New York City was abuzz on Friday night.
Lorde, Katseye, Baby Keem, and a Knicks win contributed to that. GovBall kicked off its annual festival at Corona Meadows Park in Flushing, Queens on Friday, and it was certainly one to remember.
Among highlights during the day included New York’s own Arcy Drive, who performed at the festival in 2024, but have since exploded in popularity thanks to their new song, “Louie.”
Del Water Gap, Mariah the Scientist, Pierce the Veil, and The Dare were four other super strong bands who carried the bill during the afternoon portion of the night.
However, once Katseye hit the stage at 6:30 p.m., the focus shifted on the top three names on the bill: Katseye, Baby Keem, and headliner Lorde. All three did not dissapoint.
Katseye may have drawn the largest crowd of the night. In fact, the group’s merch seemed to be the most-worn t-shirt of the day. Since it’s founding, GovBall has always been about curating a lineup of the most popular culture, music, and artists, and they have certainly done that this year with K-pop. Looking ahead, the K-pop crowd will continue to show up, specifically for the Stray Kids headlining set on Saturday night.
Baby Keem headlined the Snapchat side stage after Katseye, and performed a very strong rap set. The rapper is coming off of the release of his new record, “Ca$ino,” which is his first in four years. He also performed a late night set at the Brooklyn Paramount on Thursday.
Lorde closed the night with a strong set, opening with her biggest hit, “Royals” following a snippet of a new song, and performing most of the songs on her newest record.
The singer’s energy was strong, especially compared to other nights on the same tour, which makes sense — GovBall is a big deal to headline, and artists usually react as such.
She closed with a cover of Charlie xcx’s “Girl, so confusing” followed by “Ribs.”
GovBall will be back in full swing tomorrow with Stray Kids, Kali Uchis, Major Lazer, Blood Orange, and many more.
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