Festival Review, Photos: BottleRock Napa Valley 2025 Was One For The Books With Green Day, Justin Timberlake, and Noah Kahan
Amidst all of the performances, food stands, roller skating rinks, and photo opportunities, there is a moment from this year’s BottleRock Napa Valley Festival that stands out among the rest. It took place on Saturday at the Williams Sonoma Culinary Stage, a unique exhibition offered by the Napa Festival, pairing the world’s top chefs with celebrities from the world of music, film, and sports. Benson Boone leans down to taste the homemade blueberry ice cream being crafted by chefs Michael and Bryan Voltaggio, Green Day drummer Tré Cool, and actor/comedian Adam Devine. Stage emcee Liam Mayclem builds the anticipation, waiting to see what the results will be. Boone slowly looks up. He removes his sunglasses, slowly building up the reveal. The DJ plays the chorus from Boone’s hit song, “Beautiful Things”. His verdict: it’s a success. Everyone on stage and in the crowd goes nuts. It’s such an innocuous moment, yet it’s played up with so much enthusiasm that you can’t help but smile.
Moments like this are the essence of BottleRock Napa Valley, the annual music and arts festival where thousands of music and food lovers converge on Napa Valley Expo each May to celebrate the beginning of summer. It’s an incredibly unique festival, where you can see artists like Green Day, Justin Timberlake, and Noah Kahan play to 70,000 people. Walk a hundred feet to your right, and you’ll see Bobby Flay and Ken Griffey Jr. cooking up something special on the Culinary Stage. Walk a little further, and you’ll see Ice Cube playing a career-spanning set, with a stage flanked by stellar food from local Northern California restaurants. It takes the idea of the “mega-festival” that’s become so popular nowadays and gives attendees the experience without making it feel overwhelming. This year’s edition of BottleRock was defintely one for the books.
The first was kicked off with a stellar performance from Ultra Q, one of rock’s most promising new acts. Fronted by Jakob Armstrong, the four-piece Bay Area post punk act thrilled the crowd with a near-perfect performance to get the day started just right. Throughout the day, indie-rock acts like Beach Bunny and pop-punk mainstays The Story So Far thrilled on the Verizon Stage, while artists and celebrities like Sofi Tukker, Flavor Flav, E-40, and Serena Williams headlined the Culinary Stage cooked up culinary delicacies to the delight of festival attendees. A highly anticipated performance from Sublime took place around 6:00 PM. The band is now fronted by Bradley Nowell’s son, Jakob, along with original members Bud Gaugh and Eric Wilson. Aside from Green Day, Sublime drew one of the biggest sets of the weekend, with Nowell guiding attendees through fan-favorite hits like “Santeria” and “Wrong Way”. Over on the White Claw Stage, emerging British rock act Bad Nerves tore it up. Their bio describes them as “if the Ramones and The Strokes had a one night stand”. One minute into their performance, and it’s clear that it’s an apt comparison.
At this point, there isn’t much more that I can say about Green Day. They are truly one of the best bands out there, and they have been holding this title for several decades now. Amidst a crowd of thousands and underneath the shadow of a gigantic “American Idiot” inflatable, the East Bay punk trio played a long-awaited headlining performance at BottleRock, powering through hit after hit from albums like Idiot, Dookie, Insomniac, Warning and Saviors. Their catalog is massive, and it’s astounding to always see just how many hits they’ve created since the 1990s. It’s been nearly twenty years since I first started listening to them, and with performances like this, I will always continue to see them. As always, Billie Joe Armstrong closed the show with an acoustic performance of “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)”, as bassist Mike Dirnt and drummer Tré Cool danced around him and tossed confetti in the air. They were even joined by none other than Flavor Flav, who finished the song by yelling his iconic “YEAH BOY” amidst a flurry of cheering and laughter from the crowd.
There were many incredible acts throughout Day Two, with actress Kate Hudson bringing one of the sleeper sets of the weekend to the Verizon Stage. Hudson has a killer voice, and she strutted her way through a number of original songs and covers, showcasing her vocal prowess. It felt like seeing Penny Lane come to life nearly twenty-five years later. Over on the JamCellars Main Stage, 4 Non Blondes reunited for a crowd-pleasing performance, their first in nearly three decades. From the moment that vocalist Linda Perry took the stage and provided an a capella rendition of the band’s iconic hit “What’s Up?”, the crowd ate up every moment. Other than a performance of Led Zeppelin’s “Rock and Roll” to open the set and performances of “What’s Up” and “Train”, most of the songs were brand new, hinting at a promising new future for the band in 2025 and 2026.
Perhaps the biggest set of the weekend came from Benson Boone, the twenty-two year old singer-songwriter from Washington that has been backflipping his way into the hearts of music fans for the last three years. Boone brought forth one of my favorite performances of the weekend. When you see greatness on stage, you know it, and there isn’t a doubt in my mind that Boone will be headlining festivals like this within a couple years. His performance was pitch perfect, and he has an immaculate voice fully capable of performing the rock-influenced pop songs he’s risen to prominence for. Throughout the set, I kept looking at him and thinking that he reminded me of another famous frontman. Before I could even finish the thought, Boone walked to the front of the catwalk, in white tank top and blue jeans, having the crowd do a “call and repeat” to Harry Belafonte’s “Day-O’. You know, like Freddie Mercury. Benson Boone is not a star in the making - he already is a star.
The Main Stage was particularly well structured on the second day, closed out by an oustanding performance from none other than Justin Timberlake. From the second he launched into “Mirrors” from The 20/20 Experience, the festival turned into one giant sing-along party, continuing with hits like “Cry Me A River”, “Can’t Stop The Feeling”, and “SexyBack”. Even amidst the condensed set time that headliners are given (BottleRock is known for having a 10 PM curfew every year), the crowd absolutely got their money’s worth. Timberlake is one of the best performers out there, and he’s flanked on all sides by an incredible band that utilize every inch of the stage, delivering hit after hit. Even if you’re not a festival, don’t sleep on seeing one of his shows if you haven’t seen one yet.
Day three of the festival saved some of the best for last, with some of the best instrumental work I’d seen all weekend. Promising young guitarists like Bella Rayne and Grace Bowers shredded their way into the hearts of attendees, while Allen Stone brought his trademark soulful vocal stylings to the table and captivated everyone. A stellar performance from Goose led straight into a jam-laden set from Khruangbin. The three-piece instrumental act was definitely one of the more intriguing acts to take place on the main stage all weekend; they are primarily instrumental, incorporating trippier elements into their songs than most of the artists throughout the festival that weekend. While it seemed to be an odd fit to open for Noah Kahan, they were incredibly captivating throughout their nearly ninety-minute performance.
Wherever you went at the end of day three didn’t matter; you were in for a great show no matter which stage you stopped at. If you were at the Main Stage, you were witness to folk-pop act Noah Kahan, packing the main stage with one of the biggest crowds of the weekend, singing along to hits like “All My Love”, “She Calls Me Back”, and “Everywhere, Everything”. If you wandered over to the Verizon Stage, you would have witnessed a pyro-laden performance from Cage The Elephant, careening through hit after hit in front of one of the stage’s largest crowds all weekend. And if you found yourself tucked away in the corner at the Prudential Stage, you would have seen none other than guitarist Robby Krieger of The Doors, leading an engaged crowd through a jam-session for the ages.
BottleRock Napa Valley markets itself as “the first taste of summer”. If this was indeed the first taste of the summer, then it is a delectably sweet first bite. Just like homemade blueberry ice cream.
Green Day Set List
American Idiot
Holiday
Know Your Enemy
Boulevard of Broken Dreams
One Eyed Bastard
Longview
Welcome To Paradise
2000 Light Years Away
Hitchin’ A Ride
Brain Stew
St. Jimmy
Dilemma
21 Guns
Minority
Basket Case
When I Come Around
Wake Me Up When September Ends
Jesus of Suburbia
Bobby Sox
Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)
Justin Timberlake Set List
Mirrors
Cry Me A River
No Angels
LoveStoned
My Love
Summer Love
CAN’T STOP THE FEELING!
Selfish
Play
Ayo Technology / Chop Me Up / Give It To Me / 4 Minutes
Rock Your Body
Let The Groove Get In
SexyBack
Until The End of Time
Noah Kahan Set List
All My Love
New Perspective
She Calls Me Back
Pain Is Cold Water
Maine
Doors
Northern Attitude
Growing Sideways
False Confidence
Forever
The Great Divide
You’re Gonna Go Far
Dial Drunk
Anyway
The View Between Villages
Homesick
Stick Season
