Being an anxiety-prone, anal retentive music fan during festival season is the absolute pits, let me tell you. I got my first taste of this last year at my first Coachella. WHOOSH! HOW DO PEOPLE DEAL WITH ALL OF THE CONFLICTS!!? Amazingly (thanks to plenty of compromising) my friends and I made it through unscathed, albeit noticeably poorer.

This year, I decided to save on air fare and hotel and attend my first Governors Ball (flyin’ solo, I might add). While the lineup is considerably smaller than Coachella’s (understandably so, given the location) it’s still pretty damn impressive. Additionally, it’s a little cheaper (well – not for me, since I splurged on a VIP ticket) and most importantly, LOCAL-meaning I can sleep in my own bed every night. Now that the set times have been released, it’s time for me to start plotting out my 3 days of hot, sweaty, live musical bliss. I went in expecting to have to make major sacrifices to see the artists I REALLY wanted to see but, for the most part I didn’t have any tough calls to make. That being said, I need some advice and guidance. Ideally, I’d like to see artists I have never seen live before, or artists I LOVE and must see live again, all while picking up some new favs along the way, maybe even some new artists. OK…so let’s break it down, day-by-day.

My selections (if I have a preference) are in RED. In situations when I don’t know WHO to see—no color. Get it? Got it? Good. Tell me in the comments which acts you would SEE or SKIP. I want to know YOUR IDEAL Governors Ball schedule. I know I’m going to have fun regardless, but I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts anyway.

Friday, June 5

PRIORY VS. THE DISTRICTS
DIIV VS. PEOPLE UNDER THE SUN
RAE SREMMURD VS. KAYTRANADA
BENJAMIN BOOKER VS. GORGON CITY
TWIN SHADOW VS. CHARLI XCX
RUDIMENTAL VS. MØ
CHROMEO VS. VANCE JOY
DEATH FROM ABOVE 1979 VS. ODESZA
FLORENCE + THE MACHINE VS. THE DECEMBERISTS
ST. VINCENT VS. RATATAT
DRAKE VS. MY MORNING JACKET

[youtube=https://youtu.be/B9v8jLBrvug]

Saturday, June 6

HOLYCHILD VS. CHARLOTTE OC
KATE TEMPEST VS. ASTR
CLEAN BANDIT VS. WHITE LUNG
J. RODDY WALSTON & THE BUSINESS VS. RUSTIE
MARINA AND THE DIAMONDS VS. MOON TAXI
SHARON VAN ETTEN VS. KIESZA
LITTLE DRAGON VS. ANGUS & JULIA STONE
ATMOSPHERE VS. FUTURE ISLANDS
BJÖRK VS. CONOR OBERST
FLUME VS. SBTRKT
DEADMA5 VS. RYAN ADAMS

[youtube=https://youtu.be/ZT_skmohD-c]

Sunday, June 7

STREETS OF LAREDO VS. THE PICTUREBOOKS
DMA’S VS. BISHOP NEHRU
ECHOSMITH VS. STRAND OF OAKS
CHRONIXX AND THE ZINCFENCE REDEMPTION VS. HERMITUDE
STURGILL SIMPSON VS. LOGIC
ROYAL BLOOD VS. MAYER HAWTHORNE
TAME IMPALA VS. A-TRAK
THE WAR ON DRUGS VS. “WEIRD AL” YANKOVIC
NOEL GALLAGHER’S HIGH FLYING BIRDS VS. BIG GIGANTIC
HOT CHIP VS. FLYING LOTUS
THE BLACK KEYS VS. LANA DEL REY

[youtube=https://youtu.be/o_1aF54DO60]