2021 Governors Ball Festival Day Three: Faye Webster, Mazie, Princess Nokia, Post Malone (FESTIVAL RECAP/PHOTOS)

Festival Sunday comes too soon. You realize all the things you’ve yet to explore. The foods you haven’t tried. The friends you’ve missed in the crowds. Yet, it doesn’t come soon enough, as you drag yourself to the festival grounds, feet weary, ears ringing, stomach just a bit off. But you still make it to catch a few songs of the two openers – upbeat poppy Mazie and alt-pop singer-songwriter Yeek.  You see the crowd already grooving out – Mazie got the whole crowd jumping for her closing song and realize – you can do one more day. 

With a lack of real rock acts on the Sunday lineup (overheard “This is a Thursday schedule”), you had to choose to discover some new music or just hang back and soak in the festival vibe. Regardless of your initial choice, the crowd energy at all stages was palpable and eventually you had no choice but to insert yourself into that space. As Dominic Fife says “If you can’t get out of it, get into it.”

There were a few standout performances. Early in the day, Faye Webster hit the GrubHub stage with her mellow folk rock, perfect for a Sunday afternoon. She opened with “Better Distractions” punctuated by the eerie pedal steel guitar. The sound held that space between 70s soft rock, country, and more modern singer-songwriter. Each song that featured her pedal steel player Matt Stoessel took her songs to the next level.

Not sure what to make of Duck Sauce. Any band who describes their music as their “attempt to distill the ducks’ discoveries to the tune of the kickdrum” is worth at least checking out.  (See their Spotify artist statement  https://open.spotify.com/artist/0q8J3Yj810t5cpAYEJ7gxt  ), Their excellent EDM set performed in front of a stage-filling blow-up duck with a backscreen of duck-related video had the crowd pumped for the entire hour. At Duck Sauce’s first entrance, the fans were crowd surfing and the energy did not let up. 

Genre-crossing singer-songwriter Dominic Fike and his band had just enough edge to cut through their peppy sound. By song two he was on the amps, down in the photo pit milling past the packed photographers and into the crowd. It never let up. He exploded seemingly from nowhere (it was Soundcloud posts) but he can write a song and can deliver a strong set. 

But regardless of the stage you hit, the fans loved whoever was performing and every field was packed. Hip hop Princess Nokia danced her way through costume mishaps; Burna Boy serenaded with his upbeat dancehall Afro-pop; R&B singer-songwriter BJ The Chicago Kid crooned a heartfelt set, and Carly Rae Jepsen smiled and swirled her fringed shorts set all over the stage while delivering a solid performance including her hit “Call Me Maybe” to her adoring crowd.  

As evening fell, set delays triggered many mishaps for artists, fans and staff alike and took away from the festival experience.  21 Savage didn’t show up til after 7 for his 6 pm set which left him only 30 minutes before they had to clear the stage to prepare for closer Post Malone. Over on the Bacardi stage, Young Thug didn’t appear until after 8 for his 7 pm set. During that hour the fans on the rail were subjected to chest-crushing bass whilst being pushed from all sides in the crowd; it got dicey.  45 minutes past set time with still no word on Young Thug, security stepped in to extricate a dozen young women and one guy who could no longer handle the crush, many emerging hysterical from fear. (Kudos to security all weekend who kept the peace in the photo pit and the crowd, managing to keep fans safe, rescue those who imbibed too much or got overwhelmed while still being friendly and professional.) Sadly for his fans Young Thug also only got a half-hour as he had to wrap up so that on the adjacent Honda stage Ellie Goulding could startup (albeit late). 

Closing Gov Ball was Post Malone who quipped “We’re gonna play some shitty songs and get fucked up”. (Mission Accomplished per this reviewer.) Entering the stage and playing his first song “Wow” from a ramp suspended above the stage, the crowd went delirious. A huge on-stage firecracker and he was down on the stage ready to deliver his hour-plus set. He proceeded to croon and rap, drink and chug, all the while chatting up the crowd with his self-deprecating banter. The fans loved it as he lumbered along the stage plowing through his hits including “Circles” and “Goodbyes” with Young Thug. Who knows if 21 Savage appeared for “rockstar”? Post Malone closed a little after 10 despite being encouraged to end without getting through his setlist. And then the Gov Ball was over.  It sure feels great to be seeing live music and festivals again.  C’mon fans, do your part to get this virus under control so that we can see live music, artists can perform again, and all the regular folks who support our concert-going ways can get back to work and make a living.