Friday, June 6th, 2025: The fifteenth iteration of Gov Ball begins.
Opening day of New York City’s favorite music festival brought an incredible mix of artists and genres to the grounds of Flushing Meadows Corona Park. The festival’s diverse lineup was spread across all three days, but Friday especially truly had something for everyone – and was scheduled perfectly so that artists with shared audiences were never onstage simultaneously, resulting in a rare win that kept crowds loose and relaxed and resulted in very few festival goers having to pick and choose between their favorites.
Still, there will always be the die-hard fans who camp out at the barricade from the moment the doors open in order to be front and center for their favorite artists. As of 2:45, Role Model fans lined the barricade at the Grove stage, and several of them confessed that they’d gotten there as early as 11:00. (For reference, the doors officially opened at 11:45, but that’s their business).
Before Role Model went on, his loyal barricade audience got to hear a series of incredible performances, including Matt Champion, Wasia Project, and the magical, iconic, incredible alt-rock hot girl sounds of The Beaches. The Toronto-based girl group owned the stage, and they were electric to watch. The Beaches are the ultimate cool girls, rocking out with electric guitars as they performed a setlist of their iconic WLW hits.
Midway through the set, the band performed their latest single “Did I Say Too Much” live for the first time ever, introducing the track to roaring cheers: “This next song is about my ex-girlfriend… and the last song was about another ex-girlfriend… basically the next album is going to be super gay”
This announcement was met with great excitement, as was Leandra Earl’s teasing joke: “Are you excited for Role Model? I asked to be his Sally but haven’t heard back”
When Role Model finally hit the Gov Ball stage, he proved that nothing beats the moment when the act you bought the festival ticket for finally goes on. Because as great as the acts performing Friday morning were, we need to be clear: Role Model was the stone-cold start of Gov Ball 2025.
HERE were the crowds, finally packing into the GA side of the Grove Stage and losing their minds when their favorite diva ran onstage to the opening notes of “Writing’s On The Wall”. It was Up front at the barricade, the die-hard fans had a perfect view as Tucker’s incredible stage captivated the crowd as he worked his way through the setlist – not to mention a front row seat when he brought out (and kissed!) Conan Gray onstage as Sally during the penultimate song “Sally, When The Wine Runs Out”.
However, as incredible as that front row view is, it was the fans screaming and dancing in the back of the crowd who were having the most fun – jumping around with friends, screaming every lyric, losing their minds and enjoying the ecstasy of live music the way it was always meant to be enjoyed.
After Role Model’s set ended, the crowds dispersed, many of them heading across the festival grounds to see Benson Boone flipping out on the Kiehl’s stage. In between backflips, Boone performed old and new tracks, backed up by an incredibly talented band and epic stage design.
While Benson Boone pulls a notably different crowd than Role Model, the level of emotional connection amongst the crowds were surprisingly similar. When introducing “In The Stars”, Boone asked the crowd to put their phones away and try to experience the moment as it was – and somehow, the vast majority of them did. In a crowd of thousands, I only spotted four.
Whether you were falling in love with The Beaches, dancing in the back of the crowd for Role Model, or leaning on your friends while Benson Boone made everyone cry during heart-wrenching piano ballads, opening day of Gov Ball 2025 was full of moments that showcased the emotional power of live music – and at the end of the day, that’s the whole entire point.
Stay tuned for upcoming coverage from Saturday (Day 2) and Sunday (Day 3)
