also performed his better-known songs, “Stop Selling Her Drugs,” and “Hell N Back.”

Skizzy Mars

Myles Mills, better known by his stage name Skizzy Mars, is a New York City native based in Harlem. He warmed up his show by headlining a Governors Ball After Dark show at Mercury Lounge on Friday night. Active since 2013, his raps on the IHG stage were backed by impressive indie-rock music.

Riovaz

Brandon Hernandez, better known by the stage name Riovaz, which is his riff on the word "savior," is a 20-year-old Ecuadorian-American rapper, singer and songwriter from Jersey City, New Jersey. He gained prominence via social media in 2020 with his breakout song "Prom Night." He gained further traction in 2021 with the song "I Feel Fantastic." Accompanied only by a dj on the GoPuff stage, his music combined pop, hip hop, and dreamy, retro synth sounds. His set included his better known songs, and he performed "The Rake (Can't Complain)" twice.

Telescreens

After seven years as a band, New York City-based Telescreens increasingly explodes the local club circuit, with energy-ripping shows at the Bowery Ballroom, Mercury Lounge and the Bitter End. Featured on the main Gov Ball NYC stage, this was the band’s first-ever festival performance. Although the performance started shortly after the gates opened, Telescreens generated a fair amount of moshing and crowd surfing from the small crowd during “Don’t Feel Nothing.” The set closed with a circle pit and more moshing.

Little Stranger

On the IHG Stage, Little Stranger’s Kevin Shields joked, “everything’s legal so you can do whatever you want today, I heard it from the governor himself.” The band is from Charleston, South Carolina, and no one clued them that New York’s governor is a woman. The rap duo, originated in 2015, rapped to distorted guitar and brass riffs and chill waves of synthesizer tracks. Thrilled to be at Gov Ball, the duo hyped later acts like Sexyy Red.

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Highlights from Governors Ball 2024, Day One

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The Manhattan Beat reports on New York City's live music circuit. All articles are written by Everynight Charley Crespo. All photographs are taken by Everynight Charley Crespo, except when noted otherwise.

For a list of Manhattan venues that are presenting live music regularly, swing the desktop cursor to the right of the The Manhattan Beat home page and click on the pop-up tab "Where to Find Live Music."

For a more complete listing of upcoming performances in the New York City area, visit The Manhattan Beat's June calendar.