Governors Ball 2016: 5 things you missed Saturday
NEW YORK — Governors Ball festival-goers were met with an unexpected downpour Saturday night, causing many to flee before The Killers' hits-filled, headlining set. But the weather held up for most of the second day, giving a diverse group of artists four stages on which to shine:
The Knocks bring out special guests. Those awake enough to get to Randall's Island Park for the early-afternoon shows were treated to some welcome surprises from electronic music duo The Knocks. The crowd first lost it when Emotion singer Carly Rae Jepsen, who headlines Chicago's Pitchfork festival next month, came out to sing her glimmering collaboration Love Me Like That. Later, Wyclef Jean took the stage for the Fugees' Ready or Not, before dissing Donald Trump in a freestyle rap.
MisterWives ratchets up the energy. The New York-based indie-pop band was super excited to be playing a hometown show — a fact that lead singer Mandy Lee wouldn't let the audience forget throughout: exclaiming, "Is this real life?" and calling it a dream come true. The late-afternoon set itself was dynamic and colorful, with flower-wrapped microphones, vivid prints and giant inflatable snack foods making their ways onstage. But Lee's frequent spiels about following one's dreams and self-empowerment verged on cloying, although her call for tolerance while introducing show highlight Hurricane was genuinely sweet.
Mac Miller covers Purple Rain. And the weekend's most surprising cover goes to ... Pittsburgh rapper Mac Miller, who warbled through the Prince favorite toward the end of his stacked set, which attracted an enormous crowd but suffered from poor acoustics. The hip-hop star joins a growing list of artists to commemorate the Purple One at Gov Ball, including Beck, Bloc Party and Haim, who covered I Would Die 4 U Saturday evening.
Haim soldiers on despite rain. Speaking of Haim, the sister pop-rock trio still electrified during their main-stage set, despite torrential rain which started midway through and sent many concertgoers packing. The show was mainly comprised of singles off their 2013 debut album Days Are Gone, but also included a couple new ones: the doo-wop-inspired Give Me Just a Little of Your Love and Fleetwood Mac-esque Nothing's Wrong.
De La Soul throws a '90s party. The old-school hip-hop trio gave what was arguably the best show of the day, marked by booming bass lines, nimble verses and a thrilling tribute to late producer J Dilla. Running through hits such as Stakes is High, Oooh and Me Myself and I, the group also stopped the show repeatedly to remind the audience that they were "trying to have a party" — even calling out specific people using their phones who didn't have their hands up.