written by Beau Croxton and Mike Golembo. Photography by Mike Golembo (with additional photos of Baby Keem and Lorde courtesy of Governor’s Ball where noted)

Lorde by @okaynicolita (courtesy of Governor’s Ball)

The first Day of the Governor's ball had finally arrived. The entrance in Corona Park brought back all the nostalgia, with pink lined trees and the trademark statue of liberty at the entrance. The one thing that was notably different this year was all the attendees clad in Knicks merchandise, as NYC’s prized basketball team was entering Game 2 on this night. The vibes were high— last weekend was a hell of a time to be a New Yorker, and to attend Gov Ball.

The festival also felt like a true send off into summer, as the heat was absolutely scorching down hard in the afternoon, and it didn't seem like it would let up much. Luckily, the adrenaline created by some great shows would be the balm that could heal the burn, and the heat would continue mellow out towards the headliner slots.

Confidence Man

Australian electro-pop duo Confidence Man came out with the right energy for a day 1 midday slot, delivering a masterclass in pure, unadulterated festival fun. The pair of Sugar Bones and Janet Planet put on a performance that was complete with a high-octane choreography and a series of campy, theatrical costume changes.

The relentless energy was infectious, transforming the Grove Stage into a massive, pulsing 90s-inspired rave. Blending thumping house beats with a satirical, tongue-in-cheek pop attitude, the band kept the crowd in a state of constant motion. At one point sharing a cigarette on stage, Confidence Man brought the ultimate fun vibes.

The Dare by Mike Golembo

THE DARE

The Dare (aka Harrison Smith) had a thrilling set on the Snapchat Stage that raved on during one of the hottest moments of the afternoon. The Dare entered in his classic suit, tie and shades outfit, complete with some stylish black leather YSL harness boots. Highlights like “I Destroyed Disco” spiked the adrenaline. Towards the stage, you could feel the deep and distorted bass synths pumping in your chest; it kicked off the evening's festivities with a feverish high.

The crowd received every big drop with a roaring approval as throbbing bass and blasting beats dominated. The Dare was surrounded by rows of Marshall stack amplifiers and smoke, while commanding the stage the entire time– his spirit was incredibly rock n’ roll for an electronic act. Gigantic white beach balls bounced around as he tore through cuts like “Cheeky” and “Movement”, and he even amped his Charli XCX “Guess” remix into the mix. Before he tore into “All Night” Smith noted that he wrote the song in Queens– as he’s lived in New York for many years. The crowd was elated and singing every word to his closer “Girls” as the sun eased down its blaze. It was a truly bangin’ set, and I don't think I could have had a better introduction to his live show.

The Dare by Mike Golembo

PIERCE THE VEIL

When San Diego band Pierce The Veil hit the stage, an appropriately piercing wave of screaming from their avid fans shot towards the stage. Their drummer arrived first to hype up the crowd, and the full band followed to launch directly into “Death of an Executioner", which was a wall of thudding post-hardcore with melodic minor-key highlights. For their second track, their frontman Vic Fuentes changed his guitar to Gibson Explorer that resembled a black and white pattern of Eddie Van Halen’s Frankenstein guitar. They launched into “Bulls in the Bronx” with blasting double time punk beats. An exciting aspect of the group is what many fans deem as “mexicore”-- where the band leads into heavy segments that incorporate Spanish-style instrumentals. While admittedly this group probably won't hit my own personal playlists, I have to say– hats off to their tremendous instrumental abilities, their presence and a hell of a show. Their fanbase was a very loyal and loud one– I saw Peirce The Veil T-shirts all over the festival around every turn.

Pierce the Veil by Mike Golembo

KATSEYE

I made my way over to the main stage to check out KATSEYE between things, and while admittedly this is absolutely not my lane, I did find a lot of things to appreciate. The group clearly has cast a spell on many people around the world, especially young girls. As the group tore into the hyphy “Pinky Up”, high-pitched shrieking from many young girls in the audience rained over the stage like nothing I had heard up to that point.

The group’s choreography was very heavy and significant in the performance, you could see these girls were very out of breath after each number. The amount of coordination and breath control required for a performance like that can't be easy– respect. The group all introduced themselves individually to a roaring crowd– Lara Raj, (who spent most of her adult life here in New York), got an immense response from the crowd as she cheered on the Knicks. Even more notable was the crowd’s deafening approval of the group repeatedly saying “Happy Pride month!”.

As I left and looked around I saw many proud parents who brought their children to see them. Many parents gave kids distance to appreciate the experience on their own, but remained close enough to feel the pure warmth and joy from their kid’s enjoyment. It was a very wholesome thing to take away as we geared up for Baby Keem– which was bound to be nuts.

KATSEYE by Mike Golembo

Baby Keem

Baby Keem was easily the most anticipated set for us on Friday, and the show delivered tenfold. Keem arrived to the adrenaline-inducing dissonance of the title track of his latest record, CA$INO. The opener was also highlighted by a sample of streamer I’m Dontai reacting to the track— and it worked incredibly well considering his clip simulates a DJ hyping up the drop of Keem’s track. It was cleverly adopted by Keem himself on this whole tour to kick off the set.

Keem wore an all red outfit with a blinged out CA$INO sash and belt. He sat atop a platform that donned the title of his album that sat over a bed of stone, seemingly to represent his upbringing in Las Vegas (which he often refers to as the desert). He tore through many songs from DIE FOR MY BITCH and his official debut LP The Melodic Blue and mixed in plenty of new tracks from CA$INO like the groovy “Sex Appeal” and “Good Flirts”, but the highlights were easily “Circu$ Circu$ Feestyle” and “House Money” (featuring his cousin Kendrick Lamar on the hook). During the cut, Keem introduced the incredibly tall flame pyrotechnics that would stun during the rest of the set.

Towards the end of his set– Keem paused and stared down the crowd for a few minutes, with many different legions of the crowd cheering his name. He cleverly brought all the attention and focus into the massive moment that would proceed. Keem shouted “Gov Ball– Do you know what the fuck is about to happen.. right now?!?!”, then proceeded to launch into his iconic collaboration with Kendrick Lamar— “family ties”.

Keem and Kendrick’s collab “family ties” was an already extremely popular song on release, but during Kendrick’s GNX tour last year, clips from all over the world started to go viral of fans going apeshit to the song’s epic drop. At Governor’s Ball, “family ties” was incredibly iconic as the crowd jumped, the pit went crazy, and fans screamed every lyric as pyrotechnics blasted flames at least 30+ feet in the air. Fans within 40 or so feet of the stage (such as myself) could feel the blazing heat from the flames on your skin— it was absolutely wild, and easily the most incredible moment of Day 1. The Knicks Game 2 started right after the set, and I can only imagine fans leaving there brought that feverish energy throughout the victory that ensued later that evening.

Baby Keem by Rich Fury, courtesy of Governor’s Ball

Lorde

As I made my way over to the main stage for Lorde from the hype of Baby Keem– I heard the instantly recognizable first few lines of Lorde’s “Royals” being sung. She filled her water bottle during the song (a water bottle that supposedly inspired her new album Virgin) and epic sing-alongs ensued from people that gathered as far as the eye could see.

Her stage setup was donned in dark blue and electric blue lighting, with dancers often taking the spotlight to emphasize the feelings and power of the music. “What Was That?” from Virgin pumped the crowd up to gleeful levels of excitement. Her energy was great, and she clearly really feels the music; her presence resonates with the audience, and allows them to really immerse themselves into the mood of the set. Her show shot into the stratosphere when she launched her Charli XCX collab, the work-it-out-on-the-remix anthem “girl, so confusing”. The crowd participation was at an all time high during the song– but the true peak was when she launched into “Green Light” from Melodrama directly after, which doubled the volume of the sing-alongs. To close the set, she surprised fans by performing “Ribs” along the barricade greeting fans, and continued on the catwalk to the B-stage while fireworks shot off above the festival. Lorde is a real talent, and her headline set closed night 1 on a true high note that resonated with her massive crowd.

Lorde photos courtesy of Governor’s Ball:

Photo 1 by: Maggie London

Photo 2 by: Roger Ho

Photo 3 by:Rich Fury

Photo 4 by: Ismael Quintanilla III

Photo 5 by: Anna Downs

Photo 6 by: Charles Regan

Check out our full gallery below !

GALLERY

(Click to expand to fullscreen+ slideshow)

Photos by Mike Golembo— @instalembo

except for Baby Keem (by Rich Fury) , & Lorde - courtesy of Governor’s Ball. (Lorde photographers listed above)

In order of appearance:

(Click images for fullscreen / slideshow

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IN CONCERT: GOVERNOR’S BALL 2026 (Day 1 - June 5th)