Travis Scott Drives Governors Ball Crowd Into Frenzy

Many festivalgoers were excited for Travis Scott, the highly anticipated headliner for Saturday of Governors Ball. Long before the rapper and producer took to the stage, massive crowds of fans formed in front of the Gov Ball NYC Stage. Scott performed in advance of the release of his 2018 album, “Astroworld.” As the crowd grew more and more agitated, Scott appeared onstage, standing atop a raised platform. Because his image was also projected onto a large backdrop on the stage, Scott’s height and magnification made him seem almost godlike, as he was illuminated by red and blue flashing lights while the crowd went nuts all the way below him. Scott set off the already excited crowd even more as he shouted at the audience to “make some motherfucking noise” before kicking off his intro song, “Stargazing,” off of Astroworld. Scott rapped passionately, and the crowd seemed to feed off of his energy as mosh pits began to form.

Building on his momentum, Scott commanded the stage dominantly. “Mamacita,” off of Scott’s 2014 mixtape, “Days Before Rodeo,” fanned the flames with an array of flashing blue, red, and purple lights covering the lawn in tandem with Scott’s heated rapping. “way back,” from Scott’s 2016 album “Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight,” was made even more powerful by the combination of a strong bass with his forceful, impassioned rapping. During his performance of 2 Chainz’s “4 AM,” the crowd went wild as reedy brass notes filtered down from the speakers. Scott followed up this song with a cover of rapper Trippie Redd’s “Dark Knight Dummo,” and the crowd moved into a full frenzy, with plenty of mosh pits and some fights breaking out in various places throughout the crowd. At one point, Scott’s performance suffered when technical difficulties caused a temporary cessation of all sound, but otherwise, Scott’s set went by smoothly.

Eventually, Scott called for the audience to calm down as his performance became more emotional. Moody red lights came on and created a somber mood as Scott asked the crowd members to put up their cell phone lights in the air before his performance of “Days Before Rodeo”’s “Skyfall.” Scott’s voice was powerful as he sung evenly into the microphone, and it enveloped the area as Scott performed the song, emotion evident in his voice.

Travis Scott’s Governors Ball performance not only captivated his fans, but seized them with a fervor that was palpable from the moment that Scott took to the stage until the very end of his performance. Throughout the entire night, Scott connected with his audience as he danced. Scott was clearly emotional as he interacted with the audience and rapped with a certain ardor during his more somber, poignant songs. As he sang and rapped, coupled with the audience’s perpetually rowdy, energetic mood, it was intriguing to see how the behavior of the crowd juxtaposed Scott’s noticeably less riled up, more pensive mood onstage. Scott’s moody yet lively performance set an unprecedented tone for the festival.

—Staff writer Ajibabi O. Oloko can be reached at ajibabi.oloko@thecrimson.com.