BottleRock made its epic return to the Napa Valley with an impeccable lineup. Metallica, Pink, Twenty One Pilots, Luke Combs all hit the stage for the first taste of Summer! Presented by JaM Cellars, BottleRock draws quite the crowd. Let’s just say the renowned festival did not disappoint. Here are the highlights from day one of BottleRock.

MisterWives:

The underrated band took over the Verizon stage during mid-day. Welcoming fans old and new, the lead singer Mandy Lee had an undeniable energy that pulled in more and more festival-goers as the time progressed. Throughout the set, Lee couldn't help but speak on the downfalls of society today not stepping up for women's rights and possibly overturning Roe v. Wade. Performing in front of a red screen with the words “Bans off our bodies” in massive block letters, Lee called out to the crowd begging to politicians: “For the love of god, regulate guns not women’s bodies.” The line received a rumble of praise and applause, of course!

Royal and The Serpent:

What better way to spend an afternoon than engaging your inner 00's emo self. To be honest, I wasn't sure who this band was when I was convinced to check them out. Located on the Truly stage, Royal and the Serpent was a nice surprise. A little mix of Avril Levine mixed with a stage presence of Good Charlotte, Royal and the Serpent was easily the best surprise of the day.

By the end of their set, fans were left in awe. Mumbles throughout the crowd could be heard by people who were not familiar, bit were downloading albums by the time the set came to a close.

Spoon:

Talk about a throwback! Spoon took the JaM Cellars stage midday and brought all the chill positive vibes. Easily the underdog performance, Spoon ripped through their singles, mostly new, for the crowd. Quickly into the start of their performance, the band stopped performance in order to tend to a dehydrated festival-goer. The crowd nicely obliged and made room so the individual could recover while lead singer kept the crowd informed. After about 20 seconds, Spoon picked it back up! Safety is of course important especially with all of the violence in today's society.

Iration:

Iration played at the JamPad earlier in the day, but it wasn't until their closing set captured the hearts of many. The overarching theme of the day was a cry towards an end for gun violence, empowering women and women's rights and to simply "love each other". The band thrives off of delivering raggae island vibes with thoughtful lyrics. The hybrid style of music is refreshing, unique, and much needed!

Metallica:

What is there to really say about Metallica? The band is simply iconic and seeing them rockout at BottleRock was just as incredible as you could imagine! The band truly loves what they’re doing and it SHOWS! With an undeniable stage presence, the band ripped through the classics, of course paying extra attention to their dramatic (yet amazing) guitar rips!

“Everyone having a good time so far?” frontman Jaems Hetfield asked the ecstatic crowd. “Well, not for long!” Metallica has been touring for four decades and brought out its biggest, best-known and most singable songs first during the roughly two-hour set. Hetfield did his best to connect with the audience between songs and even went on to tell the story of a woman who recently gave birth at a Metallica show in South America.

Needless to say, day one of BottleRock was a smashing success! Although festival-goers were concerned with the large crowds due to an increase in violence (in addition to Covid-19), music continued to bring everyone together for a since of unity.

In case you missed it, check out our coverage from day two and day three of BottleRock!