Music, sunshine, wine and good vibes kicked off Napa’s treasured festival this weekend at BottleRock Napa Valley. The three day event was spearheaded by a diverse set of headliners, culinary excellence and thousands of festival goers ready to dance and drink the first day away Friday.
Friday’s headliners included electric artist juggernaut Kaskade, American “ska punk” royalty Sublime and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Green Day.
The Alive
The Alive, a California based heavy rock band, took the JaM Cellars stage promptly at 12:30 p.m. BottleRockers perched by the front fill speakers were met with the band’s music blasting and the heavy drums leaving hearts jumping and legs shaking.
The young band consisting of drummer Miles Elze, singer and guitarist Bastian Evans and main guitarist Lawson Matthews took the stage with pride and stuck to their unapologetically raw-and loud-sound.
DJ UMAMI
Leanna Cruz, better known as Bay Area Icon DJ UMAMI, made her crowd get loud at the Williams-Sonoma Culinary Stage, performing a 30 minute banger of a Bay Area oriented setlist. UMAMI mixed “Blow the Whistle” to “Tell Me When to Go” and “Low,” making viewers turn the lawn into a dance pad. UMAMI was able to pull off the first loud crowd of the day.
Beach Bunny
Beach Bunny opened their set at the Verizon stage with a bang playing her most streamed song “Cloud 9.” The audience gathered at the Verizon stage frolicking around and singing along. The smell of marijuana blanketed the crowd adding to the already fun atmosphere. A gorgeous way to kick off her set.
The bands set consisted of their most popular hits along with new music off of “Tunnel Vision” their new album released in April of this year.
“Does anyone in Napa Valley like to mosh at all?” Singer Lili Trifilio asked the crowd as she kicked off her upbeat song “Oxygen.” The audience cheered and formed a pit which many jumped around in.
The show out for Beach Bunny was impressive garnering the largest crowd of the early afternoon. The main singer engaged in quite a bit of crowd work, keeping audience members involved and hyped up. Their messaging was inclusive and their set focused on positivity.
E-40
E-40, otherwise known as E-40 minutes late, left the crowd waiting while he took his prolonged time to leisurely arrive on the JaM Cellars Stage. A DJ performed for roughly 40 minutes, leaving many audience members wondering when or if he was going to show up, but when he did, the entire crowd erupted into “Tell Me When to Go.” And just like that, all was forgiven.
He then dove back into his roots, performing “Sprinkle me” and then transitioning to “Choices (Yup).” After a few more of his iconic songs, E-40 ended his short setlist with the forever Bay Area anthem, “Yay Area.”
Remi Wolf
Bouncing, bending and booty shaking we’re just a few reasons the audience at Jam Cellars Stage were drawn to Remi Wolf.
Wolf, a Palo Alto Native, hyped up the crowd with her loud and energetic voice. The upbeat bubblegum pop was easy to dance to, and the colorful screens behind Wolf uplifted the crowd. Her energy was contagious.
Sublime
Reggae Fusion engulfed the JaM Cellars stage as Sublime kicked off their moshpit-inducing set. The sunshine was out, smoke was in the air and shoes were off.
Jakob Nowell, son of the late Bradley Nowell, took the role of main vocalist alongside founding members Bud Gaugh and Eric Wilson.
Sublime performed in front of rotating psychedelic screens featuring various album art and other works personal to the band. A 35-foot blow up of Lou Dog, the bands mascot, was prominently displayed as a tribute to the band’s iconic legacy dating back to the late 1980’s.
Jakob, baring his soul and body, dominated the stage as a frontman. Nowell took the band’s classics and shifted them to fit his voice while upholding the integrity of his late father’s discography.
The band overall stuck to their roots with turntable scratching, heavy bass lines and psychedelic guitar solos sprinkled through their 75 minute set.
Green Day
It didn’t take long for headliners Green Day to bash the current political system as they opened their Friday night set with “American Idiot.” Frontman Billie Joe Armstrong notably changed the lyrics from, “I’m not a part of the redneck agenda” to “MAGA agenda.” This change led the crowd to erupt to over 107 decibels.
The band then went on to play their greatest hits, from “Holiday” to “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” and “Longview.” Most songs had a healthy dose of Armstrong toying with the crowd, getting them to shout louder, jump and dance.
If the crowd wasn’t already overstimulated with the band’s flashy stage, fireworks and pyrotechnics bombarded every-other song at key guitar solos, making the crowd erupt every time.
After performing “Basket Case,” “When I Come Around,” and “Wake Me Up When September Ends,” Green Day capped off their hour and 45 minute setlist with a stripped-down acoustic version of “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life),” performed by Armstrong.
BottleRock Napa Valley continues Saturday with headliners Justin Timberlake, Benson Boone, and Ice Cube.
