The BottleRock Napa Valley music festival, presented by JaM Cellars wines, celebrated its seventh year during Memorial Day weekend, May 24-26, 2019. The sold-out, three-day extravaganza always takes place in the heart of downtown Napa and is an extremely well-run fest. This year’s wrinkle to the normally temperate setting was that Napa took on a wintry vibe as chilly, damp weather challenged festgoers to stay warm all weekend.
The impressively laid out festival area includes world-class music, famous chefs doing demos, premium spirits, wineries and craft breweries pouring delicious libations and top-notch area restaurants offering lots of mouthwatering dishes. Lucky attendees had many great choices to keep them entertained during the three jam-packed days, each filled with great music, delectable eats and tons of fun from noon to well after dark each day.
The festival organizers make improvements every year, as BottleRock Napa Valley focuses on a luxurious fan experience. This year they added better sight lines on the main JaM Cellars Stage, inserted video screens on the smaller stages and improved traffic flow around the festival grounds. With six stages in the general admission areas – five devoted to live music and one dedicated to celebrity chef culinary demos (with chefs joined by musicians, pro athletes and famous actors), the 40,000 daily attendees had 10 hours of stimulation everywhere they looked.
General admission tickets allow festgoers to enjoy the wide range of music, as well as the gourmet food and beverage booths, a silent disco area and even a dedicated spa space. The festival grounds are filled with sculptures and art installations, sponsor-themed outdoor lawn games and other activities.
For those looking to go even more upscale at this already luxurious festival in the heart of wine country, there are VIP ticket levels that offer premium perks. Those upgrades include excellent, exclusive viewing areas in front of each stage and special viewing suites with comfortable seating near the two biggest stages. There is also a large VIP Village with premium bars, select culinary offerings and daily live acoustic performances on an intimate stage.
We spent time in one of those exclusive areas, the bi-level Marriott Bonvoy/American Express VIP viewing suite. American Express credit-card holders who carry that brand’s Marriott Bonvoy version were able to purchase access to the suite, for up to four guests. Perks at this oasis included culinary treats from Chef Ken Frank, owner of the Michelin-starred Napa restaurant La Toque, as well as chef and sommelier meet-and-greets, wine pairings, all-inclusive specialty cocktails, beer and wines. There was even hair braiding and styling by salon experts available all weekend!
The weekend of live music kicked off on Friday, May 24. Vintage Trouble, a Los Angeles based R&B retro-rock band got booties shaking on the big JaM Cellars Stage. Lead vocalist Ty Taylor sang and implored the crowd to wave their arms in the air to get that main stage going early. Later in the afternoon, OneRepublic had a rabid crowd screaming and singing along to some of their biggest tunes. Frontman Ryan Tedder also led the crowd on “Rumour Has It,” a song he co-wrote with Adele.
Masaharu Morimoto, the Japanese “Iron Chef” whose eponymous Napa restaurant is always packed to the gills, recruited two massive world-class sumo wrestlers, who helped him carry a giant big-eye tuna to the Williams Sonoma Culinary Stage. Morimoto set a Guinness World Record by breaking down the fish with his expert knife skills. He sliced 100 pieces of 3.5 ounces of tuna from the 205-pound fish in 12 minutes and 49 seconds, quite the feat to witness.
Grammy winners Imagine Dragons closed the big stage on Friday night. Outspoken LGBT rights advocate and lead singer Dan Reynolds moved all over the vast stage singing, posing and interacting with the rabid fans in the front rows. The band played several of their popular songs including “Believer,” “Radioactive” and “Thunder,” accompanied by some explosive stage pyrotechnics. Reynolds took a large rainbow flag from a fan in the audience and draped it over himself for a massive sing-along of “It’s Time.”
Saturday, May 25, was cold and drizzling, and even worse weather threatened Day Two of BottleRock Napa. Diehard fans came out early to catch classic rock covers by Silverado Pickups on the Bai Stage. The Regrettes took over the Firefox Stage and proved that three adorable Millennial females can deliver retro, angry punk rock. Back at Bai, Moonalice stirred up the Deadheads in their adoring crowd with a set of classic Grateful Dead covers and some like-minded original tunes.
Against Me! followed The Regrettes with more loud, aggressive punk rock. Elle King mesmerized the crowd at the JaM Cellars Stage with a set of her rock, country, soul and blues songs. Gary Clark Jr. followed King on the JaM Cellars Stage, impressing the large crowd with his incredible guitar playing, versatile vocals and smooth transitions from rock to soul to hip hop to blues. His cover of the Beatles’ “Come Together” drew thunderous applause and a loud sing-along.
Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats performed after Clark. Rateliff is a dynamic, soulful vocalist and his excellent band plays mostly up-tempo folk, Americana and R&B tunes. The crowd loved “Hey Momma” and “You Worry Me,” but the biggest applause happened when they launched into “S.O.B.” and segued into The Band’s “Shape I’m In” before concluding with the end of “S.O.B.”
The excellent day of music was just a prelude for the highly anticipated set by Neil Young + Promise of the Real, who went on as the weather cleared up, but stayed chilly. The legendary rocker, who is a multiple Grammy winner and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame member, first connected with Promise of the Real in 2014. That smokin’ band includes two of Willie Nelson’s sons and have released two studio albums with Young. Promise of the Real have been Young’s backing band off and on since 2015.
Young’s vast catalog of classic songs gives him many options. The band came out later than scheduled but packed fifty years of tunes into their explosive set. Young dug deep with cuts like “Mansion on the Hill,” “Alabama,” “Harvest Moon” and “Heart of Gold.” He may be an old guy playing with “kids” but Young more than held his own, ripping guitar solos and trading licks with Lukas and Micah Nelson.
After roaring through “Like a Hurricane” and “Rainbow of Colors,” the band let loose on “Rockin’ in the Free World.” While the band was deeply invested in a raucous multi-guitar romp, the audio engineers cut off the speaker system, due to the strict 10 p.m. curfew on noise in Napa. Young has always been a rebel, and true to form, he and the band kept playing while the fans in the first few rows – the only ones that could still hear the music – kept singing the chorus until they finally wrapped it up and ended the jam for the conclusion of BottleRock Day Two.
We got a late start on Sunday, May 26, as cold, wet and windy weather threatened to muzzle another day of BottleRock. We sadly missed Con Brio’s opening set on the JaM Cellars Stage. The Bay area, retro-soul group also played a short, acoustic set later in the evening on the VIP Village Stage that got the crowd dancing. Some shenanigans on the Culinary Stage brought smiles to a damp and chilled crowd. Former Man v. Food host Adam Richman joined forces with actor and musician Jeff Goldblum for some kibitzing, jokes, movie trivia and a “Jurassic Pork” recipe.
Citizen Cope played a set of songs that blended soul, blues, folk and rock on the JaM Cellars Stage. By the time Michael Franti & Spearhead followed Cope, the sun had come out and the gloomy weather had passed. Franti’s shows are always lively and full of positive messages. He went into the crowd to sing, high five and hug many of his fans. He also brought a few kids and grownups to the stage to help him sing a song. And his “The Sound of Sunshine” was a perfect tune to welcome the sun back to the fest.
Meanwhile, over on the Bai Stage, the nine members that make Turkuaz such a strong band turned it up to 11, as their blend of rock, funk, R&B and more got the big crowd dancing. It wasn’t easy to match the moves of the band, as they do dance routines reminiscent of 60s soul bands like The Temptations, but with a difference, as Turkuaz does it while playing their instruments. Led by Dave Brandwein on guitar and vocals, the band is a fireball of energy and colorful sound – and costumes, which range across the bright colors of the rainbow as eight of the nine (drummer Michelangelo Carubba stays seated, for obvious reasons) members spread across the stage in a dazzling display.
Our biggest discovery and the revelation of BottleRock was Tash Sultana, a 23-year-old Australian instrumentalist who played on the Firefox Stage on Sunday evening. Sultana is a little dynamo with a big voice and huge talent. She performs solo but builds a big sound with the help of some sampling and mixing equipment. Her style bends genres from metal to soul, jazz to pop. The electronic effects supplement her vocals, as she plays guitar, keyboards, trumpet and a variety of other instruments.
The closing sets of BottleRock 2019 kept the crowds spread out. Big Boi headlined the Bai Stage. Mumford & Sons closed down the JaM Cellars Stage. Living legend Carlos Santana and his band finished the performances on the Firefox stage. The six-time Grammy winner and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame member has been going strong for over 50 years and does not seem to have lost a step. His amazing band has undergone many lineup changes over the years, but the current group that includes Cindy Blackman Santana, Carlos’ wife, on drums is fantastic.
Vocalists Andy Vargas and Ray Greene sang with passion and soul while Santana’s guitar playing was as distinctive as ever. They ran through a retrospective set of songs including classics “Soul Sacrifice,” “Jin-go-la-ba,” “Evil Ways,” “Oye Como Va” and “Black Magic Woman.” As those memorable songs filled the air, the giant video monitors showed a montage of images and footage from the band’s original performance at the Woodstock festival in 1969. The comparison between the 71-year-old Santana on stage and his much-younger self on screen was striking, but the sounds coming out of his guitar were timeless.
Santana gave the spotlight to his wife Cindy twice during the set – once for her lead vocals on a rearranged, passionate version of John Lennon’s “Imagine” and later for a lengthy drum solo. The show was wrapping up when the band launched into their chart-topping 1999 hit “Smooth.”
Carlos Santana has been spiritual for years but he usually lets his guitar do the talking for him. He did make a few comments about turning off fear and negativity around the world and loving one another before saying goodnight. The band surprised and pleased a lot of fans with a cover of Earth, Wind & Fire’s “September” before wrapping up the show and ending BottleRock 2019 on a high note.
In spite of some unfriendly weather, BottleRock Napa Valley 2019 was a big hit. The beautiful setting, a fantastic lineup of diverse performers, culinary indulgences and lavish amenities make this festival a highly desirable destination. BottleRock Napa Valley 2020 will be held on May 22-24, 2020. Mark your calendars!
