Day two of BottleRock Napa Valley saw a similar mix of sun and cloud as day one with slightly warmer temperatures.
It was a busy day for me as I arrived at 1pm and covered 11 performances in 9 hours.
I kicked off my day checking out Chelsea Effect, a duo of Canadian singer-songwriter Mandi Perkins and Italian songwriter-producer Fancesco Rigon.
Over at the JaM Cellars main stage, Houston, Texas’ The Suffers brought some sould and funk to early attendees.
Silversun Pickups’ Brian Aubert and Nikki Monninger performed a short acoustic set at the VIP Village, a stage tent lounge that only VIP ticket holders can access. Aubert and Monniger’s stools were on opposite corners of the stage which Aubert mentioned was probably the furthest away they’ve ever been from each other on stage. At one point he walked over to Monniger to playfully dab “sweat” off her forehead with a white towel and later threw to the audience.
The Happy Fits performed on the Truly stage. leading up to the set a sizeable crowd had already gathered. Some already fans of the band and others probably there for the shade that the trees along the side provided. If you’ve ever wanted to see a lead singer rock out on a cello, The Happy Fits would be your opportunity. One fan in the front row had a shirt with the words “I play the cello” in large letters on the back.
Australia’s Delta Goodrem performed at the Allianz stage at 4pm. A former cast member of Austrailian soap opera ‘Neighbours’, Goodrem is a bonafide star down under and headlines arenas in that country. Goodrem and her band performed a main stage worthy show on the festival’s third stage to a few hundred people. I got a bit of a Faith Hill type vibe from her.
Rainbow Kitten Surprise performed the main stage. There was a brief hiccup with malfunctioning guitar pedals delaying their start briefly after they took the stage. Bassist Charlie Holt was a ball of energy through out the set. While the band was performing stage crews began wheeling in gas canisters and hooking tubes up for pyro and smoke canons for twenty one pilots set. It was odd they chose to do that while a band was performing and while media photographers were in the pit.
Two hours after their acoustic set, Silversun Pickups took to the Verizon stage. The large audience really got going during the third song ‘Panic Switch’.
The main stage was packed for The Black Crowes. After nearly 40 years the band still knows how to rock.
BANKS performed at a festival for the first time in three years at the Verizon stage with two band members and two dancers in all black.
twenty one pilots headlined day 2 of the festival. Their show began with just Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun. Dun joined Joseph on top of an upright piano early on and did a backflip. Joseph would shortly after make a running leap over the piano.
I briefly left their set to check out Mount Westmore, a rap super group of Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg, E-40 and Too $hort. Their show started with a music video by the group on the large screen at the back of the stage then the four members of rap royalty rose from behind the DJ’s table on four thrones for the second song. Each stood up for their verses. Pole dancers were at sides of the stage as each member of Mount Westmore performed their own individual hit tracks.
There was barely any room to move in the VIP side of the audience. Attempting to leave almost required forcing your way to squeeze by.
I returned to twenty one pilots the main stage on the VIP side to find that a full band had joined them and they were gathered around a camp fire at the front of the stage. There was surprisingly ample room to move around at the main stage VIP viewing area. Twice during the rest of the set platforms with drums were held up by crew members at the edge of the audience barricades for Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun to perform on. Joseph also ventured down to the general admission audience to stand on fans’ hands. He would later run to the upper deck of the suites section wearing a ski mask to climb high atop a pedestal set up in the corner.
The final day of BottleRock Napa Valley 2022 features P!nk, Luke Combs, The Wailers featuring Julian Marley, Bleachers, Pitbull and more.
