The third and final day of New York’s GOVERNORS BALL ran into gloomy weather but it wasn’t enough to stop the annual festival from ending off with a bang. Sunday’s lineup featured standout sets from Skepta, Logic, Phantogram, and The Avalanches, and it threw things into a new gear with Cage The Elephant, Parquet Courts, and The Orwells raging on at breakneck speeds. It all converged into Tool’s weekend finale, of course, and the prog rock titans went for it — knifing through a 12-song set that tagged 10,000 Days, Opiate, and Lateralus, and ended with a riveting launch into “Stinkfist”.
It was an odd conclusion as the closing fireworks would have been better suited for the Frank Oceans and Kendrick Lamars of the world (maybe next year?) but it worked because it was different. Festivals are no longer a rare commodity thanks to the slow death of the summer tour and the folks at Governors Ball found a way to bundle together opposites and stick out without sacrificing sound or integrity. They’re far from perfect as their ongoing tiff with Mother Nature has become an actual thing but at seven years and counting, they’re pretty close. For proof, check out our live stills below via photographer Matt Jumper.
PARQUET COURTS
SKEPTA
MAC DEMARCO
FRANZ FERDINAND
CAGE THE ELEPHANT
LOGIC
TOOL
