Bottlerock 2018 - Napa, CA

Bottlerock 2018

Napa, CA

We finally made it! What a long day to get to Napa after a stop in Downtown Oakland for some adulting. I've been up since 4am, packed and in the car and we made it to Oakland by 8am. Had some starbucks, took care of some business and then off to Napa! We made it in plenty of time to see the shows starting at 1pm. Now that this is my third year here and Chris's fifth, we've got this festival thing down! We know just what to wear, what to bring and what to eat. This year I did some pre-planning and obtained a letter from my doctor that I had "food sensitivities" and had to bring in my own food. I came pre-loaded with a small ice chest and all of my food to stay on program. Tune salad with chipotle 'Bitchin sauce' and an olive/artichoke tapenade from Clif all on homemade paleo bread. Plenty of fruit, nuts, carrots and bars for snacks. Bottlerock has some amazing food, wine and beer, but I was trying to be good, stay on program and it's a lot less expensive! 

We started the day at the Midway Stage seeing Flor. Some good mellow tunes. 

Great way to start the day. 

The entire lineup! We will see how many of these we can see this year. 

The beer and wine selections at this event are amazing. The one bar has more than 30 beers on tap!

Hardest part is trying to decide what to eat and drink. 

The lineup for today. 

After seeing Flor and having a snack, we made our way over to the Miner Stage to see Jukebox the Ghost. We are both big fans. The first song that they played "Girl" brought on such an emotional response from Chris. I remember early in our relationship when he sent me that song. It really meant a lot. It's a great song with some awesome lyrics. Love it! Bring on the Hustzkergies! 

Ben Thornwill on piano. He was pretty amazing. 

We really enjoyed their set.

Some art by the main gate. All made from wine barrel staves. 

The crowds aren't too thick yet and they've retained the grass from last year. Yay. Makes for a comfortable time hanging out at the main stage. The is looking over towards the Food Garden. 

Up towards the front of the stage looking towards the back. Crowds are really starting to roll in. The clouds are also staying around. 

4am is really catching up with me. I'm rolled up like a burrito and am passed out! Chris was nice to look after me and cover me up when it started raining. 

And then all of a sudden I could hear Earth Wind & Fire start playing. Boom, I'm up and dancing! 

What a great show!! 

These songs have stood the test of time and the band sounded great. 

Taking some time out to pick up some freebies at the Kind Booth, get some $1 swag from an apple booth and grab some food. Chainsmokers are the closers for us tonight! 

We were back and forth between Muse and Chainsmokers, but decided to see Chainsmokers. About 10 minutes into the show, I questioned our decision. It was more of a DJ set. It did get better as it went on and they had an amazing set with the background changing constantly, fireworks, fire, smoke machines and lasers. 

Their sets were pretty amazing. 

By the end of the set, we were enjoying it more and more. Was a fun show and we got in plenty of dancing. 

And with the clouds parting for a brief moment to see the moon, this is the end of Day 1

We had such a great time! Now we are both soooo ready to head back to the hotel to bed. Getting up at 4am makes for a loooong day. 

DAY 2

We are rested and ready to dance! Great lineup today and the weather is still a little cloudy, not too hot and no rain in the forecast. Should make for a great day! 

Oh how different this will look in just a few hours... 

First band. The Aces

They are an all girl band. Great music. Don't know many of their songs, but they were fun to listen to. 

Festivaling is hard work... 

We ended up napping a bit near the middle of the venue and listened to numerous groups of young girls screaming and jumping around. So, nap time wasn't terribly productive. We decided to check out Oh Wonder at the Midway Stage. We've seen them before at Ace of Spades. Great band. They were looking directly into the sun, but were making the best of it. Great show. 

Iron Chef Morimoto and Barry Bonds breaking down a huge Tuna. 

We went back over to Jam Cellers where we will spend the rest of the evening. 

Bleachers had a great set! He had great energy and was fun to watch. 

The closers tonight. 

The Killers 

We decided to back up and listen to them from farther away and have easy access out of the venue. 

That wasn't the best call as the acoustics were back and had an echo. Won't do that again... 

DAY 3

By Day 3, we have this down to a science. However, we switched front gates and they were not as easy to get my "food restricted diet" ice chest through. With a little bit of persuasion, we were quickly back through security and on our way to another fun day of dancing and fun! 

Cloud cover is gone and the weather is heating up! Going to be a hot one today and the main Jam Cellars stage is full sun. Time for hats and sunscreen. 

First up is Magic Giant! They had a great set. 

We made our way over to Lagunitas to escape the sun and chill out for a bit. We ended up catching the set with Marty O'Reilly and The Old Soul Orchestra. They were pretty fun. Not what we expected and we both enjoyed it. 

Next up at Lagunitas is Amy Shark. Her set wasn't quite as energetic or entertaining as we'd hoped. It seemed her only song that we know is the one "Adore" and she saved it for last. By then we were on our way to the car to drop off gear and lighten up for the evening. We have a long evening ahead. 

Halseys songs didn't disappoint, but her stage presence was lacking. Felt bad that he band was tucked away under the scaffolding and she reserved the entire stage for herself. It was a little more than she could handle. Thankfully, we know her music and still enjoying listening to her songs. 

The crowds have begun to get closer to the stage. Bruno Mars closing out the festival. People are staging for a long night ahead and we are right in there with them. 

As we work our way closer and closer to the stage, the crowd gets younger, rowdier and closer. We are crammed in like sardines. It's ok, I'm here to see Bruno Mars too! 

Woohoo!! It's going to be a long wait as we stand smooshed in between all the 20 somethings.

Bruno Mars!! 

What a great show he put on! He really does a great job entertaining the crowd. You can tell he is serious about his performances and his band was right there with him. What a great time! 

As far as smashing into the front of the stage, not sure I'd do that again with so many hours of standing and waiting. Was a killer on the feet, knees and back. Oh man, I sound old.... NOT! 

Got lots and lots of dancing in though. 

Bottlerock was again an amazing festival. I can't imagine how we would ever tire of coming here and enjoying this venue, music and atmosphere! 

See you in 2019 Bottlerock!