🎸Bougie Bottlerock

Famed Bottlerock. Bougie Bottlerock. The fanciest and chillest of music festivals housed right in the heart of Napa. Legend has it that the original promoters, WillPower Entertainment, of this festival were clever in how they made this BIG IDEA happen in quaint little wine country, this world renowned city called Napa. This vision became a reality in 2013 and then changed promoters in 2014 to Latitude 38 Entertainment. Its success continued until a pandemic pause in 2020 and came back again in 2021.

A failed P!NK concert, a COVID canceled Napa trip and an opportunity called Bottlerock led to my first festival experience. And what an experience it was.

I had heard about Bottlerock #bottlerocknapa from friends who would go every year, every year since it began 9 years ago. It sounded cool, but I’m not that cool. I’m not the person who knows all the new bands and up and coming artists. I’m not the person who has the best playlists or even listens to music in the car or at home. So why did I go?

My friend and I had planned to go see P!NK at her 2019 Beautiful Trauma concert tour, but at the last moment my friend got sick and couldn’t go. Super bummer, because that concert was the best experience. P!NK just has a way of making everyone feel better leaving than they did when they first walked arrived. Then, our husbands got us a trip to Napa, but it we never went.. So, when P!NK announced on Instagram that she was going to headline at Bottlerock, we made it happen.

Must Do's Before Attending

1. Buy tickets as soon as they go on sale. P!NK had a code to purchase tickets one day early, which helped.

2. Buy VIP tickets, if going that route, because they do sell out. These were already sold out when we purchased, but I hear that it is quite possible to get a VIP ticket if put on the waiting list - even if just for one day.

3. Reserve a locker. This might not be for everyone, but I loved it. Not having to carry around my stuff all day and being able to leave it there over the three days was so convenient.

4. Download the app. The app has everything we needed: schedules, artists, playlists, food vendors, a map, etc. Very well done!

5. Secure lodging. My friend booked the cottages well in advance even though we had some other possibilities of where we could stay. In the end, I’m so glad we had that because the ease and location made our Bottlerock experience awesome!

6. Get playlist from a hip friend. My 19 year-old daughter knew many of the artists and introduced me to some great songs. The Bottlerock app also gives a bio of each artist and a Spotify “Top Tracks” link. In addition, Spotify has a Bottlerock playlist. The only downside to this is that I don’t have a paid account, so if I wanted to skip a song, I couldn’t after a bit of that as well as ads, it didn’t work for me. Getting to know the artists and their music prior to the festival was cool.

What to Bring

1. Clear bag to carry your stuff

2. Small fanny pack or purse

3. Refillable water bottle (no glass)

4. Sunscreen (non-aerosol)

5. Cute, comfy shoes

6. A sweatshirt or jacket when the sun goes down

7. Blanket if you think you might be sitting

Where to Stay

This must be booked early, like a year in advance early. We stayed at Riverpointe Cottages #riverpointecottages. It was the BEST!! Located about a mile away, we were able to walk there and back everyday.

Upon entering the property, we were greeted by shady trees and cute little cottages aesthetically painted matching hues of maroon, yellow and tan with white trim. The reception area is a check-in similar to a hotel where we received our keys and an overview of the property. A pool and hot tub, workout facility and even a private hot tub that could be reserved. A trail and the river are adjacent to the property. A little oasis.

Our home for the next three days was a single wide trailer that was fixed up in true cottage fashion. White thatched lattice covered the hitch and other unsightly features. Each cottage has a concrete parking pad so our vehicle was right outside. Walking up to the front door, we were greeted by a shared porch with the unit next door. A patio table, chairs and umbrella added a relaxing ambience.

Walking through the front door, the clean and up to date finishes made us feel right at home. These units are clearly well maintained. A kitchenette with all of the appliances, dishes, cookware and utensils we would need were at our disposal. A small living room and dining table area made for perfect sitting spaces. A bathroom with tub/shower and hall closet led to the bedroom. The queen size bed felt spacious and the built in dressers and closet allowed ample space for clothes. The multitude of windows let in so much filtered light from the abundance of trees all around.

I called dibs on the pull out sofa bed and my friend had the bedroom. It worked out perfectly, because the two pocket doors between the kitchen and living room gave us each our own place. It was peaceful each morning to sit outside and drink coffee to greet the day. Our neighbors were the sweetest group of ladies and we had no problems sharing the patio.

Driving

We drove from the Sacramento area at 3:30pm on the Friday of Memorial Day weekend and guess what? The traffic was fine. Shocker! I know!

After pulling into Riverpointe and getting ourselves settled in our three day home, we headed to Bottlerock.

Walking

We could hear the music and perhaps could have found our way to Bottlerock by the way the crow flies if that was possible. But, lacking functioning wings, we walked following directions. These said directions did not take into account that we were walking on the very historic Silverado Trail #silveradotrail. With a plethora of cars parked on the side of the road and no sidewalks, we took our lives into our own hands to get there and back. After doing this a few times, and then considering the cost and time it would take to use Uber, we found a different route. This route included sidewalks and lights and it was pleasant and we didn’t feel like our lives would end walking to a music festival.

This route went past WalMart, down around past the Westin and through the downtown area. It was lovely both day and night. We got to move, didn’t have to wait for transportation, and it was extremely convenient.

Day 1

Being newbies to Bottlerock, we did not know what to expect, so we took a minute to get a lay of the land. At the entrance, the heavily armored and armed police felt a bit unsettling in light of the recent school shooting.

Entering, there was first the security check. Small bags and clear bags only!! People had to throw many items away, including aerosol sunscreen and glass water bottles. We were ill-prepared as we mistakenly thought we could put our stuff in our locker prior and did not have a clear bag. After some creative rearranging, we just stuffed all of our items on ourselves and were able to make it work.

Lockers

We had reserved a locker in advance, BUT we still had to bring our locker stuff in a clear bag. Somehow, we thought the lockers would be accessible without having to do that.

Our locker was assigned and we had it for the entirety of the weekend. Lockers are very close to the entrance, so we had it stocked with warm clothes for night time, change of shoes, water bottles, sunscreen, our clear bags and a blanket. It was so nice not to think about bringing that stuff each day.

Wristbands, Drinks and Water

After getting situated at the lockers, wristband time. Get your 21 and over wristband before buying drinks.

There were many options for drinks from cocktails, beer and of course, wine! We opted for the plastic Bottlerock carafe and two plastic wine tumblers - so cute! The carafe holds an entire bottle of wine and was perfect for sharing. Depending on the type of wine, the going rate was anywhere between $65 - $100+ per bottle. Each line served a different brand of wine, so it was nice to have variety.

Kaiser Permanente smartly sponsored water stations and they were so much appreciated by all. Clean and convenient.

Restrooms

Cleaned daily, well maintained, plenty of them with hardly any line and handwashing stations that actually worked. Apparently VIP bathrooms were even better, but I was pretty happy with these.

Spa

A truly spa-like environment was created inside one of the fairground buildings/tents. Lots of cool seating and a bar in the middle. Because it’s a little off the beaten path, the lines were shorter. Around the perimeter of the tent were some luxurious services:

☯️Massage

🎀Hair braiding

💖Sparkle Bar

➰Henna

💦Hydration IV Station

💎Jewelry

And More!

Most booths took reservations for that day, so you wouldn’t have to wait.

Swag/Merch

A large, welcoming wooden-pallet booth housed merchandise with appealing designs in a variety of styles from California hipster to a rock vibe (after all, it is called Bottle”rock”).

Pre-Order

My friend pre-ordered and had her stuff mailed to her prior to attending. So convenient

App Order Pick-Up

I was not as ahead of the game as my friend, so I tried using the app to make some purchases and then could just pick up my stuff at the booth. However, most everything I wanted said “sold out”. I ended up getting two water bottles. Once we found the “pick-up” booth, they couldn’t find my order and we had to come back the next day. That kind of defeated the purpose. Oh well!

In Person

I enjoyed purchasing merchandise at the booth. I could see it in real time, scrutinize sizes and generally get a better feel for it all. And, things that said out of stock on the app for pick-up were available at the booth. It’s all good though because I didn’t go home empty handed ;)

All “apparelled out”, we passed by the Williams Sonoma Culinary stage and saw 49er George Kittle, chef Aaron May and local sports anchor Mark Ibanez. At this point, we weren’t sure what was going on there, but it was quite jovial and engaging with the audience. This stage is home to mash-ups between local chefs and artists.

Stages

The five stages were spread out intelligently. They were far enough away from each other that each had their own culture, but at the same time, close enough together that it wasn’t hard to jet from one to the other.

It was amazing to me that when enjoying music at one stage, music could not be heard at any of the other stages. Delicate Productions #deicateproductions worked with L-Acoustics #lacoustics and created an entire system to create this specific effect. Ingenious!!

The JaM Cellars Main Stage #jamcellars had plenty of room for everyone. VIP’s could actually be on the sides of the actual stage, shaded in bleacher style seating and even had their own passageway from stage to stage. All of the space in front of the stage was blocked off as well only for the VIP distinction. In addition, there were some performances only on the VIP stage - very cool (if you’re VIP).

We, however, were not and it was totally fine. The sound system was perfect, the screens were large and the grass area was spacious. Friday and Saturday we were able to get up fairly close and walk between stages easily. Sunday was considerably busier, so we had to adjust.

In the back of the main stage was the JaMPad, which was a small stage inside a small tent. By invitation only guests could sit inside and everyone else on the grass in front of the stage. I thoroughly enjoyed the intimacy of that location.

For the P!NK #pink concert, we set out a blanket near the JaMPad and just had to swivel back and forth between the small stage and the main stage. We were entertained all day long with plenty of room to dance and hang out.

Verizon was the next biggest stage which housed big acts like Kygo #kygomusic, Pit Bull #pitbull and Luke Combs #lukecombs. It was close enough to walk back and forth between the main stage and this one.

There were two other smaller stages as well as the VIP Stage. I was able to catch Tessa Violet #tessaviolet on the Truly Stage and it was perfect! A packed audience with a smaller stage for a super up and coming artist. The Allianz Stage was also on the smaller side providing a more up close and personal feel.

Williams Sonoma Culinary Stage was a fun twist where artists were hosted in an interactive cooking style show. There was a mock kitchen, food, and games in which the performers participated. It was a creative way for fans to see their favorites in a more casual and lighthearted interaction.

Culinary Garden

Our noses led us to the Culinary Garden. Wow, so impressive and off the hook. White tents arranged in a semi-circle on each side, allowed for a nice flow. Local restaurants prepared a limited menu of some of their favorites. Such an upscale and well put together feel with some of the best food in the world.

There was so much to choose from, but two dishes really stood out: fried olives and paella. Il Posto Trattoria #ilpostotrattoria hosted “Olive Fritte”, which are fried castelvetrano olives stuffed with italian sausage and served in a paper snowcone cup. They. Were. Bomb! The second hit of the food scene was the paella from Gerard’s Paella #gerardspaella. The line was not long here because the pot was already ready and they just spoon and serve. This dish was so niche, so delicious and so filling. Muwah!

Metallica

After getting our bearings, we headed over to the mainstage to see the one and only Metallica #metallica. There is no other like them and their music is truly their own.

Getting a fairly close spot to stand was easy. While the VIP’s were at the front of the stage, we were able to stand behind the barrier that marked the ending of the VIP area.

Silent Disco

Before leaving, we were mesmerized by the Silent Disco on the Truly stage. The headphones were lit up as was the jumpin’ music on the stage. White Panda #whitepanda vs. Cut Chemist (of Jurassic 5) #cutchemist. We couldn’t help but put on a headset and dance. Want to know what someone else is listening to, just switch your station and voila my headphones changed from green to blue lights. Everyone dancing with Everyone!

We walked back to our cottage and it was a great ending to a great first day!

Day 2

Sleeping in was divine. We brought our own breakfast, so easing into the morning with coffee and food was relaxing.

Once we got ourselves ready, we headed to downtown Napa to stroll and ended up eating lunch at Grace’s Table #gracestable. The iron skillet cornbread melts in your mouth!! With lovely seating inside and out as well as a nice wine list, this was an enjoyable place to stop.

Elyse Winery

From there, we made reservations at Elyse Winery #elysewinery, because how can one be in Napa and not do at least one wine tasting??? Elyse is home to multiple wine makers: Elyse, Napa Cider, Institution, Addax, Standard Deviation and Morgado Cellars #morgadocellars. We enjoyed the chill environment and easy conversation with our tasting room pourer, Randy Green. Through that conversation he made decisions on what wines we might like to try. It was refreshing to not have to follow a prescribed pour list.

Some favorites were:

❤️2018 Elyse Estate Vineyard Cabernet

❤️2018 Morgado Rita’s Crown Pinot Noir

❤️2017 Elyse Tietjen Vineyard Rutherford Cab

❤️2017 Addax Napa Valley Red Wine

❤️2018 Addax Tench VIneyard Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon

🤍2019 Standard Deviation Sonoma Sauvignon Blanc XL

The Morgado Cellars wine label is created by Kimberly Hatcher who not only trained under renowned wine maker Kimberly Hatcher, but also is a firefighter most of the year, except during crush season, when she devotes her time to the grapes.

The most unique wine was the 2018 Elyse Estate Vineyard Cabernet. Described as having an herbaceous quality, it was immediately evident that this was indeed the case. Trying to identify the flavor was a mystery. I guessed spearmint, but was wrong. While I won’t spoil it for you (because I highly encourage you to experience it for yourself), I will give you a hint in that the flavor is enhanced by a certain type of tree that grows among this wine’s grapes. Nature’s art.

From there we dropped off the car and the wine and then walked to Bottlerock. The lines to get in were again, not long at all. Because we had the locker, we had no need to carry much.

My Saturday Line-Up

✨Marc E. Bassy

✨Rainbow Kitten Surprise

✨The Black Crowes

✨P!NK on the Williams Sonoma Culinary Stage

✨twenty one pilots

Well, because of that “must-do” wine tasting, we missed Marc E. Bassy and Rainbow Kitten Surprise. Dang! I was asked specifically to get lots of video and pictures of RKS and failed! DUN, Dun, dun. I didn’t quite “get” that I could catch them later on the VIP stage because, I, in fact, did not have VIP status.

The Black Crows

The Black Crowes #theblackcrowes played many of their classics and took me back in time. After a while, we were able to sneak over to the Williams Sonoma Culinary Stage to see the one and only P!NK. She was so happy to see fans, probably the first time in over two years at a large venue. She couldn’t stop smiling and waving at everyone. Knowing she wouldn’t be performing until Sunday, it was a treat to see her.

Mount Westmore

Do you know about Mount Westmore #mount_westmore? Unfortunately I knew too late and missed a similar reprise to the Superbowl halftime extravaganza. Mount Westmore is Snoop Dog, Ice Cube, E-40 and Too $hort. Read the fine print. How did I not know this???? I died a little the next day, when I found out they were performing at the next stage over and I had no idea!!! That’s the price you pay at an over the top line-up at Bottlerock!

twenty one pilots

That was all redeemed when I arrived at twenty one pilots #twentyonepilots not knowing much about them and leaving a SUPER Fan! Honestly, twenty one pilots are one of the best performers I’ve ever seen. That very unique “it” quality…yeah, they have “it”. Talent exudes from their aura.

From putting on the Elton John glasses, sitting at the piano and singing “Bennie and the Jets”, to jamming on the ukulele around a “campfire”, to climbing a giant tower, to the finale of crowd surfing to two platforms to drum and sing amongst the crowd was incredible. I wish for all to be able to experience twenty one pilots.

And again, on the way out, had to stop at the silent disco because it was so FUN!!!

Day 3

Sunday had my favorite line up! In fact, too many to choose from. And it was “friend” day as so many people bought one day passes for this day.

Oxbow Public Market

Finding our new walking route on Saturday, allowed us to walk right past the Oxbow Public Market #oxbowpublicmarket where we walked around to decide where to eat. I love this concept of eateries where it’s an open air building with different restaurants all in one place. There are similar places in Gilbert, Arizona, San Francisco’s Ferry Building and of course Pike’s Place in Seattle.

We opted to eat at Live Fire Pizza #livefireoxbow because of the Gnocco Fritto, not to be confused with Gnocchi. It turned out to be homemade bread with prosciutto, which is not gnocchi ;) However, the ambience was cool, as we sat at a large high top table with a bar in the middle. We met a nice couple who were from Virginia and shared some tips with us. They had been the year before and also had VIP passes.

VIP Perks

What makes VIP worth it? Access to actually be on the side of the stage during the performances, shade, a designated VIP walking path between stages, closer viewing areas, nicer bathrooms and special VIP performances. After talking to this couple, I think I would have liked to get a one day VIP pass. They also shared Rainbow Kitten Surprise pictures and videos with me to send to my daughter ;)

From there, we made our way into Bottlerock! Oh my gosh, night and day difference getting in as it was so much busier. However, it didn’t take too long and again people were friendly. The aerosol sunscreen that wasn’t allowed was passed around the line so people could lube up.

My Sunday Line-Up

🌟Tessa Violet

🌟Michael Franti & Spearhead

🌟Tai Verdes

🌟Blu DeTiger

🌟Alessia Cara

🌟Drew Holcomb & The Neighborhood

🌟Pit Bull

🌟Vance Joy

🌟P!NK

Tessa Violet

We met a friend at Tessa Violet at the Truly Stage. A packed audience with a smaller stage for a super up and coming artist. Half shade and half sun as well as bleachers, close to the bathrooms and even some food & drink trucks.

In search of cocktails, we ran into some more friends who highly recommended the Bulleit Bourbon Bar #bulliet where my friend got a delicious Kentucky Derby drink - yum!!

Michael Franti, Alessia Cara and Vance Joy

Michael Franti & Spearhead #michaelfranti were next on the JaM Cellars Main Stage. We just set our blanket down, got some wine and enjoyed. We missed Tai Verdes and Blu de Tiger, but caught Alessia Cara (think Moana theme song) #alessiacara. Then missed Drew Holcomb & The Neighborhood because Vance Joy #vancejoy was up next on the main stage. We got comfy in our spot and enjoyed Vance Joy.

Some more friends joined us and it was enjoyable to chill there for a while. We did try to make our way to Pit Bull at the Verizon Stage, but it was CRAZY! Obviously a crowd favorite, it was a sea of people to even get to the stage and once in, there was no room to move around, so we headed back to paradise.

Good thing we did because our blanket was parked right by the JaMPad. This small stage allowed us to dance and sing to Michael Franti & Spearhead. He is a regular at Bottlerock and a local to the Northern California area. Michael told stories and gave background to his songs, which included his clear affection for his wife, being real about things not always being easy, and even had his adult son there to sing. It was a cool venue to get up close and personal. I would put Michael Franti & Spearhead on that small stage right up there with twenty one pilots and P!NK as my three favorite performances of the festival.

P!NK

And then you know what happened 2 minutes before schedule? P!NK just started! Smoke filled the stage and she was on!! Because that is who we came for, we had no inkling of seeing the awesome Luke Combs, although he would have been great too. Her show was everything I thought it would be. She was her amazing, authentic self and sang a great variety of her songs from over the years. The first “wow” moment was when her daughter Willow sang “Cover Me in Sunshine”. P!NK just beamed with pride at her daughter the whole time as if the thousands of people were not there. Precious!!! The second “wow” moment happened when a lot of people started heading out. My friend and I beelined close to the front and then it happened…P!NK FLEW!!!! Yep! Right over us. She did this at her last concert a few years ago and she did it again outside in Napa, California at Bottlerock! She is a badass and I loved every moment.

This was the BEST way to end the festival. No silent disco to finish off the night this time.

We headed to our locker to clear it out and I have to admit, I felt a little pang of sadness to know we wouldn’t be coming back the next day. I thoroughly enjoyed every moment and highly recommend this experience. Wow!