Credit: Aaron Burson
The organizers of the Governors Ball Festival have confirmed that the event will go ahead as planned. Yesterday the festival announced it was closely monitoring air quality concerns after a devastating haze from Canada hit New York.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams described the air quality as very unhealthy and suggested many people should stay indoors. The festival took note of the concerns on social media yesterday, but as a precaution did not want to cancel this weekend’s event in Queens.
The orange haze that settled over New York is the result of Canada’s runaway wildfires. More than 9.8 million hectares have been burned in the earliest fire season to date. Several events across the city were canceled on June 7 due to poor air quality, including a Chris Stapleton concert in Syracuse and a Hamilton performance on Broadway.
The Governors Ball is an outdoor music festival held annually at Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens. The line-up for this year’s festival includes Lizzo and Odseza. Lil Nas X, Haim, Rina Sawayama, Pusha T, Snail Mail, Lil Uzi Vert, Diplo, Giveon, Lil Baby, PinkPantheress, Black Midi and Syd will also perform.
This isn’t the first time the Governors Ball organizers have faced a possible cancellation. In 2019, the last day of the festival had to be evacuated due to bad weather and severe weather. In 2020, the Governors Ball was canceled entirely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2021 and 2022 editions of the festival took place in the parking lot of Citi Field in Queens before finding its new home in Flushing Meadows.
The three-day music festival is set to continue. Founded in 2011 by Jordan Wolowitz and Tom Russell, it features a variety of music genres ranging from rock, hip hop, electronic and indie. those years festival is streamed online via Twitch.