By: Valerie Milano
Napa Valley, CA (The Hollywood Times) 5/25/2024 – If you have never been to a festival, it is difficult to imagine the organized mayhem that is opening day. The organizers are running amok trying to make sure the schedule is being kept. The entertainment is in a constant state of flux, with some acts arriving and getting ready to go on, while others are loading up and heading out.
It’s a well-oiled machine, functioning at peak performance to make the experience one to remember for the fans who have paid good money to attend.
Then there are those events where everything and anything that can go wrong, does go wrong.
Rest assured, 2024 BottleRock music, food, wine and brew festival is, without a doubt, the well-oiled machine that is putting a smile on everyone’s face. The 11th incarnation of this popular event got off to an outstanding start on Friday, filling picturesque Napa with a party atmosphere of mammoth proportions.
This is our second BottleRock festival, having attended last year; that was an experience to remember and one we definitely were not going to miss this year. The three days of wine, celebrities and song kicked off Friday with a bang, bringing the best in music and liquid entertainment to Napa Valley for another awesome weekend.
See our exclusive video here with Naima Nascimento:
Out first day was a challenge as we were set to see 10 acts and conduct a live interview (as well as a Zoom for a movie review, we’re working on), and we were up to the test, kicking things off with two performances and an interview with 14-year-old singer/songwriter Naima. What a delightful young artist. She has it in her to go far!
Another young talent we could not miss was Bay Area DJ Michael Milano, a personal favorite of ours! Michael spun two sets, the first set a silent “disco,” where everyone wears wireless headphones, and the music is broadcast to the headphones. His second set was a traditional DJ set, and we may be prejudiced, but we thought he was fantastic, and so did the crowd!
But the queen of the night was Stevie Nicks, the legendary singer/songwriter from Fleetwood Mac, who thrilled the crowd in the night’s climactic performance with an assortment of her hits.
Her 90-minute set included Fleetwood Mac hits “Gypsy” and “Rhiannon,” as well as her signature solo hits “Edge of Seventeen” and “Stand Back.”
The crowed responded to her with enthusiasm, particularly when she belted out covers of Led Zeppelin’s “Rock and Roll” and Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth.”
Meanwhile, on an adjacent stage, the hip-hop crowd got its groove on with a high-energy performance by Megan Thee Stallion, who stepped back from her inaugural tour as a headliner to perform here for the second time.
Megan treated the crowd to a generous sampling of new material, including recent singles like “Hiss,” “Cobra” and “BOA,” as well as hits “Thot S—” and “Savage.” The music was tight, and the costumes and choreography sent an electric charge through the crowd.
Meanwhile, on the festival’s Williams Sonoma Culinary Stage, celebrity Bay Area chef Tyler Florence and Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee wowed the crowd by cooking some tomahawk steaks over an open fire. That show got an extra boost of crazy from a cameo by Neil Patrick Harris, bringing the performance to a legendary level that no one will soon forget.
No one was into being outshined on this day as St. Vincent, Bebe Rexha and Nelly also performed to an incendiary level, igniting the enthusiastic first-day crowd, and with the wine and food flowing, the 2024 edition of BottleRock was off to a start that promises two more days of amazing!
