Lorde opened her Governor’s Ball 2026 set by premiering an unreleased track – check out footage below.
- READ MORE: Lorde – ‘Virgin’ review: the inquisitive artist strips herself bare
The New Zealand singer made her return to the New York music event after nine years on Friday (June 5) to close out night one of the 2026 festival, telling fans: “This is the most nervous I’ve been for a show in a while, partly because we’ve never done this show before, and partly because I’m obsessed with you, and I can’t even pretend that isn’t the case.”
She kicked things off by sharing a section of an unreleased track from the side of the stage, and, from behind a synth board, she sang, “Don’t look for me now that I’m gone/ Don’t look for me, I’m gone.”
Following the live debut of the as-yet-untitled song, she launched into some of her biggest hits, including ‘Royals’, ‘What Was That’, and ‘Hammer’ – you can check out a full setlist below.
It marks her latest headlining performance, which comes after she’s spent the past several months on the ‘Ultrasound’ World Tour in support of her latest album ‘Virgin‘.
New video of Lorde performing “Don’t look for me now, I’m gone”, the new unreleased song #GovernorsBall pic.twitter.com/tRhR4YIr9M
— Lorde Haus (@LordeHaus) June 6, 2026
LORDE NEW SONG AT GOV BALL ?? pic.twitter.com/NXaqPO7Yww
— Amelia (@ameliabiIity) June 6, 2026
Lorde opened her Gov Ball set with a new song:
“Don’t look for me now that I’m gone” pic.twitter.com/Ijc8kPT8eC
— Pop Base (@PopBase) June 6, 2026
Lorde’s Governor’s Ball 2026 setlist was:
Unreleased track
‘Royals’
‘What Was That’
‘Broken Glass’
‘Perfect Places’
‘Shapeshifter’
‘Buzzcut Season’
‘Favourite Daughter’
‘The Louvre’
‘Current Affairs’
‘‘Hard Feelings’
‘Oceanic Feeling’
‘Liability’
‘Hammer’
‘Supercut’
‘Team’
‘Man of the Year’
‘Girl, So Confusing’
‘Green Light’
‘David’
‘Ribs’
Lorde performing her verses in “Girl, So Confusing (remix)” live at Governor’s Ball in NYC
Via lordewaterbottle (Instagram) pic.twitter.com/XfWba3A8rI
— Lorde Haus (@LordeHaus) June 6, 2026
Lorde performing “Perfect Places” live at Governor’s Ball in New York City
Via DAZED MAGAZINE (Instagram) pic.twitter.com/I6QnakAiFo
— Lorde Haus (@LordeHaus) June 6, 2026
Lorde performing “Supercut” live at Governor’s Ball in New York City
Via DAZED MAGAZINE (Instagram) pic.twitter.com/FYDz1G2Ocs
— Lorde Haus (@LordeHaus) June 6, 2026
“Don’t you feel like so much has changed in the last nine years?” Lorde told the crowd at one point, reflecting on how she last played Gov Ball when she was promoting ‘Melodrama’.
“To me, the world is unrecognisable compared to where we were in 2017. There’s a loss of dignity that I feel. Our world feels increasingly unjust. And it feels harder and harder to arrive at your own definitions of beauty and truth and what is real. But I really feel this is real, all of us in this field.”
She then encouraged the New York audience to embrace authenticity, saying: “If we show ourselves, all the broken bits, all the jagged edges, all the filth, I really believe we will start fucking going somewhere.”
The penultimate song of the set was ‘David’ which Lorde dedicated to “anyone who knows what it’s like to be under a boot”. As she sang, a huge banner unfurled over the crowd bearing the message: “I don’t belong to anyone.”
“I don’t belong to anyone”
Independent artist @lorde’s giant banner at Governors Ball nyc. This was feed out by her crew for fans to hold aloft during ‘David’. For fans underneath it’s semi-transparent
[: @steamrollersue, annasontour TT, jenniferthatjennifer TT] #GovBall pic.twitter.com/IWCCpm0chV
— Lorde fix (@Lorde_fix) June 6, 2026
‘Virgin’, which was released last June, was given a four-star review by NME, which read: “‘Virgin’ is a vibrant combination of Lorde’s best qualities, and then some.
“With her newfound candour, the record combines the emotional whirlwind of ‘Melodrama’, the chilling minimalism of ‘Pure Heroine’ and the breezy freedom of ‘Solar Power’. This might be called ‘Virgin’, but Lorde proves she’s not afraid to strip herself bare.”
In other news, the pop star is a headliner for All Points East 2026 in London. The line-up also includes PinkPantheress, Zara Larsson and more as support.
Elsewhere, Lorde has donated over $200,000 from merch sales to Minnesota immigrant funds.
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