We are The Promoters ＆ Producers of The Governors Ball Music Festival, NYC's Music Festival, Ask Us Anything!

Will Tyler or The Strokes have new music out in the world before their headlining slots this year?

i'd keep your eye out....

Will The Strokes and Nas be conflicting?

nope. you're good.

Hi! There are nearly a third fewer rock acts this year compared to last year (and that's being generous as to what constitutes "rock" this year, and conservative as to what fit the bill last year). I know the genre isn't commercially relevant, but it doesn't feel like it's gotten significantly less commercially relevant than it was a year ago. Why the shift?

Sub-question: Why have your biggest straight-up rock name in the Strokes headline a day that features only one other rock artist in Soccer Mommy?

there's a reason for that, but unfortunately it's one we can't disclose in a public forum. hopefully the strokes fans in attendance that day are fans of multiple genres of music.

Hey guys, just wondering if Meadows is happening this year. Also wondering how close it was to happening last year? Were any acts actually booked? Thanks!

Being completely transparent, we submitted a few different permit applications for Flushing Meadows Corona Park for Meadows. The applications varied based upon length of event (multi day vs one day) and based upon specific date. We actually heard back this week on those applications, and the Parks department informed us that multi day ticketed events are still not allowed in the park, but that a one day ticketed event like is still on the table. They gave us some date options that work, and we are seeing what we can do with those dates and also the smaller, one day format. - TR

A one day format sounds amazing actually. Put that on a Saturday with a killer lineup and I’d be in

It's really hard to make one day festivals work financially, and the event site is not big enough to house multiple big stages really, but we are looking at everything and trying to be creative to see what could and would work. Please know that we are trying hard, but it ain't easy. - TR

Why dont you do it in the Citi Field parking lot again? I really liked the layout and the concrete wasnt terrible

Thanks for the compliments on the layout (and hat tip to our festival director Jen for coming up with that). Ultimately we didn't think that a parking lot was the right venue for the festival. It's workable but not beautiful (the parking lot, not the Citi Field building). Sitting down or putting a blanket down on concrete is not the same as doing the same on greenspace. - TR

Have you ever considered Prospect Park? There is a ton of space there, or are you worried about accessibility?

we have, but they won't allow big events there after Googamooga...

Id be down for that. just turf the place

We looked at this and it was insanely expensive, not to mention incredibly tough logistically given our super tight load in and loud out timelines. - TR

Thats cool. I wouldnt mind if it was a one day event.

Long term: If you can't do multiple days in a row; could it potentially be turned into a series? Maybe one or two small scale fests during the summer months? All Points East in England and Festival D'Quebec are doing something similar.

Nothing is off the table. - TR

Are other venues still on the table? Such a shame if it was Corona Park or bust.

Our goal with the event was to bring it to that specific park, but there are sensitivities and restrictions. We've looked at doing it at Randall's but we wanted to make the event discernibly different and a big part of that was venue. Not a lot of options in this beautiful city we live in...- TR

Also piggybacking: If yes, are you still trying to make the move to Corona Park, and are you looking to keep it three days or scale back to two?

Parks only will allow a one day event, but we try annually for a 3 day and a 2 day permit (in the hopes people change their mind!).- TR

What happened to Rex Orange County? Assuming that he was clue #3

do you think we should do the clues again next year? i have mixed feelings

How close were you guys landing Kanye/Kids See Ghosts and who was the backup/alternative after that fell through?

some things just can't be discussed in a public forum. sorry!

Lol at the people downvoting this. They signed NDAs. They legally can’t give us some info

no nda's signed. it's just the polite thing to do.

Why did you put essentially no other rock music on a day where The Strokes are headlining?

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just to bother you, waffleinwinterfell, specifically : )

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Will Frank Ocean ever play one of your fests?

we try. we try.

Did the attendance being low the day Tool headlined turn you off from booking more hardrock/metal acts? I was really hoping for System of a Down or Metallica this year.

it definitely gave us pause for thought on booking acts of that genre that are 'older' ie tool. we love tool though, they are icons

It looks like New York is in store for 2 huge Woodstock anniversary festivals in August. Just wondering if those festivals had any impact on Gov Ball trying to book artists?

it did not impact a single artist we did or did not book.

Couldn’t you take the $2 million or so you saved from losing Kanye and promoting Tyler and use it to bribe some Queens politician to get Corona Park for Meadows? I’ll hang up and listen.

love your screen name!

Any changes to the festival layout or stage designs this year?

The main festival components (entrances, stages, VIP areas) will be in the same places as last year and we are upping the production a bit on the Tent stage. There will be a new art piece/installation in the crossover area to replace the Balloon Trees we did last year, and there are a bunch of other things I can't really go into without ruing the surprises, so stay tuned... - TR

To piggyback: The Bacardi Stage is nice. What's not nice is wanting to stay further back from the music but then having to watch the set with thousands of people walking by as they make their way every which way across the island. Is there any way to alleviate this or will we just have to deal?

We will look at this and see what we can do! - TR

Are you gonna add anyone else to the lineup? Like last year you added James Blake and Shawn Mendez

you never know.

How does one get a job with you guys? I want to be a part of giving people a fun weekend

email us at [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) with your resume and what you're looking for and we will see what we can do! - TR

When are y'all booking Tame Impala?

good chance on 2020. they should sell out msg for the first play on the new record...it's big honor to do that and they're ready for it.

Who will Vince Staples play against?

1975 i think

That's really silly. Those are two of your biggest undercard draws for Saturday. Having their sets overlap is a mistake.

just outta curiosity - who would you have liked to see play against vince?

I mean Lord Huron/Kacey vs Vince seems to make the most sense from a genre perspective.

boring i know, but this is where nuance comes into the booking - behind the scenes some acts may insist on playing the main stage, while some want to play in tent, etc. factors such as those weigh into when/where artists play...

Will an actual headliner be announced for Friday?

sick burn.

Why not push Gov Ball a week to avoid competing with Primavera Sound for artists? Some names they booked - Cardi, Janelle Monáe, Solange, Tierra Whack, Tame Impala - would've looked really nice here

hear you. tried to book 3 of the acts you mentioned....

Gov Ball will always be the first weekend in June. FWIW, next year's dates will be later in June just based on how the calendar days fall. We aren't sure on Primavera's dates for next year - they could be same weekend or could be earlier... - TR

Will you continue to have Govball After Dark shows? Would be cool to have some at Webster Hall seeing as that venue is opening back up soon

gov ball after dark always!

I saw Bonoroo got The Lonely Island, did you try to book them too?

we didn't - their agent asked for an absurd amount of money. respectfully.

How close to the lineup release did Kanye drop out? Did you try to build the stage he wanted so he would stick around? What acts were you considering to replace him and why did you settle on Tyler? Hes cool, but hes not a very strong headliner..

we love kanye, always have always will. regarding tyler - at this time last year some people said travis wasn't a headliner.................

Hey! I'm excited to attend for a third year, my biggest question has to be about the Lil Wayne booking. I was at Panorama last year when he no-showed, and it put a massive hindrance on my day, especially considering they didn't announce it until halfway through his set time. Why would you book him after he skipped out on the last NYC festival he was supposed to do?

we looked into his reasoning for skipping out on that other concert thing. they gave us a reasonable response so we booked wayne.

Is there any artist you've been after that you try for every year?

for sure. pearl jam is one of them.

Fanbase, myself included, aside: are you comfortable  with the decision to promote Tyler to headliner with just one relatively recent commercial, mainstream success in Flower Boy?

for sure. see: scott, travis in 2018.

Really crazy that 2020 will be the 10th year of the festival. With that in mind, do you have any ideas to make it special? Or do you intend on tackling it like if it were any other year?

We have SO. MANY. IDEAS. But we welcome all ideas and suggestions. Send us any and all good ideas you have! - TR

The water station situation last year was a step down from past years in terms of the number that were available, and the mob scene trying to refill - particularly on Saturday - was such a crush that it was borderline dangerous for some of your smaller-in-stature attendees. Will there be more water stations this year, or any other steps taken to make this aspect of things work better?

We actually had the same number of water stations as previous years but the demand was much greater, in addition to one of the stations not working properly. To address this, we have greatly increased the amount of water stations to make sure lines move as swiftly as possible and there is no "situation" - TR

Good to hear! I thought I was at Fire fest for a minute.

Well that is the very last thing we would ever want you think

Have you guys ever considered clearing between sets? I know that's what the multiple stages is supposed to do but it doesn't really work that well. It was really hard to get a good spot for CHVRCHES last year then I was surrounded by Eminem fans who talked through their set. Kind of a bummer, even with VIP.

You know we haven't really, but we certainly can. We hadn't really heard this complaint/suggestion before so that's why we didn't address. We will be discussing internally! - TR

Was the scarcity of rock-centered acts on the lineup a curation decision or were there just not a lot of options available?

mixture of the two.

First thing - shout out to whoever booked beast coast on Sunday, that is one of my favorite festival bookings in a long time.

1. How is the Wayne/Tyler layout gonna play out? Is Wayne gonna be before Tyler on the same stage or different?

2.With the Beast Coast set up are Kirk,Nyck, and UA gonna have their own solo sets or is it just gonna be one collab Beast Coast set?

I think yall picked a lot of really great hip hop acts this year, thank you!

1) different stages but no overlap.

2) one big set!

thank you!

Will Brockhampton and Lil Wayne overlap?

they will not overlap.

Will Major Lazer and Florence + The Machine Conflict?

they will overlap for about 10-15 minutes

In comparison to previous Gov Balls, what were the biggest obstacles in booking the artists this year?

artists realllllly care about their placement on the lineup poster.

When do the one day tix for gov ball come out?

Single day tickets will be available in the coming week(s). Stay tuned to our socials and email list for the latest and greatest details and news. - TR

Will Lil Wayne and Tyler be on separate stages?

yes, but their set times will not overlap.

Also: historically, who were your best/smartest bookings, outside of Travis Scott and the only show Guns 'n' Roses ever started early?

And, usually, there are 22 acts per day. On Sunday, there are 26 acts listed. What's going down?

fortunately, we have a few bookings that end of making us look smart each year. 2013 comes to mind - kendrick, lumineers, and a couple others blew the fuck up after we'd booked them...

You guys always seem to take pride in getting exclusive and unique bookings, and this years lineup seems to be devoid of those. Just wondering why that is?

if it were only that easy!

I went last year and had an amazing time on Friday, but noticed a distinct uptick in crowds on Saturday and Sunday. Which completely changed my overall take of the weekend. Are there any plans to improve the layout? Bottlenecks got to be outrageous and really killed the mood of the Festival (the alley connecting the two sides of the festival becoming a complete standstill of bodies.)

While the main pillars (if you will) of the festival will remain in the same place (e.g. stages, entrances, etc.), we are looking at ways to improve bottlenecks such as the crossover area. We had an issue last year with the water station that was right at the crossover area and that lead to more crowds/lines there. We have fixed that issue in particular for the future, and in addition, the crossover art installation is being designed specifically with patron flow and bottlenecks in mind. If you can shed any more light on areas that were problematic for your experience, that would be great. - TR

Who was an artist you guys were really gunning for that just didn’t work out?

fka twigs....she's in europe during our time period!

love that you tried!

next year most likely.

when are volunteer sign ups are available to apply?

Gov Ball Gives Back info will be released in March. Stay tuned! - TR

Will Florence and the 1975 play at different times? And will Kacey Musgraves conflict with any of them?

the main stage on saturday is kacey>75>flo !!!

Did you consciously try to raise the average age of the audience with the lineup given the massive younger crowd last year, or were the artists booked just the ones that were available?

We were not thinking about age.

What can you tell us about Gesaffelstein’s set at the festival? Will he be dragging us into darkness with hard hitting electronic music or should we expect a heavily hip hop influenced set like his most recent work with The Weeknd?

that's a question for him. stoked for it.

Hey guys, do you know if Panorama is coming back this year?

dont think so but no one knows better than them.

Which, if any, headliners will be playing mostly unopposed?

strokes.

are any of these sets conflicting : jorja smith and blood orange / carti and denzel / king princess and ravyn lenae ?

none of those are overlapping

Is Gesa closing out the Honda stage or in the tent?

Honda. Make sure to stretch before his set.

With Gesaffelstein clash with either Mitski and/or Brockhampton?

nope you're good.

Which act are you most excited to have this year?

i book all of them so i'm a fan of them all. kacey musgraves maybe?

Will SZA, Vince Staples, and Mitski be on the main stage?

nope. but they will be on stages!

What would it take for Gov Ball to become a four day festival?

meditation, perhaps. 3 days is a lot of work.

Hey Guys, Been a GovBall attendee since '13. Love everything you guys have brought every year, introducing me to new acts that are now some of my favorites. This year it seems you've gone more pop heavy and veered further from the rock scene that was there to counterprogram in the past. Was this intentional or did the lineup just shape this way organically?

usually always shapes out organically. genres are cyclical year in year out.

When are single day tickets going on sale?

In the coming week(s). - TR

How much work goes into making a lineup?

about a year plus worth of work

Will king princess and Clario play the same stage? Or overlap? And if they play the same stage which one?

different stages and will not overlap

Why did you change your lineup from rappers/hip hop popular singers to more Indie music? Why didn’t you do a mix between both? Because govball business was great last year.

business is great every year : )

we change things up and keep it fresh each time, or that's our intention at least.

Are there steps to take before volunteer sign ups ?

Info will be released in March. Stay tuned to our socials and email list for the latest and greatest news on this. - TR