When multi-genre artist underscores took the stage at the 2024 Governors Ball IHG Stage on Friday, she balanced raw electronica with electro-pop tunes, all the while jamming out on a shiny blue guitar. For the past 10 years, she's been flitting between genres, carving out a niche that sounds like you've entered the future.
She commanded the stage with the prowess of a headlining act, getting the crowd up and jumping on their feet as she sang fan-favorites like "Spoiled Little Brat" and "Old Money Bitch." Both tracks show underscores flexing wealth and fame, singing "I'm a popstar baby, popstar baby/I'm the one you sold your soul to" on the former and "I'm an old money bitch" on the latter.
Underscores knows she's good. Her confidence is palpable, even from the back of the crowd, which steadily grew as her set attracted more and more attendees. Gov Ball-goers gathered at the barricade, jumping up and down to the chaotic sounds of her performance as the California native dove into both of her LPs, fishmonger (2021) and Wallsocket (2023), showing brand new listeners a strong snapshot of her work.
When she finished jamming out on the guitar, underscores ran about the stage with the energy of a bonafide rockstar. Clad in a flannel and baggy pants, she combined a casual vibe with that of a long-term rocker.
@underscoresplus takes the IHG stage for an electro-rocking performance #GovBall @GovBallNYC @TheMusicTimes pic.twitter.com/EIWKcxEil8
— Liz Foster (@thelizfoster) June 7, 2024
She also pivoted away from her own music, covering Drake's "Passionfruit." However, the cover was a far shot from the Canadian rapper's original track. Underscores added her own electronic twang to the song, wrapping her voice in a pitched vocoder while she cooed "Passionate from miles away/Passive with the things you say."
=To finish off her set, underscores brought out her friend and collaborator gabby start to play their duet, "Locals (Girls like us." "Arms, body, legs, flesh, skin, bone, sinew, good luck," drones underscores on the chorus, locking the audience in as they bopped up and down. Gabby start closed out the show, wrapping up the performance as she sang "Baby, I'm delusional, impractical is crucial (B-baby, b-baby)/Hm, it's the talk of the town, it's the talk of the town."
The 2024 Governors Ball took place June 7-9 at Flushing Meadows Corona Park in New York City.
