NEW YORK – On this day four years ago, Halsey said she signed her first record deal before attending Governors Ball as a fan. On Saturday, she sub-headlined the eighth annual festival – and performed to a Gov. Ball 2018 crowd that appeared to have doubled in size since Day 1.

With clear weather until the very last act, thousands of fans gathered at Randall’s Island Park in New York City for Day 2 of Gov. Ball. Juice Jam 2017 headliner Diplo teamed up with Mark Ronson to entertain the masses as Silk City, Pusha T — performing live for the first time since releasing his diss track about Drake — and Mayfest 2017 headliner Travis Scott closed out the night to some rain-soaked audience members.

Pusha T rapped verses from “New God Flow,” “Mercy” and “Infrared” on the American Eagle stage from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. The artist, whose full name is Terrence LeVarr Thornton, garnered attention early last week for his public feud against fellow hip-hop mogul Drake, or Aubrey Graham. This was Pusha T’s first performance since the diss track, and he made no mention of it – or Graham – during his set.

Once his set concluded, most audience members appeared to flock to the Gov. Ball NYC stage across the park to hear Halsey sing. The singer-songwriter from New Jersey performed many of the songs from her certified platinum album “Hopeless Fountain Kingdom,” celebrating her fans and engaging them in intimate conversations while she did so.

Before beginning “Strangers,” a song about a queer relationship, Halsey told the audience, “If you are a proud member of the LGBT community, or a proud friend of somebody who is…you’ve got to do one thing for me tonight, okay? You’ve got to dance.”

LeighAnn Rodgers | Staff Photographer

The crowd swayed and danced to ‘Strangers,” and then the singer stopped to reflect on her own personal journey.

“Four years ago, on this day, I signed my record deal,” she said.

It was a small deal, she added, for not a lot of money, and she’d simply crossed her fingers and hoped it would work out. She attended the 2014 Governors Ball as a fan that year, she continued.

“Whatever it is that you want to do, just f*cking do it,” she encouraged the crowd. “Take it. Make it yours.”

She continued her set with “Walls Could Talk” and a stripped-down version of the 2017 hit “Closer.” She bounded into the audience as she sang “Now or Never,” and eventually ended with “Bad at Love,” which she dedicated to the singles in the audience.

After Halsey exited the stage around 8 p.m., Silk City lit up the Bacardi stage for the first time as a team. The duo remixed classics like Kelis’s “Milkshake,” mashed up Drake’s “God’s Plan” with Route 94’s “My Love” and threw in a few verses of “All Night,” which features one of tomorrow’s Gov. Ball performers, Knox Fortune.

Silk City, named after the famous Philadelphia diner and venue where Diplo first got his start, got the audience jumping during their remix of Cardi B’s “Bodak Yellow” and kept them there by playing a couple new tracks. At the end of their set around 9:10, Diplo thanked the audience for a good time.

“To be honest, New York City, we couldn’t have asked for a better first show of all time,” he said.

At the same time, Atlanta-based hip hop artist Russ was performing on the American Eagle stage. His setlist included “Pull the Trigger,” “Back to Life,” “Since I Was Broke” and his platinum single, “Losing Control.” He ended his performance with one of his first hits: “Goodbye,” which was released in 2014.

After Russ and Silk City finished, headliner Travis Scott took the Gov. Ball NYC stage. The crowd appeared larger than the one for Friday’s headliner Jack White, and despite the on and off rain throughout Scott’s hour-long performance, stayed on its feet the whole time.

LeighAnn Rodgers | Staff Photographer

The Houston native told the crowd this was his first time at Gov. Ball. Scott performed tracks from several of his albums, including “Butterfly Effect,” “Rodeo,” “through the late night” and his verses in “Love Galore” and “Skywalker.” He also performed “Gymnastics,” which he said is his favorite song on the album.

After “Antidote” and “goosebumps,” Scott exited the stage around 10:25 — over half an hour before Day 2 was scheduled to end. The rain was picking up by then, and the crowd began to disperse until Scott came back out for an encore.

The rain let up by the end of his last song, and patrons left Randall’s Island at the end of Day 2 with Scott’s voice booming “I love you, New York!” in their ears.

Gov. Ball starts its final day Sunday at 11:45 a.m., and its last 21 artists will perform. Eminem is the final headliner of the 2018 festival. Gov Ball can be streamed online from 4:45 to 11 p.m. ET on Sunday, as well as on television from 8 – 11 p.m. ET via AT&T and DIRECTV.

Published on June 3, 2018 at 9:20 am

Contact Colleen: cefergus@syr.edu | @ColleenEFergus2