HAUTE EVENT EVENTS
Chef José Andrés drinks from a porrón on the WilliamsSonoma Culinary Stage
Guns N' Roses rocked the crowd past curfew
The Foo Fighters put on a spectacular finale
The Highwomen swooped in to save the day after a lastminute cancellation
The music festival returns, transporting attendees to Paradise City with Guns N’ Roses, Foo Fighters, The Highwomen, and more
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BY STEPH KEAY
LIFE-CHANGING,” I THINK, AS FOO FIGHTERS FRONTMAN Dave Grohl bangs away maniacally on a drum set six feet away. It’s the Sunday of BottleRock Napa Valley—normally the sleepiest of any 3-day festival—but the crowd at the JaMPad stage has just been served a dizzying injection of adrenaline, thanks to a surprise set by the two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee. Announced on Instagram only a few hours earlier, Grohl strolled onstage humbly, a beer in one hand, lyric sheets in the other. “Ladies and gentlemen,” he says, setting his drink down on the floor tom. “L’chaim.” The 2021 edition of BottleRock was a long-awaited affair after multiple pandemic postponements. The eclectic lineup drew nearly 120,000 attendees to the Napa Valley Expo on
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September 3 – 5 with artists such as Miley Cyrus, G-Eazy, Cage The Elephant, Run The Jewels, and Jimmy Eat World on the bill. Grohl headlined the final day of the festival with Foo Fighters, but right now he’s here to perform “The Hanukkah Sessions” at the intimate JaMPad acoustic stage. It’s a side project he formed with friend and music producer Greg Kurstin, who joins him onstage with a keyboard. “Last year, we decided that instead of recording a Christmas song, we would record one for each night of Hanukkah—songs by Jewish artists you might not know are Jewish,” he explains. “And we decided that today we would perform [these] for the first time in front of a live audience.” He grins. “’Cause why not, right?”
PHOTO CREDITS: (CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT) © ELLI LAUREN; © ELLI LAUREN; © CHRIS TUITE; © MIRANDA MCDONALD
CHEERS TO BOTTLEROCK NAPA VALLEY 2021