BottleRock Napa Valley Serves Up Red Hot Chili Peppers, Lizzo, Duran Duran, Los Lobos, Taj Mahal & More (FESTIVAL REVIEW/PHOTOS)

The extravagant music and culinary festival known as BottleRock Napa Valley took place over Memorial Day weekend 2023. Known for major rock, pop, reggae, country, soul, bluegrass, and hip-hop acts, the sold-out event featured Red Hot Chili Peppers, Lizzo, The Smashing Pumpkins, Duran Duran, Leon Bridges, and Los Lobos. The tenth-annual festival, in a luxurious and serene setting, included comfortable weather and topnotch performances. Napa, California is known for gourmet food and world-class wine so the festival featured both in abundance to pair with the live music.

This year the festival ran from May 26-28 and sold-out all three days. About 120,000 music, food, and wine lovers gathered in America’s most celebrated wine valley for the long holiday weekend. The audience in the general admission areas was able to relax on blankets on the vast green lawns while food and beverage areas had some picnic table seating. The various VIP upgrades included luxury suites with comfortable seating and great views of the stages. The Marriott Bonvoy/AMEX suite was closest to the main stage and featured curated food from Michelin-starred La Toque restaurant as well as premium beverages including excellent local wines. Membership does indeed have its privileges. 

For everyone in attendance, the stages were filled with great music. Additionally, celebrity chefs gave demos on a special culinary stage and famous guests from music, sports, and entertainment joined them for some foodie antics. Where else could you see James Beard award-winning chef Jose Andres and rocker Sammy Hagar chugging tequila and slicing iberico ham that they threw to the crowd. Also, celebrated Kogi food truck and TV chef Roy Choi whipped up Korean delicacies with the help of Dogstar, Keanu Reeves’ long-dormant rock band that performed earlier in the day for the first time since 2002. 

Keanu Reeves

While the culinary demos were entertaining, the music performances were the main focus. As with all multi-stage festivals, fans had to make difficult choices that meant missing several prominent acts over the weekend. We tried to catch as much as possible but missed sets by The Smashing Pumpkins, Mike Campbell & The Dirty Notes, Billy Strings, Post Malone, War, Wu-Tang Clan and Thievery Corporation. While there were many amazing performances, these are the ones that stood out:

Nile Rodgers & Chic played songs that stirred the emotions of multiple generations. The Rock and Roll and Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee is a singer, songwriter, guitarist, and producer. He and his excellent band kept the crowd energized as they performed many of Rodgers’ songs along with hits that he produced for other famous artists. From his “Le Freak” to covers like Diana Ross’ “I’m Coming Out,” and “Upside Down” as well as Sister Sledge’s “We Are Family,” Rodgers and his band kept the party going. His two female vocalists were fabulous and his keyboardist sang lead on David Bowie’s “Modern Love.” The band also did fine versions of the Rodgers-produced Madonna hits “Material Girl” and “Like a Virgin.”

Nile Rodgers & Chic

Lizzo had the crowd wrapped around her fingers from the opening moments of her headlining set. That crowd was the largest of the weekend at the biggest stage. Lizzo’s on-stage banter started with “Did you miss me, Bitch?” and based on the thunderous applause, was a resounding yes. Her quips continued throughout the show. In between glorious singing, unembarrassed twerking, and a bit of flute playing, the star commented on self-assurance, empowerment, motivation, individuality, and self-confidence. 

The set list was all Lizzo songs except for a cover of Lauryn Hill’s “Doo Wop (That Thing).” Lizzo’s backing band is stacked with talent and they nimbly transitioned from arena rock to funk and hip-hop. The song “Everybody’s Gay” had extra significance as her “Big Girls” dancers held a multicolored Progress Pride flag at the back of the stage. Before the song ended, Lizzo gave her support to marginalized communities saying, “Drag is not a crime!” As the set wound down, Lizzo delivered her greatest hits. Beginning with “Truth Hurts” and “Good As Hell,” she closed out with “Juice” and got the mesmerized crowd to sing along to her smash “About Damn Time.”

Lizzo

Duran Duran put on a strong show that included many hits and deeper cuts from their songbook. Lead singer Simon Le Bon was upfront and John Taylor strutted across the stage playing heavy bass lines. Fans got enjoyable versions of “Wild Boys” and “Hungry Like the Wolf.” The James Bond movie theme song “A View to a Kill” and Nile Rodgers’ produced “Notorious” got big applause, but alas, no sit-in by Rodgers. The band played a brief section of INXS’s “Need You Tonight,” but a full-on, crowd-pleasing version of Rick James’ “Super Freak.” Le Bon dedicated “Ordinary World” to the people of Ukraine. More hits came at the end of the set including “The Reflex,” “Girls On Film,” “Rio” and “Save a Prayer.”

Simon Le Bon of Duran Duran

Luke Spiller, the frontman and lead singer of The Struts, may overplay his Freddie Mercury/Mick Jagger-inspired stage antics, but the band’s music holds up. The glam rockers delivered a solid set with intense songs like “Primadonna Like Me” and “Body Talks.” Spiller briefly dialed back the mayhem with a quieter, melodic piano intro for “One Night Only” but the rest of the set was nonstop, fast-paced rock and roll. “Fire,” “Dirty Sexy Money” and “Fallin’ With Me” were up-tempo foot stompers that secured the band’s reputation for hard-charging live music.

Luke Spiller of The Struts

Newly minted 2023 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Sheryl Crow always creates a party atmosphere at her live shows. Crow seems to have as much or more fun as her audience. Wearing a Wonder Woman t-shirt, the seemingly eternal star smiled throughout the show as she moved across the big stage flawlessly singing while engaging with the fans. The audience loved every moment as she played several of her blues-inspired rock hits. Crowd pleasers included the show opener “If It Makes You Happy” straight through “All I Wanna Do,” “A Change Would Do You Good” and “Real Gone” from the original Cars soundtrack, which she announced as “this one is for all you little kids.” 

Crow introduced “The First Cut Is the Deepest” by saying “this is a song written by Cat Stevens, made famous by Rod Stewart, and then by me.” As expected, it elicited the loudest sing-along of the set. Although it was a bit overcast, she tried her best to clear the clouds with the vivacious “Soak Up the Sun,” before ending the show with “Everyday is a Winding Road” which included fine guitar solos by Audley Freed and Peter Stroud during an extended jam.

Sheryl Crow

Cimafunk is an Afro-Cuban nine-piece band led by lead singer Erik Alejandro Iglesias Rodríguez who also performs under the stage name Cimafunk. The singer grew up in Western Cuba, surrounded by Mexican, Christian, and salsa music, mixed with African rhythms. The band was the revelation of the festival with their set of high-energy songs that never let up and had everyone in the audience hopping. Cimafunk is a strong singer, but his eerie James Brown vibe is derived from his rapid-fire dance moves, grunts, groans, gyrations and hyper stage persona. 

Cimafunk also has two excellent female vocalists, who also happen to be expert trombone and saxophone players. There were great harmonies from the percussionist and keyboardist as well. Several people from the audience were allowed on stage to dance while the band played at the end of the set. It was a joyous spectacle from an extraordinary band. 

Cimafunk

BottleRock is known for their diverse bookings that celebrate both new and legendary artists. Two blues musicians, one a legend and the other quickly gaining that status, played back-to-back sets. Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, the 24-year-old Mississippian with the soul of an octogenarian went on first and set the stage on fire with his powerful, expressive vocals and incendiary guitar licks. He had performed a much more intimate, short set at the JamPad, a Jam Cellars wine-themed mini stage that had programming when the main stage was quiet. 

That short set was just a tease for his main performance. He played songs from his latest album, 662, which won a 2022 Grammy Award for best contemporary blues album. Late in the set Kingfish left the stage and went deep into the crowd, blazing through an epic guitar solo on “Not Gonna Lie” while adoring fans took videos on their smartphones. 

Christone Kingfish Ingram

That may have been a tough act to follow for most artists, but a real octogenarian legend handled it with grace. Taj Mahal, the multiple Grammy Winner and Blues Hall of Fame member may have taken some time to cross the stage to his cushioned seat, but once he got settled in, his performance was magical. As he said at the opening, “I’ve had 81 trips around the sun, but I’m still going.” The finger-picking wizard wowed the crowd with a few of his classics including “Queen Bee.” He said he likes to play outdoor shows and festivals because it lets people move around and dance. That proved to be the case as people gyrated through his entire set.

Taj Mahal

Los Lobos had the closing set on one of the secondary stages opposite Red Hot Chili Peppers, but that did not stop throngs of fans from gathering to watch the East LA band. Their unique rock, R&B, surf music, soul, and mariachi sound were on prominent display during their show. Cesar Rosas and David Hidalgo were both solid as they took turns singing several of their tunes and alternating guitar solos. Rosas, Hidalgo and saxophone player Steve Berlin took particularly impressive solos during “Will The Wolf Survive?” and “Set Me Free (Rosa Lee).” Their show closing cover sequence “La Bamba/Good Lovin’” was a jam-packed romp.

Cesar Rosas of Los Lobos

Rock and Roll Hall of Famers and multiple Grammy winners Red Hot Chili Peppers got the festival closing set on the main stage and earned that honor with a high-octane, nearly two-hour performance. Bassist Flea, drummer Chad Smith and guitarist John Frusciante opened with intense, thumping, distorted energy before Anthony Kiedis joined the band on stage for “Around The World.” That opening force was sustained all set long as Kiedis sounded better than he has in a while and the musicians pounded out the hits.

While most of their set was about popular songs, they did throw in a newer, Eddie Van Halen-inspired track called “Eddie.” However, they kept the crowd sated with standards like “Snow (Hey Oh),” “Californication” and “By The Way.” To mix things up, they threw in versions of Loggins & Messina’s “Danny’s Song” and Funkadelic’s “What is Soul?” Frusciante wailed away the whole set with scorching solos while Flea and Smith played heart-pounding rhythms. The inevitable encore that came in just under curfew included excellent versions of “Under the Bridge” and “Give it Away” to close out the festival.

Red Hot Chili Peppers

The BottleRock Napa Valley festival was as expected – a luxurious, expensive, foodie, wine-loving paradise with world-class live music. Napa, California is a year-round destination for wine and food lovers, but every Memorial Day weekend, it becomes the destination for great live music as well. The 2024 edition is already scheduled for May 24-26 and the organizers announced a limited supply presale for three-day general admission tickets at the 2023 price, available on the BottleRock Napa website.

Live photos courtesy of Andy J. Gordon ©2023.

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