The weekend of May 31 will be a time of nostalgia and lively music for all in the northeast. It is that time again where New York City’s largest music festival, The Governors Ball Music Festival, returns to Randall’s Island.

Headliners

With artists like Tyler the Creator, Lil Wayne, and The 1975, some Govball’s “usuals” are unsure of how this years showings are going to go. Many are skeptical due to the fact that the announced headliners…don’t seem like headliners. Many of the artists have been at Govball in previous years and or aren’t as popular as previous headliners.

“I don’t think I like it too much because there are not any people I would consider to be headliners…the past years have had much better people there and no single day this year even compares,” Zac Lenowitz, usual attendee of Govball, said.

On the announced lineup, previous attendees have been skeptical of whether or not the artists on the top of each day are the headliners. Larissa Aquaviva direct messaged Govball on Instagram to debunk the myth.

Photo by Larissa Aquaviva

The Food Lineup

Once you’re on the island and have been listening to your favorite artists for some time, the hunger kick strikes. Luckily, Govball’s food lineup is more exciting than the music lineup.

We can only hope that 2019’s food lineup will include previous favorites like Big Mozz, Ramen Burger, The Nugget Spot, Melt Shop, John’s Juice, etc.

Photo by Melanie Meisner

“My favorite food at Govball by far last year was a mac and cheese grilled cheese from Melt Shop,” Brandon Siegenthaler said.

Photo by Skylar Bachman

Wristbands and Security

A controversial topic within Govball attendees is the Governers Ball app, specifically the tracker within it. Govball’s app has a feature where all those who buy tickets can add their code and friends codes to the app in order to track each other while on the island.

Many users of the tracking feature have been extremely unhappy with its accuracy within the past few years since it came out. Jenna Chiavelli, who attended Govball in 2017 and 2018, stated, “Randall’s Island gets so crowded at Govball and because there’s barely any cell service it’s really hard to find your friends if you get seperated. I have tried using the Govball app to track my friends every time I went but it is very inaccurate and sometimes doesn’t even load in the first place.”

As the app does not seem to be a solution to finding one another, it is important that groups that attend together make a meeting spot at the beginning of the day. There are many landmarks throughout the island where groups can call their “meet-up spot” incase anyone goes missing.

Photo by Melanie Meisner

How will you get to the island this year? Govball 2019 is on its way with 140 days and counting…