Photo Credit: Ari Cummings

In the decade and a half since its explosive debut at Governors Island back in 2011, Governors Ball Music Festival has steadily ascended from a scrappy underdog in New York’s live music scene to one of the Northeast’s premier music festivals. Year after year, the affectionately termed Gov Ball welcomes 150,000 passionate fans for unforgettable performances from some of music’s biggest names, and the 2025 event was no exception.

From June 6-8, Gov Ball returned to its new home of Queens, N.Y.’s Flushing Meadows Corona Park to mark its 15th anniversary with a fittingly star-studded celebration. For the landmark occasion, the festival brought a stacked bill of 52 acts to its three stages, helmed by headliners Tyler, the Creator, Benson Boone, Olivia Rodrigo, Feid, Hozier and Glass Animals. As always, surprises and memorable moments ensued as the artists embraced some weather-related curveballs and went all-out for an undeniable highlight of summer in the city.

On Friday, Gov Ball’s anniversary presentation rolled in with early sets from jam quintet Stolen Gin, rising Dallas rapper BigXthaPlug, South African pop sensation Tyla and thrashing Philly indie-punks Mannequin Pussy, who condemned the country’s slip into fascism and exorcised the crowd’s grief with a collective “PUSSY!” scream. As the heat picked up in the later hours of the day, certified hitmaker and auto-tune aficionado T-Pain, draped in a dapper three-piece suit, was undeterred and packed his set with classics like “Bartender,” “I’m N Luv (Wit a Stripper),” “Buy U a Drank” and a roaring cover of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’.” Meanwhile, on the Grove stage, The Beaches brought a blast of high-shine, anthemic, ex-blaming indie rock, including the live debut of their new single “Did I Say Too Much.”

After indie pop heartthrob Role Model foreshadowed day two with a surprise appearance from Conan Gray, Friday night’s energy reached a fever pitch with the long-awaited arrival of Mk.Gee. From a shroud of smoke, 2024’s breakout lo-fi singer-songwriter delivered electrifying takes on Two Star & The Dream Police highlights like “Rockman,” “How Many Miles,” “Alesis” and “Candy,” which opened with a crowd-pleasing sample of Cameo’s song of the same name. Back at the Grove, JPEGMAFIA pored over his discography of cutting-edge hip-hop, placing classics like “Baby I’m Bleeding” and “Scaring the Hoes” next to brand-new collaborations with Vince Staples and rap-rock duo Joey Valence & Brae, who stormed the stage for their verses.

Benson Boone went beyond expectations by cutting pop earworms like “Mystical Magical” and “Beautiful Things” with a grand total of eight backflips, as well as a shocking call-and-response of “Day-O (The Banana Boat Song).” When the full festival had migrated to the main stage, Tyler, the Creator appeared for an explosive finale that matched the insurgent energy of Chromokopia cuts like “Noid” and “Sticky” with a captivating physical performance and barrage of pyrotechnics. While the bulk of his headline set was committed to this immersive recreation of his latest project, the hip-hop polymath sprinkled in some fan service with old favorites like “Yonkers,” “She,” “Tamale” and “IFHY.”

Saturday’s program was delayed by sudden showers in the afternoon, bumping gates back to 4:00 p.m. and cancelling eight performances. The rest of the sets, abridged for time, began with alternative favorites like retro-pop duo The Lemon Twigs, indie-soul star Orion Sun and punk experimentalists The Garden, who shouted through a downpour with mosh-inducing cuts like “Ballet,” “Filthy Rabbit Hole” and “Chainsaw the Door.” Puerto Rican rapper Young Miko vogued and celebrated Pride month before Will Toledo’s Car Seat Headrest fired up a stormy, dubby, proggy sprint through their recent fifth studio album The Scholars, punctuated by a heart-wrenching sing-along of “Drunk Drivers/Killer Whales” with arena-grade grandeur.

While the afternoon’s performers all made good use of the weather’s dramatic effect, the warm sun of golden hour was a welcome change, as well as a strong complement to Conan Gray’s nautically-themed set–complete with a slow-burning cover of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene.” Olivia Rodrigo closed out day two with a joyful, family-friendly race through the chart-topping hits of Guts and Sour, then won the weekend’s biggest headline with a surprise appearance from David Byrne. The legendary Talking Heads frontman joined the pop phenom for a duet of “Burning Down the House” with synchronized choreo, then stepped off stage just as suddenly and coolly as he’d appeared.

Sunday’s closing program landed on an idyllic June day and commenced with sets from electronic/R&B pathbreaker Nourished By Time, post-hardcore outfit Militarie Gun, Joey Valence & Brae and Ghanaian-American genre-bending pop sensation Am​​aarae, who honored her Bronx roots with a medley of Jay-Z, Pop Smoke, Ice Spice and Nicki Minaj and threw her chair across the stage during some keytar shredding on the epic “Come Home to God.”

Following a dramatic powerhouse vocal performance from RAYE and lush synth pop from the Japanese House, Royal Otis stepped onto the main stage for some infectiously joyful pop-rock and covers of Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s “Murder on the Dance Floor” and The Cranberries’ “Linger.” Next up came the adventurous soft-rock songstress Clairo, who arrived with an expansive mid-century modern set and masterful five-piece backing band in tow. Clairo set the tone for  her performance and built anticipation by spinning Wendy Rene’s soul classic “After Laughter (Comes Tears),” then worked through an enchanting mix of standouts from 2024’s Charm and old favorites like “Bags” and “Sofia.”

Clairo was a hard act to follow, but Mt. Joy managed to keep the evening’s energy rising with a wonderfully woozy, jammy and tight set. Through the course of 13 songs, the ​​proud Philly indie-rockers celebrated their latest record Hope We Have Fun with new tracks like “Coyote” and “Lucy,” plus setlist staples like “Astrovan,” a cover of Wheatus’ “Teenage Dirtbag” and a guest appearance from Gigi Perez on their latest entry “In the Middle.”

The long weekend of outstanding performances entered its final stretch with a funky, hazy groove from Glass Animals and a head banging, bass-boosted set from Key Glock, then finally came to a close with the last headline performance from Hozier. In his festival-closing slot, the beloved Irish singer-songwriter powered through a virus that wore down his voice to present a powerful performance of old essentials like “Cherry Wine” and new favorites like “Nobody’s Soldier,” the resistant tone of which was matched with an over five-minute all against the rising tide of imperialism around the world.

Get an inside look at Gov Ball 2025 in the gallery below, courtesy of photographer Ari Cummings.