Here’s how to see the best at BottleRock Napa Valley.
It won’t exactly be business as usual when tens of thousand of fans descend upon BottleRock Napa Valley over Labor Day weekend. There will be some noticeable changes — most of which are being implemented for safety reasons as the live music world continues to adapt to COVID-19-related challenges.
The biggest difference, of course, is that fans will have to show proof of a full vaccination or negative COVID-19 test — taken within 72 hours of each day they’re attending — in order to enter the festival grounds at the Napa Valley Expo in downtown Napa. (For more information regarding entry and other safety concerns, go to bottlerocknapavalley.com/health-safety.)
Once these BottleRockers actually get inside, however, things should feel a little more normal — well, at least as normal as things can feel during a pandemic.
That means that people can concentrate on making the most of the three days — Friday through Sunday — and try to experience as much good music as possible.
We’re here to help with that goal, offering up this handy hour-by-hour guide to the BottleRock Napa Valley. Fans can follow along to find out exactly where they should be — what artists they should be seeing — at this jam-packed festival featuring Miley Cyrus, Polo G, Guns N’ Roses, Megan Thee Stallion, Chris Stapleton, Foo Fighters and so many other cool acts
For more information, go to bottlerocknapavalley.com.
Day One, Friday
NOON-2 P.M. >> The goal is to maximize every moment of your BottleRock Napa Valley experience, so make sure to arrive early enough to catch the excellent Lily Meola open the JaM Cellars Stage at noon. Watch the whole 40-minute set by this Maui singer-songwriter — who has been mentored by the likes of Willie Nelson and Jackson Browne — then swing by the Plaza Stage for 15 minutes of bluesy rocker Peter Harper.
Get back to JaM Cellars for the second Hawaiian musical treat of the day — Crimson Apple — holding court on BottleRock’s biggest stage from 1-1:45 p.m. Enjoy about 25 minutes of these Oahu siblings — who blend K-pop, J-rock and other styles in their songs — before heading over to catch the last half of the performance by indiepop act Oliver Riot on the Verizon Stage.
2-4 P.M. >> As Oliver Riot winds down, beeline straight for the multitalented Suki Waterhouse, the model/actress/photographer/ entrepreneur/vocalist who should still have 20-30 minutes left in her set on the Plaza Stage.
From Waterhouse, race over to the Verizon Stage to watch the cool electro-pop trio Muna perform from roughly 2:30 p.m. to, let’s say, 3:15 p.m. Then quickly round back to JaM Cellars to get a good spot to watch the legendary Mavis Staples take things to a whole nother level at 3:30 p.m.
4-6 P.M. >> People shouldn’t miss a single syllable of Mavis Staples’ set, so stay put until she finishes up — and then wait around another couple of minutes just to make sure you don’t miss an encore. After that, rush over to see 10-15 minutes of Denver indiefolk act DeVotchKa on the Plaza Stage before turning right around for the start of Maren Morris’ 5 p.m. set at JaM Cellars.
6-8 P.M. >> Having soaked up Morris’ great pop-country sounds for a full hour, get ready to groove with New Orleans hip-hop bounce music expert Big Freedia on the Truly Stage. Stick with Freedia until 6:30 p.m. and then — once again — it’s back to JaM Cellars, this time to see Brandi Carlile.
Yet, don’t get too comfortable at Carlile. After 20 minutes or so, it’s time to march over for Polo G — one of the best hip-hop artists in the game today — who performs on the Verizon Stage from 7-8 p.m.
8 P.M. TO CLOSE >> After grooving to Polo G for an hour, it’s back to JaM Cellars one more time to see country superstar Chris Stapleton, a late addition to the lineup, nicely filling the headliner slot after Stevie Nicks canceled due to COVID-19 concerns.
Spend an hour with Stapleton before ending Day One with some fun hip-hop from Oakland’s own G-Eazy, who performs 8:30-10 p.m. on the Verizon Stage.
Those who prefer DJ music are excused from Stapleton/G-Eazy to go enjoy James Murphy on the Plaza Stage or DJ Z-Trip versus Rob Garza on the Truly Stage.
Day Two, Saturday
NOON-2 P.M. >> Kick off the second day of BottleRock with the razor-sharp, retro-inspired rock sounds of JJ Wilde — which should appeal to fans of both Heart or Halestorm — at noon at JaM Cellars. Although we’ve yet to see her in concert, we’re pretty confident that fans will want to stick around for the entire 45-minute set.
After Wilde winds down, let’s walk over to the Verizon stage for 15-20 minutes of Otto — the thrash-metal-funk outfit featuring Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo’s son Tye — and then head back to JaM Cellars for the last half hour of indie-pop singersongwriter Mondo Cozmo’s set.
2-4 P.M. >> There’s no one act that’s really drawing our interest during most of this time block, so we recommend spending the first 100 minutes or so just walking the grounds and checking in on what’s going on at each of the stages. Who knows? Maybe S8NT Elektric (2-2:40 p.m. Verizon Stage) or the Last Bandoleros (2:15-3:15 p.m. Plaza Stage) might end up wowing.
Things will change, and our interest level skyrockets, once G-funk icon Warren G takes the JamPad Stage at 3:45 p.m.
4-6 P.M. >> Stick with the West Coast hiphop legend for his entire set, then sprint over to the Truly Stage to catch the last few songs by Reignwolf, a blues-rock act heavy enough to once open for the mighty Black Sabbath.
Next up, it might be tempting to go with indie-rockers Young the Giant at JaM Cellars. Yet, we’re recommending you hit the Verizon Stage instead to see talented SoCal pop star Olivia O’Brien, who is best known for collaborating with Gnash on the single “I Hate U, I Love U.”
You’ll likely get 20-25 minutes of O’Brien before heading over to see indie-rock vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Meg Myers at 5 p.m. on the Truly Stage.
6-8 P.M. >> As soon as Myers finishes up, it’s off to promising pop/R&B star Dominic Fike, who should be midway through his set on the Verizon Stage. Make a quick stop with alt-rockers White Reaper on the Truly Stage, then spend 20 minutes enjoying Run the Jewels on the Verizon Stage. Why are we only allotting the Jewels 20 minutes? Because we want you to be back at JaM Cellars at 7:30 p.m. for the start of theGunsN’Rosesset.
8 P.M.-CLOSE >> OK, here’s when things get really complicated. We would love to watch the whole GNR set, but we also don’t want to miss any of Miley Cyrus on the Verizon Stage or Digable Planets on the Plaza Stage. Obviously, something has got to give, so let’s split things up.
Let’s go with the first 45 minutes of GNR, then 15 minutes at the Planets and 15 minutes with Cyrus, hopefully leaving us enough time to circle back to JaM Cellars in time to hear GNR’s Slash play those epic guitar solos in “Sweet Child O’ Mine” and “November Rain.” The band has been playing those two classics late in sets — and back to back — on this tour, so our plan might end up actually working. (Or it might not. No promises.)
Day Three, Sunday
NOON-2 P.M. >> It’s the last day of BottleRock, so let’s make it count and catch as much live music as possible. Start off promptly at noon at JaM Cellars with the Alive, the young California rock outfit that counts Black Sabbath and Herbie Hancock among its influences. Give the Alive 30 minutes or so and then move over to the Plaza Stage for the last third of the set from intriguing NorCal country/Americana act Obsidian Son.
Then rock back on over to JaM Cellars to spend 25 minutes or so with powerful and soulful vocalist Donna Missal, before another dose of country music — from Buffalo Gospel — at the Plaza Stage.
2-4 P.M. >> Stick with Buffalo Gospel through the close of its set, then make sure to catch Burlington, Vermont, hip-hop collective 99 Neighbors, who take over the Truly Stage from 2:15-3:15 p.m.
Jam over the Plaza Stage for some good ol’ Bay Area psychedelic rock, courtesy of Full Moonalice, then beeline straight back to JaM Cellars for Jimmy Eat World.
4-6 P.M. >> Hopefully you made it to Jimmy Eat World in time to hear “The Middle” — aka, the greatest pop-punk song released in this millennium — which should put some major bounce in your step as you move over to indie-folk act Watchhouse on the Plaza Stage.
Give Watchouse about a half hour, then head straight to the Black Pumas, the 2020 best new artist Grammy contenders who perform 4:45-5:45 p.m. at JaM Cellars. By that point, it’ll be time to visit the Plaza Stage for New Orleans music great Jon Batiste, who won the Oscar for best original score (with Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross) for his work on the DisneyPixar
film “Soul.”
6-8 P.M. >> There’s almost too much competing for our attention over the next few hours, so we’ll need to make wise decisions and move quickly.
First wise decision is to be at the Plaza Stage at 7:15 p.m. to catch Turkuaz. The Brooklyn funk/rock/soul outfit is celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Talking Heads’ amazing fourth studio album — “Remain in Light” — and it’ll do so with the help of Adrian Belew and the Heads’ own Jerry Harrison.
8 P.M.-CLOSE >> As great as it would be to see that whole Turkuaz set, the Foo Fighters are now calling. So move over to JaM Cellars and give Dave Grohl and company until 8:30 p.m., before departing early to see the amazing Megan Thee Stallion on the Verizon Stage. She’s on for 90 minutes — and she’s worth every second of that — but there’s still more roadwork ahead for us.
With that in mind, stick with mighty Megan until 9 p.m. and then boogie over to the Plaza Stage for — oh, yeah! — the Village People.
Whether or not you get to hear “Y.M.C.A.” — and we certainly hope that you do — plan on leaving the Village People around 9:30 p.m. and then close out the 2021 BottleRock Napa Valley back with the Foo Fighters.