Festival season is a chance for music fans from around the world to catch their favorite acts live. For Governors Ball 2024 that includes performances from headliners Post Malone, Rauw Alejandro, The Killers, 21 Savage, SZA, and Peso Pluma. The global diversity of this year’s lineup helped tickets fly off of the shelf.
But yesterday (June 8) during their highly-anticipated set, The Killers decided to pay tribute to New York’s rich musical legacy. While the band were sure to play fan favorites (hi, Smashing Pumpkins), they snuck in a few regional goodies. One of those musical treats was a striking cover of Yeah Yeah Yeahs‘ 2003 cult classic track “Maps.”
The already deeply emotional record was elevated to a new height as The Killers’ frontman Brandon Flowers, with the help of the band, dramatically rearranged it.
🎶 Maps (Yeah Yeah Yeahs' cover) at Governors Ball Music Festival 🗽
🥺🥹😭
🎥 joneyre pic.twitter.com/KX8cl16bgv
— The Killers Japan (@TheKillersJPN) June 9, 2024
But The Killers’ local tribute didn’t stop there. According to festivalgoers, the group’s entrance was sound tracked by another Big Apple staple, Ace Frehley’s rendition of “New York Groove.”
The Killers walked onto the #GovBallNYC stage to "New York Groove" and covered Yeah Yeah Yeahs' "Maps" which just solidifies why they are my favorite band.
— Laura K. Garrison (@laurakgarrison) June 9, 2024
The Killers shredded their set, especially their cover of “Maps.” To many, including the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ frontwoman Karen O, it is hard to believe just how popular the over twenty-year-old song still is. Back in 2019, during an appearance on BBC Radio 6’s The First Time, expressed her shock by its continued success. “I’m fascinated by it, I really am,” she said. “I’m endlessly curious about that song because it’s just strange to me. It was one of the earliest songs that we wrote for the [first] record. I remember it was like a daydream making that song; it just happened so kinda effortlessly and so incidentally.”
