We ventured north for our first visit to BottleRock. After years of Coachella, Stagecoach, Kaaboo, Ohana and Beach Life festivals (rounded out with a few Outside Land visits and the once-in-a-lifetime Desert Trip / Oldchella gathering), this SoCal couple wanted to see what makes the Napa vibe such a noted site for BottleRock.
We now understand the attraction. With an understandable emphasis on the surrounding wine and culinary aesthetic, BottleRock layers on an eclectic music lineup for a wonderfully comfortable experience. Set in a vast green space smack improbably in downtown Napa, the festival is far more compact than what folks encounter in Indio at Coachella or Stagecoach. By the same token Outside Lands leverages the Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, what is it about our neighbors to the north managing such city-centric feats?
The vibe at BottleRock is very family friendly, there were plenty of parents shepherding their grade school kids around the festival introducing them to festival life. That was akin to Stagecoach. I love the idea of a bunch of lucky kids conveniently forgetting to remove their wristbands when they return to grade school and junior high after the long weekend.
On Saturday at BottleRock’s – stage Bob Schneider pumped up the end of his set with brass, finishing his set on time and with a pack of satisfied fans. “40 Dogs” was a highlight.
KALEO then uncorked their hard edge blues/rock/countryish twang at the Verizon Stage. Lead singer and guitarist Jökull Júlíusson built the Icelandic band’s songs on a deep throbbing beat. Fans of Australian Nick Cave were definitely happy. Geography fans might have noticed those two artists are about as distanced as possible. Although KALEO’s name is Hawaiian. Go figure. Júlíusson soon strapped on a resonator guitar adding a different welcoming tone. Reykjavík. Who knew?
Meanwhile across the grounds at JaM Cellars Main Stage 4-Non Blondes kicked out the e jams, opening with Zeppelin’s “Rock and Roll.”
Introduced by lead singer Linda Perry’s daughter, the band was the hardest-edged artist of the day, until Ice Cube exploded as the headliner on the Verizon Stage.
4-Non Blondes had a few riffs pulled from other bands and it made for an interesting sound. The band has evolved plenty from their original all-female lineup. A long way from their early days gigging in nearby San Francisco, garnering a prime late afternoon slot on the BottleRock main stage was a nice trajectory. Dropping their massive hit “What’s Up” mid-set was a sage move. It jolted the unconverted. Perry was likely the most rocking mother of the weekend.
I noticed that the layout of the stages across BottleRock is quite good, with no excessive sound bleed despite the relative proximity of the stages.
As we swung toward the Golden Hour, Benson Boone drew a broad range of ages for his performance. In keeping with the general rule that not winning American Idol is a good career move, Benson left the TV competition early in his career and caught the notice of fellow Mormon Dan Reynolds of Imagine Dragons. Reynolds accelerated Boone’s recording career.
After a series of successful singles, Boone was tapped to open one of Taylor Swift’s Wembley Stadium shows in 2024. Earlier this year at the first weekend of Coachella Boone delivered an impressive version of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.” No less than Brian May saw the connection to his former bandmate Freddie Mercury, May shocked the Indio crowd by appearing with Boone for the song.
Climbing atop a stack of Marshall amps to start his BottleRock set, Boone impressively executed a flip with a half twist (although the Russian judge awarded only a 6) to hit the stage running.
Benson Boone flipping out the crowd
Boone has an exuberant stage presence, leveraging the full expanse of the layout, strutting back and forth with moves like Jagger and Mercury. Boone riffed on the “Day-o” refrain on which Mercury often relied (even if Ray Davies probably did so earlier in The Kinks’ heyday).
Boone’s succession of acrobatics (including a heart stopping backflip) won’t last for many years, but they make for an exciting show. I’d like to see the rider about who is responsible for injuries if he makes a bad move mid-air.
A song about Boone’s parents (“Momma Song”) released two days earlier solidified his cross-generational appeal. The 22 year old Boone toggled well between high NRG pop songs and urgent power ballads.
For many decades it was de rigeur that there was minimal crossover between the music of the older and younger generations. Back in the day Dad asked me to turn down my Jethro Tull records, asking if I wouldn’t be listening to Frank Sinatra when I was older. (Dad was right). But Boone is one of a growing number of artists breaking down that generational divide. Every generation needs its music not understood by the older generation, but I love seeing all these kids and parents fully engaged by the same artist during Boone’s set.
Boone recently admitted in Variety that the pace of his life is accelerating.
“It just never stops coming in. There’s always shows to play, there’s always songs to write, there’s always things to release, there’s always videos to post,” Boone told Variety. “Sometimes it can be exhausting, but at the same time — I love doing this. I love putting myself out there.”
While gearing up for Saturday’s headliner Justin Timberlake, we dipped into a few of the myriad eclectic international cuisines on offer from the local vendors ringing the grounds. BottleRock has lots of grass (the kind under your feet), which first weekenders at Coachella enjoy and Stagecoachers miss.
Justin Timberlake bantering with the crowd
I did not realize how much of Timberlake’s sound is built on the foundation of the P-Funk armada: pounds of brass against a deep bass, with a baker’s dozen or more musicians and singers onstage. Timberlake of course adds choreography that George Clinton can’t match these days, but how great the blending of eras.
Timberlake’s racially and sexually mixed band is no thing today, which is great. But props to Sly Stone (from the Bay Area!) for breaking that ground back in the day.
Timberlake slowed the pace with a midset acoustic pair of songs, flipping the incredibly crisp backdrop screens to chiaroscuro.
Sunday brought a bevy of artists to explore, some that you recognize and some you’ve hardly even heard of (my second Kinks reference, for those of you keeping score).
Impressing many folks was Jalen Ngonda with his throwback soul sounds. He is in a thread that reaches back to Sam Cooke and Marvin Gaye as well as the more recent efforts from Leon Bridges.
Likewise surprising many attendees was Kate (“Almost Famous”) Hudson. She has been hitting various clubs up and down the coast but at her first festival appearance she held her own.
Also from the distaff side was Lauren Mayberry, lead vocalist of the Scottish band CHVRCHES, in the midst of a solo tour.
Amping up the country twang was Chaparelle, led by Zella Day and Jesse Woods. No doubt their impressive sound reflects an impressive record collection of folks like Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson and Dolly Parton along with contemporaries like Ryan Bingham (the latter of whom was impressive in “Yellowstone”).
The headliners Cage the Elephant opposite Noah Kahan created quite a dilemma for many folks, but Cage the Elephant delivered a great set, leaving folks happy about the eclectic and satisfyingly comfortable vibe of BottleRock.
(photos by Brad Auerbach)
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