Governors Ball Festival: Final Day Evacuated Due to Thunderstorms, Several Acts Canceled

The last day of the 2019 Governors Ball at Randall’s Island in New York on Sunday was evacuated and several acts canceled due to “severe weather.”

Weather-related issues had thrown a kink in festival-goers’ plans early Sunday morning when the three-day festival issued a notice online at around 9 a.m. ET requesting that attendees refrain from coming to the island due to the weather. At around 11 a.m. ET, a second notice stated that the festival would be delayed for more than six hours, with the day’s earlier acts canceled, due to “forecasted thunderstorms.”

“Today’s performance schedule has been adjusted due to thunderstorms forecast to arrive in the early evening. As a result, some of the artists scheduled for earlier in the day are no longer able to perform,” the festival’s team wrote on its website. “Please see the updated Sunday performance schedule below, and stay tuned to our socials and this page for any additional developments. Gates will open today at 6:30PM, and music will begin at 6:45PM. We look forward to seeing you there.”

However, after kicking off at 6:30 p.m. and following the performances of 11 artists, including co-headliner Nas, the musical festival was evacuated due to extreme weather, forcing the cancellation of several top-billed acts, including the Strokes and SZA.

“Due to severe weather, Governors Ball was evacuated tonight. At this time, the island is clear of all guests,” the festival said in a statement at around 11 p.m. ET, according to Variety. “After close consultation with NYC officials and law enforcement, it was deemed necessary to cancel the event for the safety of our festival goers, artists and crew. We are as devastated as our fans by this decision, but nothing is more important than the safety of all attendees. While the festival is always rain or shine, we can’t proceed in weather as severe as tonight’s storm and lightning. Evacuation procedures were followed.”

According to those who had attended Sunday’s events, the abrupt cancellation led to chaos, with several people slamming the lack of an evacuation plan.

Others were furious that they had been forced to miss several acts and demanded a partial or full refund.

In total, 27 acts had been set to perform on Sunday, though only Noname, Chelsea Cutler, Shaed, Lily Allen, Sheck Wes, Bazzi, Bob Moses, Taylor Bennett, 070SHAKE, Louis the Child and Nas were able to do so.

The Strokes, SZA, Charli XCX, Kaytranada, Aaron Aye, Beast Coast, Soccer Mommy, Flatbush Zombies, SOB x RBE, Parcels and several others’ sets were canceled due to weather.