Governors Ball 2024 - June 7-9

The new location is the biggest win of this year's installment, without question. There was space to roam, there were trees to provide shade, there were places to sit and chill...unlike Randall's, it never felt like there were choke points where things just got super-clogged, although that may also have been due to the undersell, so I'm not sure if it'd be different at capacity. Someone on reddit said Corona > Randall's > Governor's Island > Citi Field parking lot, and I'd say that's accurate.

There were only three things I noted as potential negatives: 1) It was super-dusty. I don't know how much they can do about that, and blowing dirt out of your nose later is a festival tradition, and all, but it was definitely a thing. 2) My wife and I were trying to figure out if it was just our mind playing tricks on us, but the field at the GovBall stage seemed pretty small in comparison to the main field at Randall's. 3) I've seen some people complaining about the walk between gates and train, which was about 15-20 minutes depending on your pace. Personally, I didn't mind that all that much, because I used to walk over the bridge back and forth to/from Astoria, and that was like 50 minutes all-in, so this didn't feel like much. Plus, the 7 super express is great - from the time we started walking off the field to our door in Astoria, it was about 75 minutes or so. That's pretty solid on a Sunday night.

So, yeah, it's a great move and I hope they get the chance to build on it. But they really have to figure out how to draw people. I don't know what booking strategy they can follow other than "spend more money." I thought the top-line names this year would be a decent draw. Instead, Friday was chill and Saturday was empty enough that they let Friday single-day pass holders come back for free. I really don't know what it is. They've certainly pivoted away from booking for the old folks, but maybe it's more a matter of depth on each day than who's at the top? I dunno.

I do really think they should look at going 18+-unless-accompanied again, and I don't just say that because I'm an old grump. Like, it's anecdotal, but my wife's niece is 20, and she said she and her friends don't want to go "because of all the high school kids." That's pretty much GovBall's brand right now, and I think it's hurting their draw with everyone else - and you need the 21-plus folks to buy all your booze. I genuinely think a lot of folks in the 18-34 demo would come back if they knew they wouldn't have to deal with drunk 13 year olds, and it's not like they'd have to go as mature as they did with their booking in 2020; just aim at what that 18-30 group is listening to.

Anyway. TL;DR - new location is great, lack of sales a bummer, hope they get to build on this foundation somehow moving forward.