Grace Prachthauser

The Governor’s Ball Museum of Modern Music

July 12, 2024

When there are three days of performances to recap, some 50+ artists to have experienced, and approximately 10,000 photos to assess, as well as a cover story to construct, it really does take a month to get the following just right.

A review gallery, in our terms, is a method of reviewing an event – live show, concert, festival, etc. – that puts the audience in the driver’s seat. Why? Because no amount of words can properly describe what went down at said event. More often than not, this means that the event was well-rounded, wholly stimulating, and worth living vicariously through thanks to the footage captured. In this case, and most Aquarian cases since the early aughts of our ‘Say It In Pictures’ column (Remember that?), there was greatness experienced that could be best understood with visual representation. Therefore, the review gallery comes out, and the still photographs say it all… or most.

This year’s Governor’s Ball was located in Corona Park, Queens from June 7-9, 2024, and the sold-out three day weekend saw headliners like Post Malone, The Killers, and NJ’s own SZA. Acts throughout the Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, respectively, that were ‘further down’ the bill, so to speak, drew just as much of a crowd and made even more headlines outside of the fest / on their own. IE: America’s current favorite pop stars: Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter; rap-rock artist and Euphoria actor Dominic Fike and his nephew; perfect Pride Month representation with powerhouse Reneé Rapp and multi-instrumentalist G Flip. [Editor’s note: Thankfully, our gracious contributor, Grace Prachthauser and friend Sophie Gurwitz , caught all of that..]

New York is never the same after Gov Ball rolls through, and this year was no exception. Girls ruled, guys rocked, bands shook things up, viral moments went down, and the crowd’s energy only got higher as the sun got lower. It was a memorable year, one that continues to be deserving of the spotlight, the reminiscing, and the musically-inclined perceptive curation of the below display (of which we are appropriately calling the Governor’s Ball Museum of Modern Music).