#TuesdayTop10 Governors Ball Music Festival

This weekend (June 23-24), Governors Ball Music Festival is happening on Governors Island in New York. Surviving the Golden Age is going to have some boots on the ground for the event. Here is a list of the top ten sets we are looking forward to.

10. Kid Cudi
Last year, Big Boi capped off a remarkably good hip hop lineup which also included Das Racist, Mac Miller, and People Under the Stairs. This year, Kid Cudi tops off a list that include Atmosphere and K. Flay. If it feels like this year is light on hip hop, that’s because it is. It is a little disappointing when the Warped Tour is bringing more hip hop heavy hitters than a two day music festival like Governors Ball.
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09. Passion Pit
Last year, Passion Pit played an inspired DJ set; this year they returned for a full band set. On their newly announced summer tour, Governor’s Ball will be the second date of the tour and one of only two appearances for the group in the Northeast.
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08. Major Lazer
Fresh off their Bonnaroo appearance, Major Lazer promises to be a fairly crazy set during a dance-packed Saturday on Governors Island. You think Major Lazer will perform with fellow Governors Ball artist, Santigold? My guess is probably.
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07. Santigold
Speaking of Santigold, Prefix Magazine called her Bonnaroo set “endearing.” I hope to find a better adjective to use when I return like “kick-ass” or “MCA-tribute-filled.”
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06. James Murphy & Pat Mahoney
Last year, Girl Talk was the biggest DJ set of the Governors Ball. This year, ex-LCD Soundsystem-ers James Murphy & Pat Mahoney lead the way of record spinners. Surely, there is no one better to lead a dance party than the founder of DFA Records.
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05. Built to Spill
It is kind of an odd time for Built to Spill to be touring. They are not touring behind a record, having not released anything new since 2009’s There Is No Enemy. Instead they are touring around recording a new record. That means there is a chance their Governors Ball set might fall into the horrid realm of “let’s play out our new stuff.” But Built to Spill are veterans and I trust they know the festival circuit is all about the hits.
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04. Duck Sauce
What could sound better than two of the best DJs in the world (Armand Van Helden and A-Trak) spinning together on stage? I expect some monstrous drops and the crowd to be going wild for this entire set.
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03. Fiona Apple
Is there any summer comeback tour as highly looked forward to as Fiona Apple‘s? While I am not nearly as excited about Apple’s return as say Pitchfork is, there is a certain amount of curiosity as to what the singer has in store for us after her latest hiatus. Though I am not positive how well the “one woman with a piano” schtick will translate into a festival format, I am willing to check it out.
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02. Modest Mouse
I saw Modest Mouse open for R.E.M. on what turned out to be R.E.M.’s final tour. While Modest Mouse did not exactly “play the hits,” their performance was at least intriguing. Hopefully the pressures of performing at a festival forces a few more of the well known Modest Mouse songs into the set list but something tells me not much can budge Isaac Brock.
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01. Beck
My fascination with seeing Beck live might be a little misguided. I have enjoyed roughly half of Beck’s albums, the last one being 2006’s The Information. A lot of whether or not I enjoy the performance will depend if Beck is on his Sea Change singer/songwriter schtick or ready to get his Midnite Vultures freak on.
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