A weekend at Governors Ball

The Governors Ball Music Festival took place June 6 to 8 on Randall's Island.

While Long Island offers its fair share of musical venues, there's no major music festivals here that attract the biggest bands in the world. New York City is just a stone's throw away, of course, but many prefer to see live music in an outdoor, spacious setting, while being able to lie in the grass and soak in the fresh air.

But "spacious" and "fresh air" is not always something one associates with New York City. The Governors Ball Music Festival, June 6 to 8 on Randall's Island — located conveniently between Manhattan, Queens and the Bronx — offered just that.

Getting there is easy. There are shuttle buses and ferries to transport festivalgoers from each of those boroughs, but for Long Islanders who want to avoid the hustle and bustle of Manhattan, there's also the convenient option of driving into Astoria and walking — or biking -- across the Triboro (…I mean… RFK…) Bridge.

It's a bit of a walk, about 25 minutes to be exact, but offers a scenic view of Manhattan's skyline and the East River. Plus, a little exercise never hurt anybody. This year, because of construction, no cars were permitted to park on Randall's Island.

Driving into Astoria and walking the bridge is the way I traveled each of the three days, and while it was much more fun doing the walk there than back, I have no regrets, and would do the same next year.

It was my first time at the festival, and I couldn't have had a better time. The spacious festival grounds had three big stages — the primary Governor's Ball stage, which hosted the weekend's headliners, the Big Apple Stage and the Honda Stage. There was a fourth, smaller stage, called the Gotham Tent, the only stage that offered covering.

The weather was gorgeous. Ideally, it would have been 10 degrees cooler, but compared with the possibility of rain, nobody was complaining. Three days in the sun does take its toll, but fortunately the festival offered free water refill stations to remain properly hydrated.

While the festival did offer its fair share of quirks — a photo booth, silent disco, a Hollywood-esque "Gov Ball NYC" sign that became a popular photo spot -- the main attraction, of course, is the music.