2015 BottleRock Festival Preview

Over the past few years, The Pier has been fortunate enough to be able to spend most of May in California at several great music festivals. For the first time, this year The Pier will head up to Napa for BottleRock. An event quickly gaining attention for its sensuous blend of multiple art-forms, the 2015 edition is set to feature 70+ musical acts and over 20 infamous Chefs & Sommeliers.

The Site and Location:

A multi-day festival happening Friday May 29 through Sunday May 31, the event will once again be hosted at the 26-acre Napa Valley Expo center. Set in the core of wine-country, in the historic downtown of Napa, California, today this town, known as an all encompassing gastro-lounge, with is mildly sunny weather is the perfect place for this type of event. Fusing savory food & drink and fine arts with live music , BottleRock has grown to offer quite an unique experience. More than just another weekend outing, this event is one we are more than excited to add to our list this summer.

Created in 2013, in its inception, BottleRock, advertised as a ‘comedy music festival’ was described to SFweekely by now ousted co-founder Gabe Meyers as a connoisseur’s festival — a rock show for people with a palate. After a transitional year in 2014, and once again switching its dates and down-sizing to a 3-day weekend, this event is still trying to find a solid identity. Three years later the festival’s new promoters, a group of Napa entrepreneurs known as Latitude 38, have wisely cut the comics in favor of dedicated focus to showcase a taste of what Napa is all about.

Dubbed the Happiest city in the U.S. Napa is home to over 70 restaurants, 20+ wine tasting rooms, 41 lodging properties, camping areas and various recreation along its namesake river. Now featuring an event billed as the best of music, wine, food and beer, BottleRock is set to draw out an estimated 30,000 attendees a day, giving the greater Bay Area the first taste of summer.

The Food & Beverage:

‘Taste’ is truly the key word here! BottleRock Napa Valley is all about blending great music, food and wine, explained David Graham, CEO of Latitude 38, continuing in the same press release, for 2015, we are ramping up our culinary experience with the Williams-Sonoma Culinary Stage. Where else but the Napa Valley can you pull off a food & wine festival within a music festival? There’s just no other music festival that matches the quality of wine and food star power that BottleRock provides.

Centrally located on the festival grounds, in the ‘Whole Foods Restaurant Garden’, the Williams-Sonoma Culinary Stage as described by the President of Williams-Sonoma, Janet Hayes, will showcase some of the country’s top chefs and sommeliers with musicians and celebrities. We are excited to create unique culinary experiences for festival attendees that will differentiate BottleRock from all other food and music festivals.

Hosted by the Bay Area’s Foodie Chap, Liam Mayclem of KCBS, this extraordinary exhibit will feature celebrated chefs, vintners, actors, professional athletes and sommeliers participating in entertaining demos and performances. Providing memorable mash-up moments on the Williams-Sonoma Culinary Stage will be a list of celebrities including musicians, stars from television and film, as well as professional athletes. Check out the full line-up of chefs and stars listed below.

Aside from the foodie-centerpiece, many of the region’s best chefs, vintners, and breweries will also showcase their talents in the VIP areas and Platinum Lounge. Additionally all festival guests will enjoy a global tour of culinary offerings, featuring Japanese, Indian, Italian, Spanish, Mexican, American, Mediterranean, and Vietnamese cuisines. Mouthwatering dishes include Morimoto Sticky Ribs, wood-fired pizzas, pork belly sandwiches, Vietnamese shrimp rolls, barbecue, fried chicken, vegetarian, vegan and more.

To compliment all the great eats, many of the regions finest wineries will also be sharing their finest vintages. Wine cabanas and beverage bars will be conveniently located throughout the festival grounds. All bars will be stocked with delicious pours from title wine sponsor Miner Family Winery and other premium Napa Valley vintners. A list of these wineries can be found below.

Along with artisanal cocktails made with premium spirits, dozens of craft beers will also be flowing. The craft brew garden will feature 20 brews from premium brewers and distillers such as Lagunitas, Crispin Cider, Boston Beer, 21st Amendment, Pyramid Brewing, New Belgium Brewing, Green Flash, Ninkasi, Heretic, and local favorite Napa Smith brewery. Fan favorites including Coors and Blue Moon Brewing tap out the beer selections. With a food and drink menu of such high-grade it is hard to say whether music or food is the bigger attraction at this festival.

The Fine Art:

On top of the delicious menus on hand, the grounds of BottleRock will transform into a wonderful Fine Arts display. In a partnership with Zener Schon Contemporary Art (ZSCA), the festival will be decorated by a group of eight muralists and sculpture visual-artists. Creating a variety of one-of-a-kind art installations, each piece will be on showcased around the festival grounds throughout all three-days of the festival. The featured artists include Ian Ross, Zio Ziegler, JM Rizzi, D Young V, Laura Kimpton & Jeff Schomberg, Karen Cusolito, Katy Boynton.

The Line Up:

There can’t be a music festival, without great live music, and BottleRock has music playing non-stop every day. Schedule from noon until 10pm, spread across four stages, BottleRock features an exciting and diverse line-up of more than 70 artists, bands and performers. While Napa is already a destination for food & wine lovers, over the recent past this event has made a valid attempt to place itself on summer music festival map. Continually booking a strong caliber of talent, BottleRock is aiming to become an important impresario in the California music festival scene.

The beauty of each of these forms of art is that each interest can be enjoyed as a pairing. This years line-up, carefully curated, allows a clash of cultures from followers of the various artistic influences. Included in the 2015 line-up is an array of acts such as Imagine Dragons, No Doubt, Robert Plant, The Avett Brothers, Foster the People, Passion Pit, Cage The Elephant, Young the Giant, AWOLNATION, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Public Enemy, and dozens more. The complete festival lineup can be found below.

With so much to do, The Pier will do it’s best to provide proper coverage of as much as possible. In addition to enjoying many of the festivals various headliners, beloved bands, and all that food be sure to check back for recaps for sets from ska-veterans and alt-rockers No Doubt, reggae-rock’s Michael Franti and Spearhead, the new reggae projects of Xavier Rudd & The United Nations, and many more.

Festival Overview:

The highly anticipated third annual BottleRock Napa Valley festival at the Napa Valley Expo in Downtown Napa, will brings the world’s top touring artists on four different stages, while on a fifth stage, master sommeliers and celebrity chefs rub shoulders with guests in an intimate festival setting. Dozens of the region’s finest restaurateurs, vintners and brewers offer the best in food, wine, and craft brews, to create an authentic wine country experience for festival guests. This is one festival that exceptionally encompasses the arts. Combining the world of culinary, fine arts, and music from an excellent line-up, BottleRock is out to prove there is no doubting the festival’s future.

While 3-Day General Admission Passes are now sold out, Single Day ticks are on sale. For tickets visit the website www.bottlerocknapavalley.com.

For more on BottleRock Napa Valley, including a full lineup of 90+ music and culinary artists on five stages over three days, a list of Noted Restaurants & Wineries and information about lodging, parking, carpooling or other details surrounding this event check out the details below.

BottleRock Napa Valley daily lineup:

BottleRock Chefs: