Organisers for Governors Ball 2023 have confirmed that the festival is still set to go ahead as scheduled, despite the unhealthy air quality in New York.
- READ MORE: Governors Ball 2022 review: resilience reigns at New York City’s signature music festival
This year’s instalment is set to take place at its new home of Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens this weekend (June 9-11), and will feature headline slots from Kendrick Lamar, Lizzo, and Odesza.
However, the future of the 2023 festival was thrown into question following the city experiencing an air quality crisis. Created by over 400 active wildfires taking place in Canada, vast stretches of smoke have spread across several states in the northeastern part of the country — with the air quality in New York described as “very unhealthy” by Mayor Eric Adams (via New York Times).
As of yesterday (June 7), CBS reported that the haze conditions meant that the city had some of the worst pollution in the world, and residents were urged to limit their exposure to the outdoor air until the situation passes.
Despite the conditions, organisers of Governors Ball have confirmed that the three-day festival is expected to go ahead as planned.
“We’re closely monitoring the air quality with weather experts and are in close contact with city officials,” a statement from the festival read, shared on Twitter. “At this time, the festival is continuing as planned. We are hopeful that conditions will improve in the coming days and are looking forward to a great weekend!”
— Gov Ball (@GovBallNYC) June 7, 2023
Alongside the aforementioned headline acts, the festival will also see sets from Lil Nas X, Haim, Rina Sawayama and PinkPantheress. Other acts including Lil Uzi Vert, Diplo, Giveon, Lil Baby, Pusha T and Black Midi are also included on the 2023 lineup.
While Governors Ball is still set to go ahead as usual, other live performances across the city have been halted due to the weather conditions. This included yesterday’s opening night of BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival in Prospect Park, which was set to see Corinne Bailey Rae, Taj Mahal and more hit the stage.
Jessica Lea Mayfield’s show at Brooklyn Made was also postponed, as was Dende’s concert at the Sultan Room.
If the conditions were to worsen in New York and the festival was brought to a halt, this would be one of the multiple times that the Governors Ball was affected by external circumstances. Back in 2019, the festival — then held at Randall’s Island Park — was evacuated on its final night due to severe thunderstorms. Similarly, the following year the 2020 edition was cancelled due to the global pandemic.
The 2022 instalment however received a four-star review from NME, who described the three-day event as having an “optimistic energy throughout the festival weekend.”
“Young music fans are here with their friends, shoulder-to-shoulder, taking in every moment,” it read. “Through last-minute line-up changes, threats of bad weather and even trains shutting down on the way to the fest, Governors Ball-goers are resilient. They aren’t worried about the frills. They came here for the music.”
The post Governors Ball to “continue as planned” this weekend amid unhealthy haze conditions in New York appeared first on NME.
