BottleRock Napa Valley returns May 27-29 with Metallica, Pink, Twenty One Pilots, Mount Westmore, Chvrches, the Black Crowes, Kygo, Banks, Pitbull and Luke Combs among the marquee acts.
It also offers up plenty of hidden gems, newer artists and other musical attractions. In all, approximately 80 acts are set to appear across multiple stages during the festival.
That’s a lot to try and take in over the course of three days and fans are likely to miss out on some of the best music if they don’t have a plan in place when they arrive at the Napa Valley Expo in downtown Napa.
That’s where we come in, once again offering up our trusty hourly guide to the festival.
It’s a step-by-step outline of where fans should be, what they should be eating and – most importantly – what they should be listening to during each moment of the 2022 BottleRock.
Ready to rock? Let’s go to it.
Note: Some single-day tickets are still available (prices start at $179). For more information, visit bottlerocknapa.com.
Day 1 (Friday, May 27)
Noon-2 p.m.
Gates open at 11:30 a.m., so make sure you’re inside the venue by 11:45 a.m. At that point, immediately check your watch and repeat after us: “Only eight hours until Metallica.”
Yes, the headlining set by those mighty men of metal — Kirk Hammett, James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich and Robert Trujillo — is the No. 1 attraction on Day One (as well as, in our opinion, the overall festival).
Yet, there sure is a lot to see and do before the best-selling Bay Area band of all time takes the stage, so let’s get moving.
Start off your adventure with Dorothy, the cool Los Angeles hard-rock act that opens the big JaM Cellars Stage at noon.
Spend a good 45 minutes with vocalist Dorothy Martin and company and then move directly over to the Truly Stage for Bastardane, the first of three Metallica family bands that we’re recommending fans check out during the festival.
Hang with Bastardane – featuring drummer Castor Hetfield, who is the son of Metallica frontman James Hetfield – for about 35 minutes and then race back over to JaM Cellars for Oakland R&B champ Fantastic Negrito.
2-4 p.m.
Stick with the Fantastic one all the way up to 2:30 p.m. and then plan on taking some time for late lunch. We’re thinking a big sandwich from Loveski Deli would hit the spot.
Then head right back to JaM Cellars for a 3 p.m. set by South Carolina guitar phenomenon Marcus King, who ranks high on the our list of must-see acts at this year’s festival.
4-6 p.m.
Let King rock you right up to 4 p.m. and then beeline to the JamPad stage for Australian alt-rockers Atlas Genius, hopefully in time to hear the band perform the hit “Trojans.”
Sticking “Down Under,” so to speak, plan on catching the last half of fellow Aussie Delta Goodrem’s set, which runs from 4-5 p.m. on the Allianz Stage. She’s a huge star in her native country, where she has scored five No. 1 albums.
Once Goodrem finishes up, work your way closer to the stage and get ready for the awesomeness that is Kikagaku Moyo, the Japanese psychedelic rock band that ranks as one of the festival’s true hidden gems.
Once Kikagaku Moyo finishes up at 6:15 p.m. — and you post on social media all about your new favorite band — head immediately to the Verizon Stage to catch Chvrches. As the Scottish synth-pop trio winds down, it’s time to fuel up again –perhaps with some sushi from Morimoto Napa — and then get ready for Metallica on JaM Cellars at 7:45 p.m.
8-10 p.m.
Sure, the schedule will tell you that there is stuff happening on the other stages during this time period. Yet, they might as well all be dark because we’re recommending that you soak up every minute of Metallica to close out Day One.
Day 2
Noon-2 p.m.
Back in the house by 11:45 a.m. or so, catch BottleRock regulars the Napa Valley Youth Symphony open up Allianz Stage at noon. But don’t get too comfortable, since you need to soak up the sunny island folk-pop of Hawaii’s Ron Artis II and the Truth on the JaM Cellars Stage from, let’s say, 12:20 to 12:50 p.m.
Lunchtime? You bet. So swing by Goose and Gander for a burger on the way to catching some thrash metal courtesy of OTTO — featuring Tye Trujillo (son of Metallica bassist Rob Trujillo) — at 1 p.m. at the Truly Stage.
Follow up with some serious soul from the Suffers, who boogie onto the JaM Cellars Stage at 1:45 p.m.
2-4 p.m.
At 2:15p.m., bop over to the Truly Stage for 20 minutes or so of Houston rapper-singer De’Wayne and then check out another BottleRock institution — the Silverado Pickups — turn up the wine-country cowboy music on the Allianz Stage.
Be back at JaM Cellars by 3:15 p.m., however, to catch the pride of Kalamazoo, Michigan — Greensky Bluegrass. Here’s hoping the group plays its terrific bluegrass blend of Pink Floyd’s “Time” and “Breathe.”
4-6 p.m.
Right after Greensky, it’s time to get Kinky — and, of course, we mean the Mexican rock band Kinky, who performs 4-5 p.m. on the Allianz Stage. From there, move on to the Silversun Pickups – who are very different than the Silverado Pickups – at the Verizon Stage.
6-8 p.m.
At 6:15 p.m., fly over to the JaM Cellars stage to see the Black Crowes, who were so good during their headlining show at Shoreline Amphitheatre at Mountain View last year.
Stick with the Crowes until right around 7 p.m. and then ramble over to the Verizon Stage for alt-pop singer-songwriter Banks, who performs right up to 7:45 p.m. At this point, there’s a little break in the action, so use it to grab some nachos from Mustards Grill for dinner.
8-10 p.m.
Twenty One Pilots can be counted on to put on a good show, so feel free to head over to the Jam Cellars Stage at 8:15 if that is your thing. Yet, we’d much rather be at the Verizon Stage at 8:30 p.m. for Mount Westmore. The chance to see four hip-hop legends — Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, E-40 and Too $hort – on one stage is just too good to pass up. (And we’re thinking that it could turn out to be five legends, given that Warren G is in town that weekend as well.)
Day 3
Noon-2 p.m.
Energy can hard to come by when you’re embarking on the last leg of a three-day festival, so let’s kick things off by fueling up with some pizza from Oenotri.
Then it’s time for Allison Ponthier, who performs on the Verizon Stage at noon. She’s a terrific Texas indie-folk singer-songwriter, who ranks among the top 10 acts we want to see at this year’s festival.
From there, check out Myles and Layne Ulrich – who are the sons of Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich — perform as Tapei Houston at 1 p.m. at the Truly Stage.
2-4 p.m.
Blue DeTiger is definitely one of our top picks for the 2022 BottleRock. So, don’t miss this multitalented DJ, producer, vocalist and (truly amazing) bassist when she performs at 2 p.m. at JaM Cellars Stage. Then it’s over to the Verizon Stage at 3 p.m. for Grandson (aka, Canadian-American artist Jordan Benjamin), who combines alt rock, electronic music and other styles in intriguing ways.
4-6 p.m.
Yet another must-see act is Ana Tijoux, the awesome MC who the New York Times reportedly once called “South America’s answer to Lauryn Hill: equally skillful at singing and rapping.” Tijoux performs at 4 p.m. on the Allianz Stage.
Alessia Cara takes the JaM Cellars Stage at 5 p.m., which is definitely where you should be as well so that you hear the 2018 best new artist Grammy winner perform her hour-long set.
6-8 p.m.
Pitbull is always a blast in concert, so move over to the Verizon Stage at 6 p.m. and get ready to sing along at top volume to “Timber.” Then once “Mr. 305” — aka, “Mr. Worldwide” — departs the stage, cruise over to JaM Cellars for 30 minutes of indie-pop with Bleachers. That should leave you with about 20 minutes or so to get one more meal at BottleRock. And we suggest you make it truly count by sampling Michelin-starred cuisine from Wine Country favorite La Toque.
8-10 p.m.
Instead of hanging out at one stage for the final evening of this year’s festival, we suggest that you split your time between three stages.
Let’s start out with country favorite Luke Combs, who should draw a huge crowd to the Verizon Stage for his 8 p.m. set. Give Combs a good 30 minutes of your attention before departing to hear some cool reggae with the Wailers featuring Julian Marley at the Allianz Stage.
As the clock draws close to 9 p.m., head over to JaM Cellars Stage and close out your 2022 BottleRock Napa Valley experience by watching the last hour of Pink’s set. Then waltz for the exits with contentment, with visions of what next year’s lineup might look like dancing through your head.
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