BottleRock Day 3 Closes Festival with Solid Performances
BottleRock Day 3 Closes Festival with Solid Performances
Anyone from NorCal knows that during Memorial Day weekend BottleRock Music Festival is a big deal. Napa Valley brings its finest wine vendors and even better performers for their three day event. Opening day Stevie Nicks braced the stage, then Pearl Jam rocked it on Saturday night, and sold out closer for Sunday was our favorite red-head pop star Ed Sheeran. I was there for Day 3 of BottleRock and it was definitely an experience. I attended BottleRock last year, but the 2024 lineup was superb, especially the last day!
Gates opened around 11am and the first act kicked off at noon with local artist Jared Harper who said he’s been attending the festival for many years as a kid, but this was the first year he’s played as a performer on stage and he was living his dream. Across the Truly Stage is the Jam Cellars Stage where all the big main acts play. I headed over to see rising UK band The Tors who mentioned this was their first time in America. I hope they return again as a headliner in a Bay Area venue because they have a promising career and they’re already on the right path. When their set wrapped, I walked over to see electro-pop duo and married couple Jane Leo. They’re no strangers to festivals since they’ve played at Austin City Limits. They certainly know how to direct an audience and get them pumped. They recently went on tour with another blossoming band Cannons who were set to play at the Verizon stage.
That walk was a stretch since more people arrived and gathered in lines for food and drinks. Nonetheless, I was up close to seeing my fav band who I’ve seen countless times. Michelle Joy of Cannons has her own Stevie Nicks aura where she shines on stage and so does her outfit. I left a couple songs early to catch breakout singer Stephen Sanchez whose song “Until I Found You” exploded him to our radar. What makes Stephen Sanchez so unique is his nostalgic 50s style. I was hoping to see him in a 50s wardrobe, but it was warming up in Napa Valley so I don’t blame him for dressing casually. I also appreciated that BottleRock had plenty of water and sunscreen stations so we could stay hydrated and not get toast. Norah Jones came after with her soothing voice and her piano playing skills. In the same area, Canadian all-girl band The Beaches played an acoustic set that drew an intimate crowd.
Back on Jam Cellars, actor/artist Dominic Fike (seen on the series Euphoria) had a dynamic delivery and dominated the stage with his presence plus his sense of humor was a highlight. Even though I was bummed he didn’t play his known hit “3 Nights”. Then the moment all Bottlerockers were waiting for — Ed Sheeran to busk on stage! He sold out Levi’s Stadium so of course he packed BottleRock. Earlier that day, he made a surprise appearance during The Offspring set but it was finally his time to go solo. Strumming to “Castle on the Hill” the sheerios (Ed Sheeran fans) humming and screaming to the lyrics. Just when he was getting ready to jam out to “Shivers” he had a minor technical difficulty with his keyboards, but that didn’t stop Ed. The “Perfect” singer knew how to improvise. He played his songs acoustically, covered Justin Bieber’s “Love Yourself” (Sheeran wrote), and did plenty of mashups to stretch his time until his techs fixed his keyboard. That’s the level Ed Sheeran is at; he’s truly talented and a professional. From there he went on to sing his charting singles: “Don’t”, “Thinking Out Loud”, “Photograph”, etc. Amazing to see this artist who began his career performing on street corners and pubs became a BottleRock headliner, in which Ed Sheeran stated was the best music festival.