Girl group aespa is set to be the first-ever K-Pop artist to perform at Governors Ball Music Festival in its twelve-year history. The festival, a New York City mainstay, will be held at Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens from June 9 to June 11. Governors Ball, commonly referred to as Gov Ball, will see aespa members Karina, Giselle, Winter, and Ningning take the event’s main stage on June 10 alongside the likes of Lil Baby, Rina Sawayama, and the day’s headliner, ODESZA.
This year’s Gov Ball will feature over 60 artists including Lizzo, Kendrick Lamar, Haim, Diplo, Lil Nas X, Giveon, and Sofi Tukker. It will be aespa’s second American music festival appearance after performing at Coachella in 2022.
In addition to the extensive musical lineup, Gov Ball will be raising funds for charities Planned Parenthood and Everytown for Gun Safety. Festivalgoers will also be able to get a taste of New York City’s indie food scene through a partnership with Queens Night Market, a food market that calls Flushing Meadows Corona Park home every summer.
aespa’s appearance at Gov Ball is well-timed to the highly-anticipated release of their third mini-album, MY WORLD, on May 8 – their first comeback in ten months since July 2022’s release of Girls. The new EP sees the aespa girls departing from their cyberpunk-inspired previous comebacks to traveling “in the real world.” MY WORLD will continue to tell the group’s sci-fi story concept, starting with “Welcome to MY World,” which features Naevis, an AI character from the SM Culture Universe, SM Entertainment’s metaverse lore.
In preparation for the comeback, aespa has also released abridged track videos for “I’m Unhappy,” “Salty & Sweet,” and “Thirsty.” Each video has its own vibe – “I’m Unhappy” references ‘choose your own adventure’ games and slasher films of the 90s while “Thirsty” takes a more lighthearted approach by paying a clear homage to the sitcom, Friends.
aespa’s fans, called MY, and other music lovers can purchase tickets at varying tiers, perks, and in one or three-day passes at the Governors Ball website here.