The iconic Governors Ball Music Festival (known colloquially as Gov Ball) returned to Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens, New York from June 5 to 7. The festival has always been a celebration of everything that makes New York City a hotspot for culture, from the diverse array of cuisines at food booths, creative pop-up experiences, and of course, the music. This year was no different as over 60 artists from around the world took to the festival’s three stages.
Gov Ball 2026 marked a new milestone in that regard, with boy group Stray Kids and JENNIE of Blackpink becoming the festival’s first-ever K-Pop headliners. Multicultural girl group, KATSEYE, also performed an explosive and wildly popular set, rounding out Gov Ball’s largest number of K-acts ever. Each K-Pop act drew their fiercely loyal fanbases to the festival, their impressive numbers making their mark on the beloved festival’s history.
KATSEYE Gets Gnarly on Day 1
Since debuting in 2024, KATSEYE, consisting of members Sophia, Daniela, Megan, Lara, Yoonchae, and Manon (who has been on hiatus since February and was absent at Gov Ball), have released hit after viral hit, embarked on their first world tour, and earned two Grammy nominations. Their success has led to a rapid growth in their fandom, known as EYEKONS, who came out in full force to see their beloved group perform at Gov Ball.
Dedicated stans and casual listeners alike rushed to the main GOVBALLNYC stage, after Mariah the Scientist’s set, to secure their spots. The demographics of KATSEYE and Mariah the Scientist’s audience could not be more different. The adult R&B fans leaving the field were replaced by the expected tweens, teens and early twenty-somethings most often associated with groups like KATSEYE. Joining these EYEKONS were a surprising number of families with infants and children who couldn’t have been older than five. The day’s heat peaked right before KATSEYE’s 6:35pm set and was sorely felt by attendees as more and more people showed up. The rising temperature and tightening space caused many young fans to need to be pulled out before KATSEYE even took the stage.
The stage lights went low and an opening VCR played on the LCD backdrop, featuring clips from KATSEYE’s “Pinky Up” music video. Once the video faded out, the girls and their ensemble of dancers appeared onstage to perform the EDM track. The main stage was an instant party as the crowd went wild, singing the lyrics loudly, word for word. For “Debut,” KATSEYE threw on custom leather jackets, with the New York Yankees logo and “I Love NY” emblazoned on the backs in each of their heritage languages: Korean for Yoonchae, Tagalog for Sophia, Spanish for Daniela, Chinese for Megan, and Tamil for Lara. The live performance of the song featured an exciting dance break that included perfectly executed splits and expert hair flips.
After heavy choreography in the New York heat, the girls took a moment to introduce themselves and greet EYEKONS. Lara mentioned that New York was her hometown and shared how excited she was to return. She also took a moment to shout out New York Knicks fans, whose team was currently playing in the NBA Finals (and would win Game 2 that same night). The crowd, many of whom were displaying their fan pride by wearing Knicks gear, whooped and cheered loudly in response. Others could be heard shouting, “Welcome home, Lara!”
KATSEYE followed their remarks with fan-favorite tracks like “Gameboy,” “Touch,” and of course, “Internet Girl.” They were able to take a break from the complex choreography to slow things down with the girls’ girl anthem, “Mean Girls,” which they performed sitting down on the stage’s risers. The more laid-back vibe of this portion, compared to the evening’s explosive start, allowed KATSEYE to walk around the stage and greet fans while performing “Tonight I Might.”
While KATSEYE’s main discography was certainly a hit among the crowd, it was their modernized version of the “Monster High Fright Song,” the theme song of the eponymous Mattel doll line, that had young EYEKONS screaming. Some fans in the audience were even dressed as KATSEYE’s Monster High character counterparts. The park rang out with the sheer volume of kids singing the lyrics word for word.
The backdrop’s change into red roses signaled another fan favorite track was on the way: “Gabriela,” Gen Z’s answer to “Jolene” by Dolly Parton. Fans went crazy for the iconic salsa-inspired choreography along with a flamenco breakdown that has become a mainstay of KATSEYE’s live performances. The dance break saw the girls quick-changing into long, flowy skirts and performing a dramatic number complete with impressive lifts and cartwheels. KATSEYE ended the song by posing with crimson roses, then tossing them into the crowd.
Mic stands were brought on stage for “My Way,” a piano-led track about self-acceptance and following one’s path. The song’s slower tempo and lack of choreography allowed KATSEYE’s vocal abilities to really shine through. They followed with “M.I.A.,” a catchy pop number that had EYEKONS dancing and singing along. Live performances of the song have become infamous among fans for the suggestive outro choreography, and this one was no different. As “M.I.A.” ended, Lara and Megan walked to the front of the stage hand-in-hand, eventually leading to Lara on the floor with Megan straddling her, causing the audience to erupt in screams.
Yoonchae announced that there was only one song left on their set, and there was still one song that everyone wanted to hear. Fans began to chant, “Gnarly! Gnarly! Gnarly!” Cheers erupted as Yoonchae kicked off “Gnarly” with her iconic line, “You could describe everything with one single word.” The sound of young fans screaming out, “I’M THE SHIT! I’M THE SHIT!” very nearly drowned out KATSEYE themselves. “M.I.A.” and “Gnarly” were a whiplash-inducing one-eighty compared to KATSEYE’s family-friendly Monster High stage. The group closed the song with another vibrant dance break with elaborate lifts and flips that impressed the audience.
Overall, KATSEYE’s set was nothing short of incredible. The sheer size of the crowd that gathered at the GOVBALLNYC stage to see them was astonishing. Last year, KATSEYE set the record for the largest daytime crowd at Lollapalooza, with an estimated 85,000 people attending their U.S. festival debut. Gov Ball is a fraction of the size of Lollapalooza, but KATSEYE’s popularity drew in 45,000 attendees, according to Live Nation.
While the group’s audience pull was undoubtedly impressive, many Gov Ball attendees were put off by the families and children in attendance. Small children (and some older ones) were lifted onto their parents’ shoulders, a move that is often frowned upon at festivals because it blocks others’ views. Furniture in the VIP lounge was reportedly taken by parents to use as stools for kids to see the stage, but left scattered around the pit after KATSEYE’s set finished. Despite the crowd etiquette issues, KATSEYE’s star power was undeniable. The group has a busy summer ahead of them – they will be headlining Hinterland Music Festival in Iowa in late July, and their third EP WILD is scheduled to be released in August.
Stray Kids Was Thunderous – Literally
On Day 2, severe weather forecasts caused some worry among attendees and by the afternoon it was clear that heavy rain and thunderstorms were imminent. Governors Ball organizers announced that the day’s events would end early, for attendee safety, and that the schedule would be updated accordingly. Stray Kids and Major Lazer’s sets were moved to an earlier time slot, with the festival scheduled to end right after Stray Kids’ performance. Unfortunately, Gov Ball was forced to shorten Stray Kids’ runtime by fifteen minutes, and cut the sets of Blood Orange, Amyl and the Sniffers, and headliner Kali Uchis entirely.
Some ticketholders, particularly those who only came for the headlining artists, were just able to make it to Gov Ball in time. However, with news of the schedule changes moving slowly, many fans found themselves unable to arrive before gates closed for the night. But the 45,000 STAYs (Stray Kids’ fanbase) that made it into Flushing Meadows Corona Park completely filled out the GOVBALL NYC stage and weathered the increasing humidity and heat. They buzzed with anticipation, despite the weather anxiety and scrambled time slots.
As the 6:15pm performance time drew near, the accompanying band entered the stage and began an epic guitar-led overture as live footage of members Bang Chan, Lee Know, Changbin, Hyunjin, Han, Felix, and I.N. (Seungmin was unfortunately absent due to an injury) and their dancers walked toward the main stage from the sectioned-off artists areas. STAYs went wild as they realized the group was getting closer and closer, and screamed out, “Stray Kids everywhere all around the world!”
Stray Kids kicked off the night with incredible energy, their songs “TOPLINE,” featuring iconic rapper Tiger JK, and “S-Class” effectively hyped up the crowd. One of the peaks of Stray Kids’ entire set was “BounceBack,” a confident ode to the group’s own success. The members set off red smoke bombs as the song’s instrumentals started up and urged the crowd to get loud. The crimson haze that surrounded the catwalk commanded attention and gave the GOVBALLNYC stage a rebellious, post-apocalyptic feel.
As the smoke cleared after the hard-hitting choreography of “BounceBack,” the boys finally had a moment to cool down and lightheartedly introduce themselves to the Gov Ball crowd. After a heartfelt thanks to STAYs for welcoming the group back to New York and a fun dad joke courtesy of Bang Chan (“Is it hot because of the weather or because of you guys?”), they kept the energy going. Fans danced and sang along to favorites like “Maniac,” “DOMINO,” and “Thunderous.”
After a brief instrumental interlude, the band returned to the stage wearing white-and-black ombre dopo (traditional Korean robes) over their edgy, modern outfits and went right into “DIVINE.” This portion of Stray Kids’ set was a fun ode to Korean culture of past and present: the heavy hip-hop beats of “DIVINE,” “Walkin’ on Water,” and breakout hit “God’s Menu” were arranged with elements of traditional Korean music.
Leader Bang Chan set the stage for the next song after quickly introducing the backing band. In the spirit of being a self-produced K-Pop group, he started things off by giving the band a key and beatboxing a pattern for the drummer to follow. He sang a bass line, which the bassist followed, and sang patterns for the guitarist and keyboardist to follow as well. With the band playing their assigned parts in harmony, STAYs quickly realized that Stray Kids were about to perform “Chk Chk Boom” and screamed out in excitement. The group led the audience in singing the song’s chorus before jumping right into the song. Rock versions of “LALALALA,” “ITEM” and “Social Path” kept attendees hyped up.
Stray Kids are approaching their ten-year anniversary as a group, and their Gov Ball performance was a celebration of their career to date. During their costume change after “Thunderous,” the live band made sure to keep fans’ energy up with an instrumental interlude. STAYs went crazy for the snippets of “Back Door” that were woven into the band’s electric guitars and heavy drums. Also included in the setlist was the EDM version of “Side Effects,” which was a pleasant surprise for OG fans, especially considering that Stray Kids haven’t performed the song live since 2023.
The performance closed out with another throwback banger: “MIROH,” a fan-favorite EDM and hip-hop track released in 2019. It was the cherry on top of a set that showcased Stray Kids’ accomplished career to date. And it was just in time – the already-cloudy sky rapidly darkened as soon as Stray Kids said their final goodbyes and left the stage. Thunder cracked and heavy rain began to fall, drenching Gov Ball as fans made their way toward the exits.
The Gov Ball team undoubtedly had to make hard decisions regarding the Saturday lineup, but keeping Stray Kids on the top bill was a no-brainer. STAYs’ enthusiasm helped make Saturday the first day of the festival to sell out, once sales opened, showing that the festival’s continued inclusion of K-Pop is paying off in attendance. For Stray Kids, their Gov Ball appearance kicked off their latest round of promotions for a new album scheduled to be released in August, another headlining festival set at Rock in Rio in September, and a world tour starting in the fall and going into 2027.
JENNIE’s Stardom Lights Up Gov Ball’s Final Day
After a stormy Saturday night, Gov Ball was back in full swing for Day 3 with the sun beaming down on New York City. The heat had attendees forgetting that it ever even rained. Luckily, a balmy day meant that there were no chaotic lineup changes in order. However, Blood Orange graciously agreed to a rescheduled set on Sunday, allowing fans who missed their set the day before to enjoy.
One of the most anticipated acts of the festival was undoubtedly JENNIE. As a member of BLACKPINK, one of the most popular K-Pop acts in the world (and one of the best-selling girl groups in history), and with the group’s solo eras underway, fans (known as BLINKs) and curious onlookers alike were eager to see how JENNIE would shine. BLINKs armed with lightsticks began to claim their spots for JENNIE’s set at the Snapchat Stage early in the day. They were able to enjoy performances from Rachel Chinouriri, Japanese Breakfast, and rap icons Clipse ahead of JENNIE’s headlining sunset performance.
After Clipse’s set, festival staff began to set up JENNIE’s stage. A long red curtain was hung at center stage, reminiscent of the album art for Ruby, JENNIE’s critically acclaimed debut album. Fans were chanting JENNIE’s name in the minutes leading up to her set’s start, adding to the excitement among the audience.
The crowd’s cheers and chants intensified as the stage lights dimmed and dancers gathered around the billowing curtain. A dramatic instrumental intro, courtesy of JENNIE’s live band, began to play. Suddenly stage lights flashed and bright flames shot out from the stage. The temporary blinding effect excited the audience and gave the dancers enough time to pull the curtain down, revealing a step-pyramid-like stage setup, with JENNIE shining like a star at the top. Wasting no time, she jumped right into “Filter” to the sound of excited screams and applause roaring throughout the park. Theatrical pyrotechnics and sharp choreography brought immediate energy to the Snapchat Stage, but JENNIE seamlessly slowed it down with the sensual solo version of “Damn Right.”
JENNIE has become a multi-hyphenate star over the years: singer, rapper, dancer, actress, and record label founder, to name a few. But she is also a fashion icon, holding brand ambassadorships with brands such as Chanel, Calvin Klein, Ray-Ban, Gentle Monster, and more. JENNIE’s skills as a model and artist were put on full display as she followed “Damn Right” with self-love anthem “Mantra,” strutting across the extended catwalk with sheer confidence.
“Start a War” and the solo version of “Handlebars” followed, allowing JENNIE to take a break from the high-energy choreography and let her vocals take center stage. Despite the slower tempos of the two tracks, JENNIE made full use of the stage’s elaborate setup to sing about the ups and downs of love. “Handlebars,” was a highlight of her set with JENNIE and her dancers performing lower-impact choreo with actual metal bars.
JENNIE left the stage once the song ended, and a short VCR, featuring clips of the beloved artist at various points in her career, played on the LCD screen backdrop. After the brief intermission, JENNIE was once again elevated to the top of the pyramid, this time with a mic stand. Die-hard and casual fans alike screamed in realization as the opening notes of “One of the Girls,” JENNIE’s collaboration with The Idol co-stars, The Weeknd and Lily Rose-Depp, began to play. Gov Ball marked the first time she ever performed the fan-favorite song live, as evidenced by the audience singing along, word for word.
She followed with “Love Hangover,” and while many BLINKs speculated that Dominic Fike – who featured on the song and performed at the GOVBALLNYC stage just before JENNIE’s set – would be a special guest, it ended up being the solo version. But JENNIE handled the song just fine on her own, with her gorgeous vocals and seductive rap holding the crowd’s rapt attention.
Up next was JENNIE’s remix of “Dracula,” a collaboration with Tame Impala. She embodied the song’s psychedelic inspiration with a mesmerizing disco ball backdrop while the dancers circled around her with trance-like choreography. JENNIE kept the audience hypnotized with “Seoul City,” before returning to the top of the pyramid for an emotional performance of “F.T.S.”
After another quick intermission, JENNIE re-emerged wearing a New York Yankees cap, which earned cheers from the crowd. This nod to the local icons was just one of many treats she had up her sleeve – the others were new, unreleased music. Gov Ball attendees were the first audience ever to hear JENNIE perform “Lock It Down,” a fun Afrobeats-inspired track, along with “Heaven,” a power ballad that was complemented by a rousing guitar solo.
JENNIE then switched up the energy from passionate to party. She and her female dancers went right into the solo version of “ExtraL.” While Doechii’s energetic verse was omitted, JENNIE stood strong on her own. The field at the Snapchat Stage echoed with fans rapping right along with JENNIE. She kept her confident aura alive on “with the IE (way up).” If the crowd was loud singing along to “ExtraL,” this time they were booming.
Up next was “Starlight.” The song began as a vulnerable contrast to the previously performed, pyrotechnic-heavy girl power tracks, as JENNIE took a seat on the steps without her dancers. But soon it became an anthem of hope as JENNIE’s dancers rejoined her for the song’s upbeat outro.
One of the most poignant moments from JENNIE’s set was her debut of “Little Less,” another unreleased song. JENNIE’s guitarist and bassist sat with her on the steps of the pyramid as she sang about a summer fling. The song’s indie-pop vibe was a departure from the pop-R&B and hip-hop sound fans have become familiar with, but it was a refreshing moment, showing JENNIE’s versatility and soothing vocals.
With her set nearing its end, JENNIE took a moment to thank the audience for their love and for coming from far and wide to watch her at Gov Ball. Before wrapping things up, she noted with a smirk that there was still one more song that she needed to play. She encouraged the crowd to fully let loose, joking, “I might just leave if you don’t join the party, so it’s all up to you guys.”
She wasted no time getting right into “like JENNIE,” and the crowd lost their minds as soon as she said the opening line: “It’s gonna be fucking hot.” JENNIE threw on a pair of shades as strobe lights and fog filled the stage, giving her an effortlessly cool vibe. Fans sang and danced along to the hit song, some perfectly matching her choreography while others simply vibed out. As the song closed out, JENNIE shouted out the dancers, band, and her entire crew before taking one last bow and exiting the stage. But the party continued even after she left, as the band kept playing while the dancers encouraged the crowd to jump with them before finally bringing the performance to a thrilling finale.
JENNIE’s summer festival run will continue with Lollapalooza in Chicago and two Summer Sonic in Tokyo and Osaka, Japan. If her Gov Ball set is anything to go off of, fans can expect her to bring more heat – and perhaps more new songs and surprises to her performances.
JENNIE and fellow headliner A$AP Rocky’s sets brought Governors Ball 2026 to an electrifying close. The temperatures were high, and so were the vibes as K-Pop fans got to experience historic firsts for the festival. As the festival seems to be bringing in more pan-Asian and K-Pop acts, K-entertainment fans are eager to see who will make their way to Queens next summer.