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They rocked with Imagine Dragons, the Dandy Warhols and Logic. They dined on fancy fried chicken, slow-smoked beef brisket and Brie-L-Ts. And they imbibed on an assortment of the regions’s top wines and craft brews.
Mostly, however, the 40,000 fans who turned out to Day One of the 2019 BottleRock Napa Valley smiled, laughed and enjoyed their time at what has truly become one of the most cherished annual events on the West Coast.
Of course, it all starts with the lineup. And the three-day shindig — which opened on May 24 and continues through May 26 at the Napa Valley Expo — certainly did not disappoint in that regard.
Highlights from Day One of the seventh annual BottleRock included The Dandy Warhols, the great Portland, Oregon, act that is responsible for two of the best albums of the last 25 years (1997’s “The Dandy Warhols Come Down” and 2000’s “Thirteen Tales from Urban Bohemia”); Jenny Lewis, the cool country/indie rock troubadour touring behind this year’s “On the Line”; Anderson East, the Alabama R&B man best known for the chart-topping single “All on My Mind” and Logic, the superstar rapper who topped the Billboard 200 earlier this month with the “Confessions of a Dangerous Mind” album.
Best rock song of last 25 years? Maybe. @TheDandyWarhols @BottleRockNapa pic.twitter.com/AqUKC2WiIi
— Jim Harrington (@jimthecritic) May 25, 2019
No, I didn’t forget to mention Imagine Dragons in that last graph. The Las Vegas band was indeed there, drawing a huge, happy crowd to see its headlining set on the main stage, but its ubiquitous, radio-friendly pop-rock wasn’t nearly as interesting as what was heard from many of the other Day One acts, including Logic and Flogging Molly, who headlined two of the other festival stages.
But there’s no question that the crowd loved Imagine Dragons, who performed such big hits as “Radioactive,” “Thunder” and “Natural” as well as a cringe-worthy cover of the Police’s “Every Breath You Take.” Vocalist Dan Reynolds filled the breaks between songs with encouraging messages for the fans.
“This is a free safe zone to be yourself — whatever that may be,” he said.
Walking through crowd at @Imaginedragons @BottleRockNapa pic.twitter.com/YGasgBleNC
— Jim Harrington (@jimthecritic) May 25, 2019
. @Imaginedragons cover the Police @BottleRockNapa pic.twitter.com/iJK4inl8vk
— Jim Harrington (@jimthecritic) May 25, 2019
The lineup is even stronger for Day Two, with longtime Bay Area favorite Neil Young headlining the main stage with his Promise of the Real band. Other top names scheduled to perform include guitar hero Gary Clark Jr., soul sensations Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats, the multi-talented Elle King and classic hip-hop troupe Cypress Hill.
We Used to be Friends … @TheDandyWarhols at @BottleRockNapa pic.twitter.com/aXh6MGi0aN
— Jim Harrington (@jimthecritic) May 25, 2019
The festival is set to conclude on Sunday with appearances by Bay Area favorites Santana and Too Short, main stage headliners Mumford & Sons, rising star Tash Sultana and hip-hop hero Big Boi, among many others.
One of the top reasons to be at @BottleRockNapa … Here's @jennylewis live pic.twitter.com/gvLVoFQw1j
— Jim Harrington (@jimthecritic) May 25, 2019
Of course, BottleRock is about more than just music. The cuisine is also a potent draw, as people turn out to munch on such culinary delights as the Napa Angry Fried Organic Chicken sandwich with curly fries, kewpie mayo and seaweed from Morimoto Napa; the slow-smoked American Wagyu beef brisket sandwich from Mustards Grill; a 12-piece bucket of buttermilk fried chicken for $60 from Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc; and the Brie-L-T (like a BLT, only with brie instead of bacon) from Thomas Keller’s Buchon Bakery.
The food isn’t cheap — the items listed above all range between $12-$18, with most falling on the higher side. But sampling all this great Napa Valley cuisine is truly part of the BottleRock experience.
One of the festival’s most popular attractions is the Williams Sonoma Culinary Stage, which is hosted by Liam Mayclem, aka “the Foodie Chap” from San Francisco radio station KCBS. The stage features cooking demonstrations with several well-known chefs and sports/music personalities, including, in 2019, Trisha Yearwood, Jerry Rice, Ken Griffey Jr. and Alice Cooper.
There was also a Guinness Book of World Record set on the culinary stage on Day One, thanks to Masaharu Morimoto. The famed “Iron Chef” did so by slicing up a 200-pound tuna into 100 pieces — each weighing 3.5 ounces — in under 13 minutes.
. @floggingmolly at @BottleRockNapa pic.twitter.com/7k2U4PN9TR
— Jim Harrington (@jimthecritic) May 25, 2019
. @neontrees at @BottleRockNapa pic.twitter.com/5z0vI6gH8l
— Jim Harrington (@jimthecritic) May 24, 2019
More @jennylewis at @BottleRockNapa pic.twitter.com/IpfZkMxHap
— Jim Harrington (@jimthecritic) May 25, 2019
