(You’re reading Day 2. Be sure to check out Day 1!)
Saturday in Napa dawned bright and sunny for another day of festival fun! My first stop was the Verizon stage, where I caught Holly Humberstone. The girl’s voice is absolutely angelic, and while I only know a few of her songs so far, I enjoyed her performance. She was a treat to start a lovely day, and I was happy to hear both “The Walls Are Way Too Thin” and “Falling Asleep at the Wheel.” You can find the entire setlist here (Verizon; BRNV photos)
Over at the JaM Cellars stage, I discovered that the Cold War Kids (whose music I’ve enjoyed for several years, but who I’d not seen live previously) are, indeed, kids no more. What matters far more was that they sounded great, and I enjoyed catching them live (finally). During “Love is Mystical” at the top of the set, I again noticed how much I think singer Nathan Willett sounds like Elton John on that song. “So Tied Up” and “Hang Me Out to Dry” were fun, too.
A bit later, I finally made my way to the Williams-Sonoma Culinary Stage for the first time this year for Neil Patrick Harris, David Burtka, and Bianca del Rio. NPH and his hubs were introduced as “virgin Bottlerockers;” Neil immediately declared that he had already consumed “so much of the wine.” They marveled at not knowing that Napa was “so bougie.” Apparently, they were expecting “typical” festival food like corn dogs and tater tots, but for us, that’s more of something you’ll find at the Town & Country Fair than a festival designed to attract tourists. Bianca Del Rio graced the stage, announcing that she would like to give a drag makeover to a chef (Andrew Zimmerman) while the other two were cooking and serving the crowd. (And they do a good job of distributing the food and drinks to the crowd, so plenty of fans in the front got to enjoy their treats.) Burtka had decided to “Napa-fy” the kind of snacks they were expecting to find (thus resulting in what they actually discovered instead). He started with chicken fingers, smothered them in creme fraiche, and then topped them with caviar. Next, Burtka topped sweet potato tots with Mornay sauce and shaved black truffle. Meanwhile, Neil was concocting a “Napa-fied” cocktail with lemonade, shiso lemonade, tequila, and liquid nitrogen. It was a thoroughly enjoyable moment and I’m glad I was able to catch it.
Back at JaM Cellars stage, My Morning Jacket played a perfect set for a balmy Napa day. I don’t know any of their songs. Still, the overall vibe was exactly what you’d expect to find at a festival in the middle of the day: chill music you can enjoy while there’s still room to relax on a blanket with something delicious you found at one of the numerous food stands. You can find their setlist here.
I returned to the culinary stage for Jose Andres and Steph Curry (representing his new bourbon business venture, Gentleman’s Cut. (Andres joked that since it’s made of 75% corn, it’s basically “corn on the cob on the rocks.” (I see Andres on Colbert a lot and really enjoy him, but he’s even more fun when you can witness his contagious enthusiasm and silliness in person.) Andres asked the crowd to take a moment of respect for his World Central Kitchen workers who were killed by Israeli airstrikes. Later, Andres began making his fancy version of a Philly cheesesteak, explaining as he did what he was doing and how he was elevating the sandwich. While he was talking, Bradley Cooper and Danny DiGiampietro appeared on stage with their own version. Cooper explained how Danny & Coop’s Cheesesteaks had come to be before he got to passing out foil-wrapped sandwiches to the crowd. Before leaving, Cooper announced that he (and DiGiampietro) would be offering their cheesesteaks “over there” for the next two hours. It was unclear where exactly that might be located, but as luck would have it, I found it without even trying.
Over at the Prudential stage, I caught part of The Record Company’s set. While surveying the crowd, I spied Chef Bradley Cooper working furiously in the Danny & Coops Cheesesteaks booth – and a fairly good-sized line snaking through the surrounding area. I opted for something with a shorter line, but I’m excited to give those cheesesteaks a try another time, and it was fun to catch Cooper in a completely different role (pun intended) than I’m used to. Meanwhile, The Record Company didn’t disappoint and ended up being my favorite set of the night.
The night concluded with headliners Pearl Jam on the JaM Cellars stage. The best part about their set for me was the way they balanced older tunes (“Corduroy,” “Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town,” “Even Flow,” “Alive”) with newer ones (“Wreckage,” “Dark Matter).” Even better, they included their cover of Wayne Cochran’s “Last Kiss” (with Eddie Vedder solo) and concluded their set with a cover of Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World” – featuring Bradley Cooper. You can find the full setlist here.
Stay tuned for Day 3!
