(You’re reading Day 3. Be sure to check out Day 1 and Day 2!)
The last day of BottleRock Napa Valley 2024 started out warm and clear. Despite arriving at the Napa Valley Expo a bit later than the two days preceding, I had a full day planned. First up was The Beaches at the JaM Cellars stage. I almost missed this set because the band name didn’t ring a bell. Fortunately, another photographer mentioned that they were an all-girl band, which caused me to take a minute to look them up. As soon as I did, I realized that this was a band I’d been hearing recently (“Blame Brett”), so I tagged along to check them out. They’re a fairly high-energy pop-rock band serving plenty of attitude, and their set was a good time. The ladies of the band were cracking me up as they first took the stage, talking about wine hangovers and being “so ready to crush some grapes later!” They were trying to function after one hour of sleep, guitarist Leandra Earl explained, due to having played Red Rocks the previous night. “Who’s ready to be hungover again tomorrow?” lead vocalist Jordan Miller asked as they began “Grow Up Tomorrow.” BRNV is pretty good at putting the right bands at the right times, and this was no exception. You can find their entire setlist here.
While in the pit shooting the ladies of The Beaches, I caught sight of a perfect example of fun festival fashion: an older woman fully decked out in fun, brightly colored satin pajamas. It was such a fun ensemble that I felt it had to be included in my review. This is what I love about festival fashion: literally anything goes, as long as you feel comfortable enough in it to rock the confidence needed to pull it off. This lady was absolutely doing that, and while I was already fairly comfortable, she made me jealous that I hadn’t thought to attend in my pajamas, too.
Over at the Verizon stage a bit later for Cannons, I overheard a cluster of teenage girls gushing to someone running social media for BRNV about how much they loved Cannons. (“No, you don’t understand…”) It was such sweet, earnest love for a band that it tugged at my heartstrings as I waited for the set to begin. Believe me, I know what it’s like to love a musician or band that much. I’m still thinking about those ladies a day later and hoping that the performance was everything they wanted it to be. While I did enjoy Cannons, I think that was due at least in part to the sentiment I’d overheard as it was about to begin that their overall set really brought a smile to my face. (Ladies, I emailed you some photos – I hope you enjoy!)
Back at JaM Cellars stage, I was excited to see Stephen Sanchez. I was already familiar with a few of his singles (“Until I Found You” and most recently, “High”), so I was looking forward to enjoying him live. When he first appeared, I giggled at a comment from the crowd behind me (a mention of his “Canadian tuxedo,” as he was decked out in a chambray shirt with jeans). Regardless of his fashion choices, I absolutely loved him. Sanchez is easy on the eyes, not to mention quite charming, and I enjoyed his dancing during his set as well. He turned out to be a pretty great performer (and it’s not easy to command the stage by yourself for this size crowd, even if you are playing with a full band)! I will be looking to catch him on the road again in the future because he was the first highlight of my day.
I was back at the JaM Cellars stage for Norah Jones a bit later. As soon as she started singing, I swooned a little. Even though I’m familiar with her current single (“Running”), not to mention several of her hits from over the past two decades, I’d forgotten just how smoky and gorgeous she sounds. I’d never seen her live before, and I was not disappointed. I’m happy that Jones is back with new music, and her set was lovely for the middle of the day.
As the sun was finally starting to descend (thus taking the hottest part of the day with it), I was back at the Verizon stage for The Offspring. This is one of several bands that make up the soundtrack to my high school years, so I was really looking forward to seeing them live. Not only did they come out with fantastic, enthusiastic energy, but they sounded excellent as well. They came out strong with “Come Out and Play.” After the first few songs, frontman Dexter Holland paused to soak up the crowd’s energy: “That is what I’m fuckin’ talkin’ about!” While I never managed to catch them live in the ’90s, their sound is every bit as tight now as I expect it was in their heyday. Their cover of The Ramones’ “Blitzkrieg Bop” was a particularly fun moment. The band paused to joke about the energy, with Holland remarking, “This is either one of the best moments of my entire life, or I’m just incredibly high from all the weed being smoked in this crowd!” Not missing a beat, guitarist Noodles said, “Why pick one when it could be both?!” He also went on to say that he’d read on the internet that there were 1,340,506 people in attendance. Holland suggested that that number couldn’t be right, but agreed they were performing for a “choir of earthbound angels” either way. They even managed to squeeze in a special guest, an “up and coming” musician they had discovered to be a big fan of their band: Ed Sheeran. Evidently, one of The Offspring’s first albums was the first CD Sheeran ever bought, and he’d grown up on their music. Since he was there to headline the evening, they’d invited him to join them on “Million Miles Away.” Despite enjoying both acts, I wasn’t really sure what to expect, but I have to say: it was pretty fun to watch them together, as Sheeran was clearly enjoying the experience, and they seemed to be impressed with him (and perhaps flattered that he’s such a fan). Overall, The Offspring’s set was one of the best I saw all weekend. You can find their setlist here.
The night was winding down, but BottleRock Napa Valley 2024 wouldn’t end without a bang: Queens of the Stone Age headlined the Verizon stage, and they sounded excellent. Their biggest hit, “No One Knows,” came fairly early in their set, as did their recent release, “Emotion Sickness,” and I was thrilled to hear both live. I will be looking for a chance to catch them on the road soon, but I was glad I got to catch as much as I did. You can check out their setlist here.
Finally, I was back at the JaM Cellars stage for the last act of the weekend: Ed Sheeran. He began with “Castle on the Hill,” after which he took a moment to explain what he does. For those who don’t know, Ed is a one-man spectacular. He doesn’t play with a live band or backing tracks; he creates everything on the spot with a looper pedal (vocals, guitar riffs, etc) and then layers them. He explained that this is done at each show, so they vary from place to place, as nothing is recorded or saved – everything is created ad hoc and on the spot. Perfectly proving his point, he realized that the keyboard (which he needed for the next song he’d planned to play) was not on. He laughed about it and went on to another song, promising to have sound techs fix the keyboard issue so he could return to that one later. Ed is really fun to watch, and I don’t know that I’ve ever seen anyone do quite what he does. On top of that, his vocals are fantastic. I think he’s a brilliant songwriter who’s both funny and charming. He played a great set, which was a perfect end to BRNV 24. The entire setlist is here.
I didn’t pay much attention to which artists were scheduled to play on which day, but Sunday packed a punch and made the weekend for me. It’s always a bittersweet end to a long, fun, sweaty weekend, but as usual, I can’t wait to do it all again next year. See you there!
