We’re back from the fest and missing the sunshine and sounds of Governors Ball. Read on for our musings.

Over the past several years, we’ve been slip-and-sliding into the start of summer with rad live music and the feel good vibes of Governors Ball. This year, the days were sunny, but the nights were dark and filled with terr-, er, torrential rain.

While walking around the fest, we took note of a crowd that has gotten markedly younger, which was to be expected, given the range of musical acts on the bill. On the Generation Z end of the spectrum was Shawn Mendes, Travis Scott, 2 Chainz, Post Malone… Repping Gen X and Y: Jack White, Eminem, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, N.E.R.D., and even Third Eye Blind (doot doot doot doot do do doo doo). And everything else in between.

While we will postulate that there were zero hardcore indie fans who converted overnight into Shawn Mendes fans, we will unscientifically state that there was enough crossover to keep the positive energy and excitement for music, as a whole, alive in our hearts.

Friday was destined to be legendary courtesy of back to back performances by Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Jack White. Karen O singing “Maps” is at once intimate and all-inclusive. Everyone singing along sang straight from the (broken) heart(‘s club).

Our Saturday afternoon was kind of a mishmash of sounds, from neo-soul Moses Sumney crooning at the American Eagle stage, which then bled into a rowdy Menzingers, to a fierce and sweaty set by duo Japandroids, back to fist pumping with 2 Chainz for “It’s a Vibe”, a dance-y Cut Copy, and settling in for one of our favorite sets of the day, Manchester Orchestra. The band ended with “The Gold,” from A Black Mile to the Surface as the crowd soaked up the sun.

Sunday (for us) was all about getting there early to eat the EEEEEATS we came for! Once our bellies were satisfied with Ramen burgers (the line was always so damn long) and matcha teas and colorful Wowfulls sweets, we took in sets from glam rockers The Struts and a sassy, slinky Kali Uchis. Later, we caught The Dirty Projectors at the Bacardi Stage, situated in between the main Gov Ball stage and the other stages. Passersby were grooving to the R&B inflected jams on their way to N.E.R.D. or the main stage. The lovely Chvrches drew a big crowd as fans camped out for headliner Eminem.

Needless to say, the weekend was a blast.

Check out photos of Dirty Projectors, Chvrches, 2 Chainz, Kali Uchis, Third Eye Blind, Japandroids, Manchester Orchestra, The Menzingers, and more.