The Governors Ball 2016 lineup has been released and it’s packed with big name artists who prove that the spirit of rock’n’roll is alive and well in 2016. The sixth annual event in New York City features The Strokes, The Killers and Kanye West as headliners, supported by Beck and Eagles of Death Metal, plus many notable newer rock acts worth discovering like Father John Misty, Gary Clark Jr., Courtney Barnett, Catfish and the Bottlemen, FIDLAR and Haim.
Members of The Strokes kept fairly quiet during 2015 beyond a few festival gigs and solo efforts, but they confirmed last fall that they’re now working on a follow-up record to 2013’s Comedown Machine. There were a few other notable releases from new rock acts last year, though. Best New Artist Grammy nominee Courtney Barnett brought us her impressive debut full-length (check out BCB’s review here), and guitarist extraordinaire Gary Clark, Jr. dropped his sophomore album last fall, The Story of Sonny Boy Slim, after the tremendous success of 2012’s Blak and Blue. (Follow-ups can be tough. Read what Best Classic Bands’ reviewer had to say about the new record here.)
The forthcoming fest will be the first time Beck has shared a stage with Kanye (well, so to speak) since Kanye’s dismissive comments about his Grammy win last year. In case you missed it – Kanye pulled a Kanye, and Beck passed the test with flying colors. After the rapper disrupted his acceptance speech and later declared to interviewers that he thought that Beyoncé should have won (yes, this happened all over again), an unfazed Beck responded by taking the high road, “Absolutely. I thought she was going to win. Come on, she’s Beyoncé!”
Governors Ball will also be EODM’s first confirmed U.S. performance since the Paris terror attacks last November. They rescheduled the remainder of their European tour for February, March and August of this year.
The fest runs Friday, June 3rd through Sunday, June 5th, in Randall’s Island Park, offering up three days packed with music, art installations, gourmet food trucks and entertainment. Tickets are on sale now via Eventbrite, but best hurry, because they tend to go fast.
Here’s a recap of 2015’s event…
