BottleRock Napa Valley, Metallica are a great pairing
Fans went more than 27 months between BottleRock Napa Valley festivals.
When they finally returned to the festival site in September it was for the first time since May 2019. For many music lovers, it felt even longer than that as the pandemicfueled pause in live performances and large gatherings just stretched on and on.
Fortunately, fans didn't have to wait long at all for this year's edition, which was moved back to its regular Memorial Day weekend spot and thus came just a little over eight months after the 2021 event.
To say that fans like that shorter wait better is a vast understatement. Judging by the number of happy faces, sunny singalongs and fist bumps/hugs witnessed Friday as the three-day festival kicked off, these fans absolutely adored being back at the Napa Valley Expo site so soon.
The only thing that seemed to outnumber the smiling faces was the huge amount of black Metallica T-shirts in the crowd.
The best-selling Bay Area band of all time was the biggest selling point of Day 1. Yet, there were plenty of other good reasons for turning out, including Scottish synth-pop act Chvrches, South Carolina country-blues-soul rocker Marcus King, Oakland blues-R&B talent Fantastic Negrito, Norwegian DJ-producer Kygo and Los Angeles hard-rock band Dorothy.
Day 1's lineup skewed a bit more to hard rock, with Japanese psychedelic-rock act Kikagaku Moyo, Greta Van Fleet, the Alive and Bastardane further adding to the headbanging mix. Day 2 offered
Twenty One Pilots and the supergroup Mount Westmore — featuring hip-hop legends Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, E-40 and Too $hort — at the top of the bill. And Day 3 Sunday offers arguably the most starstudded lineup, with Pink, Luke Combs and Pitbull ready to greet the crowd.
Then there are all of the Wine Country food and drink options, which are — to put it mildly — quite bountiful at the festival. The best place to get in on the foodie fun is at the increasingly popular Williams Sonoma Culinary Stage, which pairs sports and music stars with celebrity chefs. It's hosted by Liam “Foodie Chap” Mayclem and this year's lineup includes such famed participants as San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle, Oakland A's legend Rickey Henderson, Day 3 mainstage headliner Pink and phenomenally popular country artist Luke Combs.
Day 1 got off to a strong start as Dorothy — the hard-rock act led by terrific vocalist Dorothy Martin — kicked off the festivities on the main JaM Cellars Stage right at noon.
“OK, BottleRock — you are about to have a (expletive) great day!” Martin told the crowd.
Another distinct highlight was Marcus King, who lived up to the massive hype (and then some) as he delivered one amazing country-blues-soul-rock number after another.
His voice was stellar, while his guitar work even better and he fronted a phenomenal band. Besides showcasing material from his own Grammy-nominated catalog, King also gave the crowd superb covers of Crowded House's “Don't Dream It's Over” and Heart's “Barracuda,” with sensational guest vocalist Hannah Wicklund handling Ann Wilson high-flying part.
For the uninitiated, please waste no time in climbing aboard the Marcus King bandwagon — because it's already crowded and it's only going to grow more so.
Metallica closed the day in triumphant fashion with an approximately two-hour set that was filled with such classics as “Seek and Destroy,” “Fade to Black,” “For Whom the Bell Tolls” and “Sad but True.”
“Metallica is extremely grateful to be here after 41 years,” vocalistguitarist James Hetfield told the crowd, which seemed to be split about equally between Metallica concert veterans and first-timers. “We don't take it for granted.”
The quartet — Hetfield, lead guitarist Kirk Hammett, bassist Robert Trujillo and drummer Lars Ulrich — closed an epic main set with a thundering version of “Master of Puppets,” then returned for a three-song encore that finished up with “Enter Sandman.”
BottleRock Napa Valley continues through today. The festival is sold out, but the event's website has a ticket exchange service. Visit bottlerocknapavalley.com for details.