This weekend (June 5-7), thousands of feathered, DayGlo-wearing concert-goers will brave the weather and make the unwieldy trek up to the Governors Ball -- New York City's vert own giant three-day music festival on Randall’s Island. And like other multi-day destination festivals -- be it one of the big four like Coachella or Bonnaroo, or the more manageably-sized Sasquatch and Outside Lands -- Governors Ball aims to please as many people as possible, with sprawling, relatively genre-diverse lineups blending the big names in rock, hip-hop, folk and country, and tent-filling EDM artists. This year's iteration showcases many top tier headliners that everyone is sure to gravitate towards: Drake, The Black Keys, Deadmau5, Bjork, Lana Del Rey and Florence and the Machine.
But how does the rest of the bill stack up?
For one, Governors Ball is not especially built for discovery. That’s more the mission of Pitchfork, or the industry-geared CMJ’s and SXSW’s -- which at least attempt to put an emphasis on buzz-generating artists and offer a Choose Your Own Adventure menu of countless up-and-comers destined to become huge names six months or a year from now -- if not right now.
That said, Governors Ball does provide a one-stop shop for fans to catch up on larger acts that either put out big things in the past year or just released a new album; this is a place for people to hear a lot of their recent favorites all in one place. So if you didn’t have a chance to see Conor Oberst or Ryan Adams last year, they’re at Governors Ball. Hoping to get a taste of new songs from My Morning Jacket or Tame Impala? They’re at Governors Ball, too. And let’s not take for granted that everyone attending a festival like Governors Ball will have heard of The War On Drugs or DIIV -- those bands are still discoveries to someone.
So with so many artists to see, here’s a quick roundup (two for each day) that are worth checking out this weekend.
FRIDAY, JUNE 5
St. Vincent
If you somehow missed out on St. Vincent's shows at Terminal 5 or Celebrate Brooklyn last year, (I did, and I’m still not letting myself off the hook for that), Governors Ball might be one of your last chances to see her next-level concert before she moves on to her next thing. Built around Annie Clark's superb self-titled 2014 record, it's an intricately choreographed and costumed set of dance-ready futurist pop. And really, I just wanna see her play “Digital Witness” through a tapestry of glowing iPhone screens as everyone around me captures it for Instagram.
Drake
Okay, fine: We all know Drake. But have you ever seen him do his thing in concert? Maybe on TV, but not live in person. Though, let’s be honest: we will all be so damn far from the stage that we’ll be watching on the jumbotrons. (Do they still call them jumbotrons? They should. I do.) Still, after the surprise release of his album, er, mixtape If You're Reading This It's Too Late, and rumors that he’s still got more new things on the docket, I’d hope this headlining set to provide a tiny dose of what’s to come amid the steady string of hits.
What else? My Morning Jacket likely playing music from its long-awaited new record, The Waterfall; and Florence and the Machine, fresh off playing SNL, doing material from her just-released How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful. Plus, there's Chromeo, Charli XCX, Future, and Death From Above 1979.
Other discoveries: Blues-meets-garage rocker Benjamin Booker; noisy bangers The Districts; electronic duo Odesza.
SATURDAY, JUNE 6
Kate Tempest
Kate Tempest won over plenty of fans in the U.K. with her 2014 record, Everybody Down -- a 12-part story arc depicting three characters as they navigate their way through recession-era, modern-day London. After a successful stint at SXSW, and two sold-out shows at Mercury Lounge and Rough Trade, the British rapper and Ted Hughes Award-winning poet is returning to New York with a a chance to have her positive message and hip-hop-inflected stories reach even more people.
Future Islands
It's fair to say we all know the story by now, but let's recap: After nearly a decade under the radar, Future Islands struck it big time in 2014, thanks to that now-classic appearance on Letterman -- and Samuel T. Herring’s bold dance moves. A well-deserved breakthrough moment, it propelled Future Islands to acclaim and bigger venues, including Terminal 5 this past January. Still, the band also remarkably held onto its DIY ethic and connection to longtime fans by playing one of Death By Audio’s final shows last winter. Future Islands’ is now on the victory lap leg of its tour supporting the phenomenal synth pop-driven album Singles -- and now will get to play to a potentially massive dancing crowd.
What else? Deadmau5 and SBTRKT will be making everyone’s stomachs drop with heavy bass and beats; songwriters Conor Oberst and Sharon Van Etten will breaking hearts once again; and Ryan Adams chugging his way through rocking and rambling country songs. Plus, if you couldn’t catch one of Bjork’s intimate and otherworldly shows for Vulnicura in New York this Spring, see her and those stunning costumes now.
Other discoveries: Explosive punk from White Lung; Dreamy and dance-y electropop from Marina And The Diamonds; Electronic R&B from Little Dragon.
SUNDAY, JUNE 7
Hot Chip
It’s been a minute (well, three years) since Hot Chip put out its fantastic last album, In Our Heads. But Alexis Taylor and Joe Goddard finally returned in May with the London electronic pop band’s just-released sixth album, Why Make Sense? Tackling themes of aging and maturing, world-weariness and personal crisis, it’s a remarkably romantic and eclectic record full of R&B-infused grooves and beats that will get you to dance in a festival field full of strangers.
Sturgill Simpson
With his phenomenal Metamodern Sounds in Country Music, Sturgill Simpson positioned himself as a country artist for people who maybe don’t think they like country. In a genre brimming with grizzled tales, the 36-year-old Kentucky native flips the script with songs that delve into cosmic existentialism, drinking and LSD flashbacks, loneliness and unfulfilled dreams -- all delivered in a dark croon that will hit the spot on a bleary-eyed Sunday afternoon.
What else? Well, there’s this little rock band called The Black Keys; Noel Gallagher showcases his latest non-Oasis record with his band High Flying Birds; and Lana Del Rey willl be hot on the heels of last year’s (possibly underrated) record, Ultraviolence. Flying Lotus and A-Trak will both be getting the kids dancing; The War On Drugs will be shredding long guitar solos; and Tame Impala will be playing new songs from its forthcoming record, Currents. Oh yeah, and comedy and musical parody hero “Weird Al” Yankovic -- who is always fun!
Other discoveries: Soaring, life-affirming rock ‘n’ roll from Strand Of Oaks; Precocious and catchy Millennial pop from Echosmith; Neo-Britpop via Australia from DMA’s.