Saturday at BottleRock Napa Valley 2018 was a day I could really immerse myself in the festival and explore the amenities as well as the music. One major difference from most festivals I have covered is that BottleRock is just as much about the food and drinks as it is about bands on stage. It makes sense considering it’s in the middle of wine country. So of course there’s a wine garden. There’s also gin and vodka from regional distilleries and a wide selection of beers from mainstream to craft.
Early in the afternoon I saw Tiffani Thiessen (Saved By The Bell, 90210, White Collar) promote her new cook book with a cooking demo. Later in the day, Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto cut prepared a blue fin tuna for sashimi and poke with baseball legends Ken Griffey Jr. and Barry Bonds as they hit rice balls into the crowd with a baseball bat.
But enough about the food and drinks, what about the music? It was a jam packed schedule of bands with some difficult conflict decisions. The Killers performed hit after hit kicking off with ‘Mr. Brightside’ and ‘Somebody Told Me’ within the first three songs. Snoop Dogg had pole dancers and Warren G. Oh Wonder performed both a regular set and a short intimate acoustic set. I also caught portions of The Head and The Heart, Billy Idol, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Bleachers, The Night Game, and The Aces.
