Last year, Cass had just ended treatment for the second time. She wouldn’t be cleared to be around visitors until the week after but we had so much to be thankful for and for [the] first time in [a] few years, we were no longer living several hours apart. Cass would continue to be in recovery and out of work for the next few months. During this time, I spent most of my days off catching the Bridgeport Ferry to Long Island to see her. Although GovBall should’ve been the last thing on our minds; as we drove around listening to the radio, we couldn’t help but reminisce about our experience from the previous year. Some days when Cass would pick me up we would drive over to the beach for a little while and other days we would head home to hangout and binge watch Netflix. No matter what we were doing, our time together was filled with heart to heart conversations as we made up for lost time. We talked about our aspirations for the future both big and small; fantasizing about what our lives would someday look like and all the bands we would love to see in concert.
As it always does, time began to fly by and summer came to an end. Cass returned to work and we both headed into the crazy holiday season [that comes with] working retail. In January it was announced that Florence + the Machine would be headlining Gov Ball for 2019 and we knew we needed to go. It was the first solid plans we were able to make in months. It also gave us something to look forward to and help get us through the rest of the winter.
Fast forward — finally it was here– GovBall 2019– the first time in months Cass and I would see each other.
The day was filled with smiles, drinks, dancing, dumplings and laughter. Everywhere you turn on the Island was another Instagram worthy backdrop. Inside the 21+ Best Kept Secret, Aperol Spritz created their own oasis of bright orange backdrops, green leafy orange trees and interactive swings.
My favorite drink of the day was actually the Pablo Honey found at the Titos Vodka shack. The Pablo Honey is made with Titos, lemonade, unsweetened iced tea, honey liqueur and ginger beer, served over ice with a sprig of rosemary. It hit the spot for sure and now that I’m hooked I’ll probably be making these at home all summer long.
Another awesome part of GovBall, besides the music, is the food. So many different New York restaurants all in one place means that you can try handmade dumplings from Destination Dumplings located in Queens and then have some fried chicken bao from the Bao Shoppe located on the Lower East Side, all without having to cross boroughs.
Besides all the sights and eats, lets not forget what we came for, the music! Our favorite bands of the day didn’t start playing until around 5:30. We made our way over to the Bacardi stage to see King Princess. We sang along to her hits 1950 and Cheap Queen. The next band on the list for the day was The 1975 playing on the GovBallNYC stage. When they were finished Cass and I camped out as close to the front of the stage as we could for almost an hour, so we would have a good spot to see Florence. While we waited, we struck up conversations with fellow Florence fanatics, who were also buzzing with excitement and hoping to get as close to her as possible.
Then it was 9:15 and she was there on stage, long white dress, glowing like a goddess. When she spoke it felt like she was talking only to me, although I was in a crowd of well over 100. She danced across the stage with passion and grace. Every lyric touching my heart as they usually do but with an intensity that only hearing them live could bring. I found myself with tears running down my face as emotions ran through me. She was incredible. The day was incredible and the best part was getting to spend it with Cass and create more everlasting memories.
🖤 love this post and those pictures are beautiful…also still so jealous you saw Florence + the Machine AND The 1975 live in one day.