You're Doing Great! #GovBall2017

chavahranks
Jun 15, 2017
5 min read

I got out and shook a leg then proceeded to be incapable of using my legs 2 days later. (cause inactive and ancient.)

What is Governers Ball?

It's a music festival held annually in New York City on Randall's Island with top tier artist and Dj's of all types/genres.

It's a 3 day weekend event, you can purchase a ticket for all 3 days or be selective based on your preferences or pockets and choose one day.

For more deets visit: ➡️ Governers Ball

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This was my first time attending a music festival of this caliber and I'D DO IT AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN. EVEN IF I COULDN'T FEEL MY LEGS.

I went on Friday, (opening day)it was spectacular. The vibes were great. The weather was awesome. The people were interesting, the artist were good and exactly on time for their sets on each stage(if you're from the Caribbean you'll know how amazing this is)

See the line up below⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️

I just wanna say I really love Chance the Rapper.

OKAY

Moving on...

If you live in New York City and you're not trying to experience any of the amazing festivals or parties the city has to offer, you're living here wrong.

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Here's what you need to know before you go

Google Do's and Don'ts: someone definitely went before, didn't know what to expect and wrote about it.

Make sure you get sleep the night before.

Eat before you go. There are lots of food stands and trucks but 1000's of people lines are long (especially for the popular stuff)

Walk with your I.D. (You should always have your I.D. in NY) there are designated 21+ areas throughout.

Drink lots of water. Walk with an empty bottle and utilize the water stands

Wear sunscreen.

Walk with cash but not a lot. Instead link your card to your handband for fast and safer transactions.

Download the app. DOWNLOAD THE APP. It enables you to plot out what acts you want to see; provides a map for everything available at the event: food trucks, hydration stations, restrooms, alerts etc.

Don't lose the crew.

Walk with your portable charger and remember battery saving mode is a thing.

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So about the #GovBall app

It provides you with the daily line up and allows you to create your own lineup to keep track of the artists you don't wanna miss.

The app has a map which shows everything from stages, charging stations, food spots, hydration stations to bathrooms. (Maps can also be tailored to show exactly what you're looking e.g. Stages)

Download the app at least two days before. You can read up on all the vendors that will be available. Catch up on artists you're not familiar with and read all the FAQs

You get push notifications about the day starting, artist etc

Here are a few screen shots

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Now about the actual day 😍

Did I mention the vibes were GREAT.

We started by going to Harlem 125th st to catch the bus. There are numerous ways to get to the island. Ferry, taxi, a 20 minute walk from 125th st and biking. We chose to take the bus 🙃

When we got there the line was hella long so we made a quick stop at IHOP cause you know breakfast😋

Aight so BOOM we got to #GovBall just in time to see Kehlani SweetSexySavage-ing it up

(no pictures cause I was busy singing. Lo Siento)

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After her set we walked around a bit and looked around some of the booths. There were numerous dope art installations throughout the grounds. ⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️

In addition to the cool art there were numerous food trucks, stands and promotional tents to explore.

Notably:

Coca Cola- Personalised Coke cans

Sour Punch- Free candy and a GIF booth

Got2b- Hair Braiding Stand

Vitamin Water- Photobooth, Sunshade station and all the vitamin water you could drink

Titos Vodka- Party trailer and bar

Don Julio- Specialty drinks

Kettle Brand- Free chips

Subway- Chill zone and free sandwiches

Citibank- Viewing deck of the Main stage for registered Citicard holders 😩 (I LOVED THIS, PERFECT VIEWS OF CHANCE THE RAPPER and protection when it randomly began to rain after Kehlani performed )

We didn't try everything but here are some pics of what we did do ⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️

In between checking out the grounds we caught Danny Brown and Charles Bradley & His Extraordinaires performances.

We missed Charlie XCX because honestly this was our first festival and we were NOT prepared 😂.

We completely missed Tove Lo and just heard the end of her set while exploring ⬇️⬇️⬇️

There are 21+ areas throughout the grounds. Walk with your I.D.

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The food options were endless but so were the lines 🙃. I really wanted to try a lobster truck or a pizza spot but I ended up choosing wings. I was very pleased with my choice.

I'm not gonna lie this was everything ''twas sensational.

After fueling up we caught School Boy Q's set (again no pics 😔)

He was good, everybody was lit.

Later we (me and Malika) headed back over to the main stage to catch Lorde's performance and plot our way back into the Citibank viewing deck.

Like everything awesome people got hip to the viewing deck and even though we left Schoolboy Q early so we could get in we met a long ass line. Womp!

We were told the deck was full and the line was cut off sooooo... we went to go chill for Lorde's set. She was also great and I love her weird dance moves.

After hanging out for half of Lorde's performance we realized new people kept going on line soooooooooo...

We went back and found out they emptied out the deck after every performance to give patrons a fair shot at the experience. Ha!

We waited and basically got back on line at that point because CHANCE EL RAPPER HELLO!

We waited for more than a half an hour lol bathroom breaks, snack breaks... the whole shabang⬇️⬇️⬇️

Line

More line and cheesy fries (notice it is now dark. We were dedicated)

Better snack views 😋

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We eventually got in and spent the remainder of the evening singing and rapping our hearts out to Chance the Rapper. Who by the way is a beautiful, amazing super talented human that I appreciate so much. He also brought out Ty Dolla $ign.

Honestly I couldn't have thought of a better way to spend my Friday.

There were way more performers on the line up but it wasn't possible to see them all.

Here's what I learned and what you need to know:

Plan your day. Determine what artist you wanna see and plan so you arrive in time to see them. (I missed the morning sets. I arrived at about 3:00PM, it started at 11AM)

Sign up for email alerts for any shows/festivals you want to attend. Early bird tickets are worth it.

Download the app. Information is power, the app definitely made navigating the grounds easier.

Make a schedule. Everyone performs on different stages at different times. So setting a plan before hand will be your friend and you won't miss Tove Lo and The Bleachers like I did😩😩.

Some acts go on at the same time.

The last act is the head liner if you want a good spot at the main stage you may have to leave the previous artist early. We missed Majid Jordan 😭 to get on the viewing deck for Chance 😍

Its not all about the music it's about the experience over all. Connecting, chilling, exploring.

Get some rest the night before, stay hydrated and don't lose your friends in thousands of people.

Here are a bunch of selfies and random pics 🙃🙂