“I’m over here at BottleRock. You know… The fancy Coachella.” – Bruno Mars
That right there sums up my first time BottleRock Napa Valley experience. After attending Coachella with my sister for the last 11 years, this year we decided to try something else and BottleRock’s lineup looked like a good fit for us.
After a six hour and a half hour drive from Los Angeles we arrived at our hotel in Napa on Friday, May 25 around 3:30 In the afternoon. With the festival taking place in downtown Napa at the Napa Valley Expo grounds, the festival was only a 10 minute walk away from the hotel. Attendees who had to drive in from other locations had to park in a number of parking lots that were 10-20 minute walks away. As you walk down the streets towards the entrance many people and businesses who had room on their properties nearby offered parking for $60US a day.
Security checks consisted of walk-through metal detectors and a bag searches. Lines to get in were not overly long for me, but general admission seem to have longer lines. Once you get through the entrance, a giant “Love” sculpture is there for the Instagram crowd to get their first selfie.
BottleRock has a layout of four major music stages, two stages for intimate acoustic sets, and a culinary stage. The only time I heard any significant sound bleed was at the Lagunitas Stage which was the stage closest to the main entrance. Towards the end of one set you could suddenly hear sound from the main stage booming over.
Strolling through the main walkway, one of my first observations was that BottleRock isn’t your average festival full of mostly 20-somethings there to party or be noticed. There was a diverse age range from young families to people with way more grey hair. The family/more mature vibe was very apparent with the sheer number of blankets on the lawns. While it made for a chilled out experience for some, it did get irritating at times having to tip toe between blankets and people sitting and laying down in order to get closer to the stages.
Helping out in attracting the wide age demographic is that this festival is just as much about the food and drinks as it is the music lineup. The grounds featured a culinary garden with food options ranging from food trucks to gourmet vendors. In the middle of it was the Culinary Stage that featured a full lineup of cooking demonstrations pairing up celebrity chefs with musicians, sports icons and other famous people.
Being in wine country, the festival obviously had its own wine garden featuring a number of wineries in the region. Beer selection ranged from Coors to craft breweries. If you wanted a cocktail hard liquor options as well. The entire site is licensed, so you’re allowed to walk from stage to stage with your drink and not be confined to any fenced in beverage garden.
When it comes to being a “VIP”, the experience depends on what level of VIP you purchase/are granted. The basic level gives access to viewing areas for the Main Stage and Midway Stage towards the front on the stage left side as well as a couple viewing decks further back along the side. There is a shortcut path between the two VIP viewing areas so people didn’t have to weave through the general admission crowds. There were also a couple VIP observation platforms off to the side and further back. As you walk between the two larger stages there’s a VIP Village tent serving beverages and hosts five short three-song acoustic sets per day featuring artists already in the main lineup and a couple exclusives. Lines for the VIP bathrooms looked unusually long.
Other levels of VIP (Skydeck, American Express, & The Suites) got you access to elevated viewing areas along the sides to view the main stage. If you wanted a place to sit, some shade, or easy access to drinks, there’s some value for you. If you’re like me and prefer to get close to the front, it’s not much use. The top priced platinum wristbands provided special fenced off viewing areas at the front of three of the stages and another viewing area at and above the soundboard at the Main Stage. Those areas never looked to be jammed with people from what I could see so if you’re not a fan of cramped crowds or fighting your way closer, the pricey upgrade might be worth your while.
Day 1 for me started with Earth Wind & Fire at the main stage. I don’t have much in terms of an in depth review of their performance. I was mostly trying to get my bearings on where everything was and what areas I was allowed to access. From what I could see and hear, the band sounded good and the crowd was enjoying themselves.
Next up was Mike D of the Beastie Boys performing a DJ set at the midway stage. It was the first of many sets at the festival that I observed start five to ten minutes later than scheduled for whatever reasons. Mike D started the set with a few Beastie Boys tracks where he would walk out from behind the DJ table to rap his parts while his co-DJ stayed with the gear. I didn’t stay long as there wasn’t really much visually to see or take photos of.
Back at the main stage I finally got to see a bit of a bucket list band in Incubus. Their music was in heavy rotation in my mp3 collection back in the early 2000s. It was great finally getting to hear favourites like ‘Drive’ and ‘Stellar’ live, though I feel like their show is probably better suited at night with lights as opposed to daylight under an overcast sky.
After Incubus closed their set with ‘Drive’, I ran back to the midway stage to catch the tail end of Phantogram. I wasn’t there early enough to really gauge how well their set went. Lead vocalist Sarah Barthel ignited a green smoke grenade that made for nice photo moment.
Muse was the headliner of BottleRock Day 1 and had a couple cool visual moments including the release of giant white balloons into the crowd and when lead singer Matt Bellamy sang ‘Madness’ directly to one of the cameras while he wore special glasses that revealed the song’s lyrics as he sang them.
30 minutes into Muse I attempted to see what The Chainsmokers were up to at the Midway Stage and discovered that the VIP viewing area was so packed that security had closed the entrance. Venturing out to the general admission area was just as challenging. It was impossible to get anywhere near a viewable area towards the front. The DJ/producer duo used a heavy dose of smoke canons and pyro to try to help hype the crowd, but the different demographics at BottleRock made for a more subdued reaction. The EDM crowd was a minority. There were no glowsticks or outrageous totems in the air, nor could I see much dancing from my view at the back. I even had one middle-aged couple ask me, “Are The Chainsmokers just DJS? I thought these guys played instruments and had a lead singer.” I then tried to explain how they’re producers that collaborate with other musicians for their songs.
After giving up trying to get anything remotely resembling a close photo of The Chainsmokers, I walked to the Miners Family Winery Stage to find St. Paul & The Broken Bones lead singer Paul Janeway on the stage floor singing while rolled up in a rug. After taking in a couple songs from the six-piece soul band I capped off day one with a little more Muse before calling it a day.
My Day 2 began in the early afternoon with all-female rock band The Aces from Utah. They’re a relatively young group in terms of age, but most in the band have performed together since they were in grade five. For a band that had a short 30 minute set at one in the afternoon, The Aces had a decent sized crowd to see them.
Boston Massachusetts’ The Night Game were up next at the Midway Stage. Frontman Martin Johnson had a solid stage presence in his leather jacket. Wasn`t sure why guitarist Kirin J Callinan was wearing a surgical mask though. Was he making some kind of statement? Did he have a cold? Did he not want to breathe in the fog from the fog machines?
Then it was time to check out the Culinary Stage where Tiffani Thiessen was doing a cooking demo. I have no idea what she was making and didn’t really care. I just wanted to see Saved By The Bell’s Kelly Kapowski in person and really the only reason I kept going to the Culinary Stage was to see the celebrities and famous cooks within range of my camera lens.
Bleachers performed an energetic set on the main stage, but I didn’t stay long. Knowing what was coming up on the schedule, I felt the need to get a bite to eat.
Michael Franti & Spearhead might as well be the Bottlerock house band considering they have performed five of the six installments of the festival, but his shows are always entertaining. Early on in his set, Franti went into both the GA and VIP sides of the crowd and also performed in the walkway in between.
Unbeknownst to many at the festival, the entrances, backstage and part of the VIP area ended up on lockdown a little after 4pm due to an armed robbery that occurred near the festival grounds. Two suspects fled on foot near the festival entrance. One was arrested entering the festival.
At 62 years old, Billy Idol still knows how to rock on stage. At one point early on in his set he took off his coat and some wondered if he was about to perform shirtless, but he just changed shirts.
London, England’s Oh Wonder performed a three-song acoustic set in the VIP Village a couple hours before their full show on the midway stage. This is a duo I first saw briefly at Coachella 2017 and was excited to check out again when it was announced they would perform two shows in Victoria in April. Then they were unfortunately forced to cancel that leg of their tour. So there was no way I was going to miss them at BottleRock.
If you’ve never listened to the stripped down piano session version of the title single of their second album ‘Ultralife’, check it out on YouTube. It’s a really beautiful ballad arrangement of the song. The album version is upbeat indie-pop. During Oh Wonder’s main set Josephine told the audience that it was their first time in Napa later stated that “this has honestly been the greatest festival of this year that we’ve played.”
From there it was brief stops to check out The Head and The Heart at the main stage and to see Ken Griffey Jr. and Barry Bonds hit rice balls with a baseball bat while Chef Masaharu Morimoto sliced a blue fin tuna for sashimi and poke at the culinary stage. I had the good fortune to have the opportunity to sample the final product later in the evening and it was delicious.
Back at the main stage The Killers launched into their set with ‘Mr. Brightside’ and ‘Somebody Told Me’ and kept playing hit after hit. 30 minutes into their set I rushed over to the Midway Stage for Snoop Dog. The VIP viewing side was again jam packed, but this time the entrance wasn’t closed. I got to whatever vantage points I could to take some photos, but it was just too crowded to get anywhere close. From what I could see, Snoop Dogg had pole dancers on stage and also a guest appearance by Warren G.
Sunday ended up being the warmest day of the festival with temperatures reaching about 27 degrees Celsius under sunny skies. Maybe it was because of the heat or more people were camping out to secure a spot for Bruno Mars, but there were significantly more blankets covering the lawn of the main stage.
The first stop of the day was to see Victoria’s Jon and Roy at the Lagunita’s stage. Jon and Roy being in the lineup was one of the primary reasons for me going to BottleRock. For a set by a Canadian band probably not well known to most Americans so early in the afternoon on the final day it was great to see a nice sized crowd checking out the set.
I wish I could have stayed for the full set, but I wanted to take in Alice Merton at the main stage. As I approached the main stage at 2:20pm Merton’s set had just started a full 20 minutes late. Merton proceeded to perform a power set playing as many songs as she could fit in the shorted time she had. Despite the rush, her performance that included singles ‘No Roots‘ and ‘Lash Out‘ was solid.
Former Taylor Swift backup singer Liz Huett performed a full set on the main stage to open up the day, but her noon set time was too early for me to get to. Fortunately she also performed a short acoustic set at the JaMPad Sessions stage.
After a quick stop to see Giada De Laurentiis cook with Halsey at the Culinary Stage, I made my way to the main stage for Lake Street Dive. It was at this point the sun was starting to get to me so I left their set early to get something to drink and find some shade.
Toronto’s Allan Rayman performed in the partially shaded Miners Family Winery Stage. Fans of Rayman and his contorted dance moves loved his set while some of the unfamiliar were unsure what to make of his stage antics.
Up next was Australia’s Amy Shark. After seeing her perform a show in Victoria a few months ago that currently ranks as one of my favourite shows of the year I was interested to see how her set translated in daylight as opposed to a dark nightclub. Shark came onto the stage wearing a black Adidas jacket which might seem like an odd choice considering the heat and mid-afternoon sun, but it has sort of become her signature wardrobe. A couple highlights were her performances of her latest single ‘I Said Hi’ and her cover of Eminem’s ‘Superman’. The one downside happened towards the end of her set when sound from the beginning of The Revivalist’s set at the Main Stage bled into the Lagunitas Stage causing some distraction.
It was at that point I decided to take in a little bit of The Revivalists for a couple songs. I would have stayed longer, but at that point more people were parking themselves for the night’s headliner so it was hard to get a good vantage point and at that time I didn’t have the energy to weave myself closer. Instead, it was time to get a bite to eat and prepare for the final two acts to cover.
There were other artists I wanted to check out, but based on how crowded the main stage was becoming, the decision was made to get as close as possible at the main stage.
Halsey had the challenging job of performing to not only the slightly older demographics of BottleRock, but also festival goers who had camped out all day on a hot Sunday waiting just for Bruno Mars. The crowd energy was mixed during her set and Halsey was vocal about it as she performed basically by herself. From my vantage point, I was unaware she had a drummer and another musician on stage off to the sides. It was also hard to tell if she was upset by the crowd reaction or pleasantly surprised by it knowing the kind of audience that was in attendance. At one point she admitted to the crowd that she was having an asthma attack and used her puffer, but continued on without any noticeable issues.
Finally the marquee headliner, Bruno Mars, took the stage. The set began with massive white sheets covering the front of the stage while an opening video sequence played on the video screens. The sheets then separated revealing Mars and his band adorned in a variety of sports jerseys as they launched into recent hit, ‘Finesse’. Mars proceeded to perform a high energy, crowd pleasing set. If there’s one critique I have, is that the show was almost too effortless. He wasn’t “phoning it in” by any means, but it felt like a show he’s probably performed hundreds of times over that’s so dialed in he could do it blindfolded. There weren’t any major unique curveballs that would end up a viral moment online to make people jealous of missing out on. The only thing that came close was Bruno Mars’ remark about being at “the fancy Coachella.” And that quote has basically validated BottleRock as one of the marquee festivals in the United States.
Would I go back to Bottlerock? Most definitely. The lineups the last few years have been well balanced. The overall vibe inside the venue is relaxed and friendly, likely due to the somewhat more mature demographics. The event itself is within civilization and not in the middle of nowhere, so when the music shuts down at 10pm each night, you have the option of going to bars and restaurants that are still open or the official afterparty concerts the festival hosts at various venues or just go back to your hotel room and relax.
Some things to be aware of are that this is a bit of an upscale festival. While the festival pass costs are about what you would expect from most major music festivals you have to realize this one happens on an American long weekend in wine country. Accommodation costs will be at a premium and the least expensive places will be booked well in advance. You can commute from other nearby towns or from major cities like San Francisco and Sacramento, but traffic leaving the festival grounds at the end of the night is bumper to bumper. Finally, I found getting close to the stage for the top marquee performers to be challenging even if you have a basic VIP pass. So plan to move to a stage a set early for the Main Stage or Midway Stage headliners. The VIP viewing area for the Midway Stage was especially jammed with people for the stage’s final performers.
BottleRock Napa Valley 2019 will take place the weekend of May 24 to 26, 2019.
View Victoria Music Scene’s complete photo galleries from BottleRock at their Facebook Page:
May 25 | May 26 | May 27