Here’s to you, perpetually disturbed looking sweaty man who had to spend his entire day clutching rolls of toilet paper to put in the grimmest place on earth, the makeshift bathrooms of a festival.  I can only imagine the horrors you have seen and smelled in that realm. Thank you for your valiant efforts to incorporate a sparse bit of hygiene in our day. I hope the multiple showers you have had to take after these past three days had the perfect water temperature, the best massaging shower head, and the best soap in the world. You deserve it.

— Helen Chen

Best Overall Performer: Best In Show
Winner: Outkast

Performances with this much hype can only go one of two ways…a 20th anniversary? It’s either going to be a roaring success or a monumental letdown. Going into the first day of Governors Ball, I was nervous for a couple of reasons:

1. What if I had to write a negative review of Outkast? Talk about heartbreak…
2. As a casual Outkast listener…was I worthy? I certainly can’t sing along to every line…

Coming out of Governors Ball, I was nervous answering “Well…one of the top was Outkast, I mean it!” to the 3,000 times I’ve been asked what my favorite set was upon returning to Boston this week out of fear of that oh-come-on-eye-roll. I suppose the only fact I just illustrated is that I’m a nervous person.
Outkast killed it. The hype is well deserved. André 3000 and Big Boi are true showmen. Their performance began with the two in statue poses inside of a 20-by-20 mesh cube, André 3000 was wearing a one-piece suit labeled “art or fart?”, and the duo brought out a group of fine females on stage to be on their baddest behavior during “Hey Ya.” The only downside to this headlining set were the gyrating pelvises practically fused to my backside. I’ve gotta hand it to Outkast fans, even that close proximity didn’t stop them from wiggling and it was infectious. The upside was, we got to hear all of the hits from Stankonia’s “Ms. Jackson” and “So Fresh, So Clean” to Speakerboxxx’s “Roses.”
My condolences go out to Mr. Damon Albarn. Truth be told, I ran out on Outkast’s set to try and catch a few songs from Albarn’s set but only made it in time to hear the closer “Heavy Seas of Love” off of Albarn’s 2014 release Everyday Robots. The talented mastermind behind Blur and Gorillaz was wronged by the festival and deserved a proper slot and a proper audience. Gov Ball team, please don’t disservice such a talented musician again.
— Jeeyoon Kim

Runner Up: The Merciful Summer Breeze
Making cameos during The Strokes when I thought I was going to pass out from inhaling too much sweaty recycled air, making a surprise guest appearance during the opening songs of James Blake, always being there under a shaded tree, Merciful Summer Breeze, though your performances were brief and left me physically panting for more, you truly made my Gov Ball experience. I sincerely hope to see you at festivals across the country this summer.
— Helen Chen