My favorite season (festival) has officially begun! BottleRock Napa Valley 2022 kicked off this past Friday (May 27) with a flurry of great artists. I look forward to this event every year since it brings such great bands right to my hometown, but this year, it’s different. I say that because I can’t believe it’s been three years since I was last here! 2020’s BottleRock was canceled due to COVID, and 2021 was pushed to September. Unfortunately, I had to miss last year due to concerns over the Delta variant, so suffice to say I had been anxiously awaiting a three-day music festival with gorgeous weather for days, at least.
As soon as I picked up my wristbands and got all checked in, my first stop was to visit the three-story Hendricks gin bar for a cocktail. I chatted with the lovely Matthias, who was gracious to coordinate a little photoshoot with all the actors working the site for the day, as well as with two of the brand’s featured cocktails. Hendricks has a new, limited-release gin called Neptunia, so I chose the Neptunia Fizz cocktail featuring it. What’s special about this particular gin is that Hendrick’s master distiller infused it with a blend of “locally sourced coastal botanicals.” I don’t know exactly what that means, but add some yummy citrus to it and I’m in! (Photographed with Matthias is the Sun God, which is the OG Hendricks gin with Lillet Blanc, cucumber and lemon – yum!)
Next I made a quick stop to visit the ladies of D.R.E.A.M. Doughnuts, who can be hard to catch at the local farmers market on Saturday mornings (or the doughnuts can be, at least). It was hard to choose just one, but I eventually settled on the delectable Calamansi Meringue Pie (calamansi is a Philippine citrus). Filled with calamansi curd and topped with toasted meringue and graham cracker crumbs, it was all I wanted it to be and then some.
With a belly full of sugar and alcohol, I was ready to start my day and headed over to the Verizon stage to catch The Alive. These kids never disappoint, and while the bass player who put them on my radar has since moved on and joined another band, they’re still pretty great. Their set included originals and covers, including a solid version of Tool’s “Schism.” I’ve been watching these kids play this festival since they were 11 or 12, and now they’re about 17. It’s pretty fun to watch the evolution of the band, and I’ll likely stop to check them out every year they’re here.
My next band was MisterWives, who were fun and full of energy. Singer Mandy Lee in particular was pretty entertaining, even if at times it was hard to follow her with my camera as she bounced all over the stage.
Unfortunately, I had to miss part of their set due to needing to eat, but I’m sure the rest of their performance was just as much fun for the crowd as the part I got to see. I headed over to The Q Restaurant & Bar’s tent for some amazing fried chicken sliders. I was happy to have a little time to find my brother and some friends before hurrying to catch Spoon at the JaM Cellars stage. While I’ve known about this band for over a decade, this was the first time I’ve ever been able to see them live, and they were worth the wait. Frontman Britt Daniel has a lot of swagger and is fun to watch, even when he’s not singing. Bonus: just after they started their set, the crowd began trying to get the attention of the band, as someone in the crowd was hurt or otherwise needed attention. Members of the band noticed quickly and stopped their set so that security could help the woman get assistance. This kind of thing always says a lot to me, as I really appreciate people working together to help each other out. Just as I was leaving the pit after snapping some photos, Spoon began one of my favorite of their songs, “The Hardest Cut,” which was everything I wanted it to be. I was more than happy to find a friend and sit on the lawn to enjoy the sunshine and the rest of the set.
Next up was Royal and the Serpent on the Truly stage. Unfortunately, I didn’t have much time to stay to enjoy their set or take many photos, and the band was late getting started, too. I only managed to catch one song before I had to leave, though I would have loved to be able to watch the whole thing (or at least more of it)! I was particularly sad to miss their recent hit “Overwhelmed” – it’s such a fantastic earworm, and I love the honesty with which Ryan Santiago expresses her experiences with sensory overload.
My favorite band of the day turned out to be the amazing CHVRCHES. I’ve been a fan of theirs for years, but this was the first time I’ve seen them live, and I loved it. Singer Lauren Mayberry was perfection on stage, not just vocally, but the girl knows how to pose for the photographers. She’s super photogenic and entertaining, which only made the set more enjoyable. After “He Said, She Said,” Mayberry told a little story about having discovered a little “schmutz” on her dress just before they were headed to the stage. Unfortunately, the towel she grabbed to wipe it off with had fake blood on it from a previous gig, so it made things worse instead of better. By the time she made it to the stage there were no stains or spots that I could see, so I guess all’s well that ends well. Other highlights of their set included “Forever,” “Leave a Trace,” and “Miracle.”
Finally, I was ready to end a long, lovely festival day with a headliner I’d been wanting to see for not years, but decades: Metallica! Growing up, they were my older brother’s favorite band, and 40 years later he still loves them. I met up with him again and we found the best spot we could for the set. To say that they did not disappoint would be an understatement because they were unbelievable. You know how sometimes you go see a band you’ve never seen before and realize you know almost every song? For me, Metallica was almost the opposite, as I knew fewer songs than I was expecting, but they were so damn good anyway, I didn’t really care. After a handful of songs including “Wherever I May Roam” and “Seek and Destroy,” frontman James Hetfield addressed the massive crowd to say hello. He made mention of someone having had a baby at a Metallica show once and went on to explain that they had a “Metallica maternity tent” all set up in case anyone needed it, fully stocked with scissors, towels, hot water, etc. I really enjoyed his sense of humor throughout the night, as well as the spirit of truly caring about their fans that I was able to glean from the way Hetfield speaks to the audience.
“How many people have seen Metallica before?” Hetfield asked, to a cheer from those who have seen them at other shows. “How many of you are seeing Metallica for the very first time?” Another massive cheer. “It’s the same people! Wait, hands up again, lemme see…”
Other highlights from their set included “Sad But True,” “The Unforgiven” (after which Hetfield implored, “please forgive yourselves!”) “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” and “Nothing Else Matters,” but it was the last song of the night that I most wanted to hear: “Enter Sandman,” of course. I absolutely enjoyed watching such a talented, seasoned band just crush their 2-hour set, but I’ll be honest and say that no matter how much I liked them, the best part was far and away watching my brother enjoy them – he absolutely couldn’t get enough, and it was a joy to behold. It really was an epic performance, and I’m so happy I can finally say I’ve crossed seeing Metallica live off my bucket list.
While I don’t have video of Metallica’s own performance of this amazing song, I couldn’t help but flashback to BRNV’s first year back in 2013, when the Zac Brown Band did an unforgettable cover of the song. For anyone interested, you can check that out here.
That’s it for Day 1. It was home for a snack and a quick shower before bed. Stay tuned for Day 2 (Saturday) and Day 3 (Sunday)!
