Day 2 of Governors Ball was cut short by a severe storm that walloped New York City, and no doubt many festival-goers were disappointed that headliner Kali Uchis’ set was cancelled, but there was a wide range of performances on Saturday to thrill the mostly youthful crowd.
Chanpan, difficult to define and harder to resist, opened the Snapchat stage with a set that ranged from club pop to Latin to soul. Fronted by Grace Dumdaw, who owned the stage in a black thong, football shoulder pads and a T-shirt that read “Chan Pan Sexual, the Asian-American group, which includes the twins Lance and Matthew Tran, seemed to embody the pancultural makeup — and attitude — of the diverse crowd.
One of the Trans (sorry — they switch instruments and are identical) mentioned that they visited the Delaney detention center in New Jersey earlier in the week and said the people held there “should be with us” at Gov Ball. “Fuck ICE” and “Free Palestine” chants ensued.
Dumdaw introduced “Jungle,” the first song the group released. It featured a slinky bassline, skittering drums and wispy vocals and keyboards.
Flowerovlove, the British singer Joyce Cissé, was next on the Snapchat, with polished, confident performance. Highlights of the 21-year-old’s set, which included a pair of prominently featured backup singers, were the unreleased “In My Victoria’s Secret,” “I’m Your First” (cheeky lyric sample: “You ain’t ever had a girl like this/ I know I’m first your bad bitch”) and the closer “Breaking News,” which recalled classic Motown.
Wisp, the American shoegaze singer and guitarist Natalie Lu, and her band brought a different energy to the main stage. With blurred videos of her and her band as well as distorted images from nature on the screens, the hazy unease of the genre that is experiencing a revival was a stark contrast to the strutting pop and pop-adjacent music that dominates the festival. Lu admitted she was nervous, having not been on stage at a fest for a while, but thanked the crowd for giving her energy, then shared “Sword,” from her 2025 debut album “If Not Winter,” her favorite song to play, she said.
Midnight Generation, a progressive funk band wearing matching outfits, ripped a tight, percussive set from the relatively cozy Grove Stage. The band’s summer slate is festival-heavy — Bonnaroo and Electric Forest in the US and a bunch in Europe — and also features opening slots for Empire of the Sun, including at Forest Hills on Aug. 29 and Jones Beach the next day.
Chicago R&B singer Ravyn Lenae, who had a Billboard Hot 100 top-five it with “Love Me Not” in 2024, offered a set of ’90s-flavored smooth and soulful songs. She noted that the last time she played Gov Ball she was only 19 and introduced “Days” as one of her favorite songs.
The UK’s Wet Leg brought nighttime energy to the mainstage despite the blazing sunshine and 90-degree conditions. Frontwoman Rhian Teasdale is no longer a secret weapon, with her well-documented stage presence that challenges traditional rock and pop femininity with a seductive blend of muscular posturing and charismatic vulnerability, but it still feels fresh and relevant. “Catch These Fists” was a fiery opener and “Jennifer’s Body” had a slight resemblance to classic Bloc Party. The set was heavy on songs from last year’s Grammy-nominated “Moisturizer,” like the dreamy “Davina McCall,” with Teasdale singing, “Sipping on Ribena, fuck that Coca-Cola/ Ask me if I love you, baby, you already know/ It’s that kind of love.”
She addressed the crowd in a pleasant, shy voice — “We have two more songs, we’re sad to go” — before morphing back into her domineering stage persona, ending with the raucous “Moisturizer” track “Mangeout,” with sneering punky lyrics directed at a “bottom feeder” she repeatedly tells to “get lost forever.”
Photo courtesy of Governors Ball
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