The BottleRock Napa Valley music festival was held on the weekend of Friday, May 24th to Sunday, May 26th at the Napa Valley Expo fairgrounds. With the arrival of the festival, the grounds were transformed into a multi-stage spot for music and food lovers. Listeners young and old joined together for artists including Pearl Jam, Kali Uchis, and Norah Jones. The festival’s three days offered ample opportunity for the crowd to discover new sounds, explore musical genres, and enjoy the variety of culinary options present in the great Napa Valley area.
BottleRock’s dedication to culinary arts was present across festival grounds. Food trucks with a variety of assortments were available to festival-goers, but the main culinary acts could be found on the William Sonoma Culinary Stage. Situated between the JaM Cellars and Verizon stages, which featured the larger acts of the festival, stood a smaller stage with a crowd-facing kitchen. During certain portions of the festival earlier in the day, DJs would hold sets on this stage for a small lawn section. The lawn’s standing-height tables offered the perfect stopping point to watch celebrities attempt to cook gourmet meals. Featured guests included T-Pain, Cameron Diaz, Neil Patrick Harris, Stephen Curry, and Bradley Cooper. The festival made efforts to include and uplift younger artists as well, featuring the USC Marching Band in one appearance on the Culinary Stage.
The festival’s efforts to amplify young musician’s voices extended to the musical stages. On the Truly Stage, the Napa Valley Youth Symphony held a performance. 19-year-old Sophia Zamani, a singer from the Bay Area, showcased her talent on the JaMpad stage. This festival’s ability to showcase the talent of household names like Stevie Nicks and Ed Sheeran alongside emerging artists speaks to the broader intentions of the festival as a space to unite under musical expression and discover new voices alongside age-old favorites.
Pictured Above: Kali Uchis
Stevie Nicks
In true rockstar fashion, Stevie Nicks took the stage in Napa Valley on Friday evening wearing a black velvet outfit, accompanied by a whimsically decorated microphone. Nicks began her performance with a cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Rock and Roll” and transitioned into beloved favorites including “If Anyone Falls,” “Outside the Rain,” and “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around.” Throughout her set, Nicks included some of her most well-known Fleetwood Mac songs like “Dreams,” “Gypsy,” and “Gold Dust Woman.” Nicks’ performance had an air of nostalgia and between songs her words reflected an awareness that she has already lived out much of her time as a performer. Viewers of all ages, too, seemed aware of the rare opportunity they had been presented with to view Nicks in a live setting. The closing song before Nicks’ encore was “Edge of Seventeen,” solidifying the sentimental tone of the night. Nicks seemed to be speaking directly to the young audience members in this song, her powerful notes echoing across the main lawn of the Napa Valley Expo. The closing encore of Stevie Nicks’ set featured the Fleetwood Mac hits “Rhiannon” and “Landslide.” Nicks was able to communicate more than just words in these songs. Across the lawn, tears were shed to Nicks’ closing words and spellbinding stage presence.
Oliver Tree
Oliver Tree’s Saturday BottleRock performance was nothing short of unexpected. The singer took the stage wearing a winter-ready getup and short, bowl cut black wig. With energy that radiated into the crowd, Oliver Tree opened with “Miss You” and followed up with “Bounce.” His performance required audience participation – across the Verizon Stage lawn audience members were encouraged to jump along to his music and match the level of eccentricity that was showcased on stage. Behind the singer and band was a large screen that featured Oliver Tree’s music videos. These videos, distinctly cinematic and somewhat disturbing, brought a unique contrast to the fun performance the crowd could witness onstage. Scenes that left viewers with an off putting feeling were juxtaposed with a smiling, energetically dancing Oliver Tree on stage. Other songs featured in the performance included “When I’m Down,” “Do You Feel Me?,” “Miracle Man,” and “Let Me Down.” As the performance went along, Oliver Tree revealed that he was born and raised in Napa Valley. His personal connection to the venue and crowd could be felt in the power behind his words as he demanded crowd engagement in a playful way. As the performance came to a close, Oliver Tree removed his winter coat and pants, revealing a snowsuit beneath his previous attire. The crowd stood in awe as Tree continued to dance around the stage in the summer heat in what must have been an unbearably warm outfit. Following Tree’s closing song, “Life Goes On,” the singer brought a scooter out from backstage and performed a few tricks. His music and accompanying videos are referential towards an adolescent narrative, undoubtedly originating from the very grounds of Napa Valley itself.
Cannons
Sunday afternoon, Cannons took the Verizon. The trio features lead vocalist Michelle Joy, guitarist Ryan Clapham, and drummer and keyboardist Paul Davis. A large crowd filled the space of the venue’s lawn under the northern Californian sun as the band opened with “Heartbeat Highway.” The band’s rhythmic melodies resulted in a swaying crowd as they performed “Bad Dream” and “Hurricane” from their 2022 record “Fever Dream.” Featured from their 2023 release were tracks “Desire” and “Loving You,” both of which brought an uplifting energy to the audience as the performance continued. Michelle Joy’s ability to engage the crowd was showcased in her performance of “Crush,” where she called out to the audience during each chorus. The echoes of fans’ voices could be heard, creating a recognizable call and response that is the marker of a successful performance. The band continued with their 2022 release “Purple Sun” as the set came to a close. Whispers in the crowd mentioned the fan favorite “Fire for You” as Joy referenced the end of the performance, and Cannons did not disappoint. “Fire for You” closed Cannons’ set with the perfect balance between tempos made for dancing and calming ambiance that created an easy listening atmosphere.
Dominic Fike
In the early Sunday evening, Dominic Fike took the JaM Cellars Stage with the intention of appealing not only to his fanbase, but also to the older crowd before him. With his opening song “How Much Is Weed?” Fike operated a synthesizer machine that created a backdrop for his impressive vocals. Fike proceeded to play his 2023 releases “Mama’s Boy” and “Ant Pile” followed by the 2020 song “Double Negative (Skeleton Milkshake).” Between songs, Fike revealed to the audience that he had experienced an unpleasant start to his day that had been uplifted by the crowd once he took the stage. As Dominic Fike transitioned into his next song, “The Kiss of Venus,” he mentioned his collaborator Paul McCartney. Older audience members who were hearing Fike’s music for the first time nodded their heads in approval as their opinion of the young musician visibly shifted. Fan favorites followed this song, including “Babydoll,” “Frisky,” and “Mona Lisa.” Fike solidified his guitar capabilities to this new crowd with his electric “Westcoast Collective.” The rock sound introduced by this song to the crowd in Napa. As the set came to a close, the well known 2019 track from the beginning of Fike’s career releasing music received an enthusiastic crowd response. Whether within feet of Fike or hundreds of feet from the stage, audience members joined in the lyrics of the song. The final performance of Fike’s set was “Superstar Sh*t,” one of the most popular tracks from Fike’s 2020 album “What Could Possibly Go Wrong?” The performance’s vocal displays and instrumental feats garnered the attention of audience members young and old alike. Fike definitely earned a new group of fans from his time on stage at BottleRock.
Ed Sheeran
Fans from all directions of the festival flocked to Ed Sheeran’s closing performance at BottleRock. Although Sheeran’s performance was one of the most anticipated of the weekend, his stage setup was understated. Sheeran took the stage without props, backup dancers, or a band. A guitar was the only additional item accompanying his performance. Sheeran opened with fan favorite “Castle on the Hill,” followed by “The A Team.” Across the crowd, fans ranging in all ages united through Sheeran’s music. A few songs into his setlist, Sheeran transitioned into covers of songs by other loved artists. Before performing “Love Yourself,” Sheeran explained how he had written the song that was later released by Justin Bieber. The theme of covers continued into a combined mashup of “Take It Back,” “Superstition,” and “Ain’t No Sunshine.” The performance was well-balanced between songs with more upbeat rhythms like “Shivers” “You Need Me, I Don’t Need You,” and “Shape of You” and slower songs that showcased Sheeran’s ability to connect on a more emotional level with an audience like “Thinking Out Loud,” “Photograph,” and “Perfect.” This closing act left fans content with their weekend spent in Napa, in a simultaneously upbeat and sentimental atmosphere.
Pictured above: The Kid LAROI brings a fan onstage to sing “Stay.”
Stephen Sanchez
Inspired by the 50s and 60s, Stephen Sanchez’s hot, sunny afternoon set reminisced the ‘good ole days.’ His audience was a mix of a younger crowd drawn from his viral “Until I Found You,” TikTok hit, and a combination of older folk excited to feel his Elvis-like energy. Sanchez mostly played songs from his most recent album, “Angel Face,” which came out in 2023. Midway through his set, he covered “Oh, Pretty Woman” by Roy Orbison, and not only did his voice but his dance moves were very reminiscent of the 60s. This cover had the older crowd dancing and cheering, returning to their childhood memories of musical performances. Sanchez was a perfect BottleRock performing since he could appeal to a broad audience, and his energy was highly contagious. After his main set, Sanchez played at the JamPad (pictured above), a more intimate setting. During this performance, he played acoustic versions of his songs on a smaller stage with his guitar. “Evangeline,” played for the second time, felt more angelic and soft versus his bigger performance, where he was accompanied by drums and backed guitarists. Both sets revealed Sanchez’s love for the past and infectious personality, but the smaller set allowed for more of an intimate listen to his pop hits.
(Stephen Sanchez review written by Somerset Colligan)
photography by Somerset Colligan.
