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BottleRock 2016 has proven to be the must-attend event of the year! It was a stellar success bringing in more than 120,000 attendees over the course of the three days. The festival featured 80 musical acts and closed out with the high energy of The Red Hot Chili Peppers. It also featured the Williams-Sonoma Culinary stage as musicians were teamed up with Michelin-starred chefs to created dishes and entertain the crowd.

We will be bringing you our full coverage of the festival and the 80 musical performances. It was one long hot weekend, but was truly a highlight of our journalist career. The festival was run so smoothly and attendees were boasting it as “the best ever” with plenty of music, excellent foods, variety of wines and beverages, and complete with a staff that was accommodating and helpful with every need.

Dates for the 2017 BottleRock were announced during the finale of the Red Hot Chili Peppers performance. Mark your calendars…. Next year’s BottleRock Napa Valley festival will be held May 26 – 28. Dave Graham, CEO and co-founder of Latitude 38 Entertainment comments,

“BottleRock Napa Valley fans have proven that this festival is a must-attend event. We felt it was appropriate and deserving that the fans were the first to find out about the return of the festival. They are the reason why BottleRock has become what it is today.”

Check out the news release recapping the festival and stay tuned for all of our festival coverage:

Celebrity attendees throughout the weekend included Miles Teller, Melissa Etheridge and her son Jason Crosby, Lars Ulrich and Robert Trujillo of Metallica, Darren Criss, Teri Hatcher, and Tré Cool and Mike Dirnt of the band Greenday.

Musical highlights from day three of BottleRock Napa Valley included:

·      Red Hot Chili Peppers wrapped up the festival after taking the JaM Cellar Main Stage. The internationally acclaimed band played for a sea of thousands some of their biggest hits including “Californication,” “Otherside” and “Snow (Hey Oh).”

·      Denver-based stomp-and-clap acoustic rock, classic pop, and front-porch folk band The Lumineers gave their fans an epic performance including their fan-favorite “Ho Hey.”

·      The Helmets, a four-pre-teen-member band, unleashed a surprise for the crowd as the bassist’s dad, Robert Trujillo (who happens to be heavy metal band Metallica’s own bassist!) joined the quad for a performance.

·      X Ambassadors ignited their fans when they performed their mega hit “Renegades” and “Unsteady.”

Meanwhile on the Williams-Sonoma Culinary Stage:

·      Headliner and Food Network’s Chef Tyler Florence, joined by Iron Chef judge Billy Harris, used a sling-shot to propel his famous Wayfare Fried Chicken into the crowd.

·      Chef Michael Voltaggio gave Chad Smith of Red Hot Chili Peppers and Taylor Hawkins of Foo Fighters a lesson in cooking before the band members knocked over the the drum sets in true rock star form.

·      X Ambassadors, Misterwives and Chef Charles Phan competed in a Vietnamese spring rolls cook-off that resulted in an entertaining segment for the culinary and music fans watching.

Musical highlights from Friday and Saturday of BottleRock Napa Valley included:

·      Headliner Stevie Wonder took to the JaM Cellar Main Stage spreading his message of love and unity. Wonder also stressed the importance of voting to ensure a promising future for our nation. He closed out his set with spectacular covers of Prince’s “When Doves Cry” and “Kiss,” The Beatles’ “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” David Bowie’s “Fame,” and Eagles’ “Hotel California.” Throughout the performance, the legendary performer would stop to ask the crowd, “What’s my name?” – to which they chanted “DJ Chick Chick Boom.” His set concluded with his famed hit “Superstition.”

·      Michael Franti classically embraced his well-known barefoot style and appearing throughout the festival grounds sans footwear. During Michael Franti & Spearhead’s musical performance, Franti pulled a child fan on stage to join him in the singing of their single “The Sound of Sunshine.”

·      The crowd of thousands went wild immediately as Lenny Kravitz performed fan-favorites like “American Woman” and “Fly Away.”

·      Andy Grammer roused the JaM Cellar Main Stage as he performed “Keep Your Head Up” and “Honey, I’m Good.”

·      Grouplove rocked the Midway Stage with their mega hits “Colours” and “Ways to Go.”

·      International superstar Florence + The Machine put on an electrifying act twirling across the stage and running through the crowd performing some of her hit songs including “Dog Days Are Over,” “Ship to Wreck” and “Shake It Out.” Her fans, which stretched out into the thousands, chanted “Florence” in between songs begging for more.

·      Walk The Moon utilized the entire JaM Cellar Main Stage as band members ran and jumped from end to end performing songs such as “Shut Up and Dance” and “Work Your Body.” Lead singer Nicholas Petricca ended the act by running into the audience for hugs and selfies with the fans.

·      Death Cab for Cutie took to the stage performing their hit singles “Soul Meets Body” and “Why You’d Want to Live Here” for the anticipating sea of people.

·      Reggae rocker Ziggy Marley paid tribute to his late father, Bob Marley, as he performed “One Love” on the Midway Stage.

Highlights from Friday’s and Saturday’s Williams-Sonoma Culinary Stage included:

·      Chef Gordon Ramsay put host Liam Mayclem through a Master Chef crash course, and was ultimately “unimpressed” with his ability to cook scallops. Chef Ramsay jokingly put Mayclem on blast and threw his dish across the stage causing it to shatter. Mayclem took the critique in strides as the unlikely duo laughed off the failed dish.

·      Alluding to their cult classic “Up In Smoke,” Cheech & Chong gave a hilarious smoked salmon cooking performance with Chef Chris Cosentino. Cheech was then treated to a belated birthday gift as the crowd sang “Happy Birthday” to him in perfect unison.

·      After learning how to bake a pie from Chef Maya Erickson and her mom, American Pie’s Thomas Ian Nicholas gave fans a dose of nostalgia by reprising the hit song “My Generation” from the hit film.

·      Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto had a massive 132-pound tuna shipped from Japan for a spectacular culinary demonstration with Tré Cool and Mike Dirnt of Green Day. Cool treated the crowd to a surprise solo on the custom-made Williams-Sonoma drum kit, a one-of-a-kind set created from pots and pans.

·      Travel Channel host Adam Richman stunned fans as he freestyle-rapped his entire cooking demonstration, paying homage to his honorary sous chefs, The Pharcyde.

·      Atlas Genius and Grouplove joined Top Chef Mei Lin for an epic bake-off. In the dessert showdown, the group created unique treats using ingredients from the bands’ tour riders.

·      Former San Francisco 49er Dwight Clark revived his football skills as he played catch with Seattle’s famous Pike Place Fish throwers during Beard Award-winning Chef Michael Mina’s cooking performance.