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Back in May, we here at The Vine had a “BottleRock Flashback” weekend over Memorial Day weekend, which has traditionally been BottleRock weekend as well. We played music from past BottleRock artists and we all recorded some of our favorite memories from past years. It was so much fun rocking out down those particular Memory lanes…and it was such a much-needed exhale to have it back this year!

Some of my favorite thoughts/memories from BottleRock have been…

This isn’t so much a BottleRock memory as much as one about the time leading up to year 1 in 2013. I vividly remember having my coffee on an overcast February Sunday morning and hearing talk on the radio about an upcoming music festival in NAPA. What??? We’d had the Uptown, City Winery, and Silo’s…but nothing like what they were describing. The excitement and anticipation leading up to it was palpable and like no other. The first morning came and I found myself in line at Target in front of one of the guys from Delta Spirit who had 2 carts full of every rubber ball they had in the store and was excitedly telling anyone who would listen that they planned to throw them out into the crowd when they played that afternoon. I wandered into their set a couple songs in just in time to watch a barrage of balls flying into the crowd and a bunch of guys on stage with huge smiles on their faces. Our sleepy town was waking up.

Since year 1, the whole weekend has felt like a joyous, music-filled reunion. I’ve had family and friends from both high school and college fill my house – every couch, empty bed, an Aero bed in the dining room, and occasionally even a tent trailer open on the side yard. The mornings are spent with coffee (ok, bloody marys) and planning out the day while catching up on each other’s lives. The nights are spent with nightcaps, snacks, laughter, and rehashing the day’s experiences, bands seen, etc. BottleRock, for me, has always been not only about the great food, drinks, and music–but also those I’m lucky enough to spend it with (both local and visiting).

One of my favorite things about the festival isn’t even the headlining bands but, rather, stumbling into whatever stage to check out an unknown-to-me artist I’ve never heard or seen before and always being so pleasantly surprised. Some of my favorite memories are just taking in the pure JOY of performing at BottleRock that is so evident on the faces of most of the non-headlining bands. It’s been the first place I saw Bleachers (complete with Jack Antonoff running around in athletic shorts and tube socks), The Regrettes (a super fun retro-sounding, mostly female, garage punk band), The Strumbellas (alternative country/indie-rock group from Canada), and Trampled By Turtles (bluegrass/folk rock band that was the perfect addition to my spot in the sun with cold beverage) — all favorites now.

Sometimes it’s just a moment in a performance that can make it so memorable. A few that come to mind are…. 

Having the plug pulled at 10:00 on the Foo Fighters’ last verse of “Everlong” and having thousands of people singing “the only thing I’ll ever ask of you, you’ve got to promise not to stop when I say when” at the top of their lungs. Such.A.Moment.

Experiencing The Killers for the first time, not really knowing what to expect, and LOVING watching Brandon Flowers’ energy level go up to 11 as he owned the stage in his shiny gold suit.

I’ve been a Billy Idol fan for almost 40 years and he’s been the soundtrack to many memories with my childhood/high school best friend…So Facetiming with her during “Dancing With Myself” while she was en route to her brother’s wedding was sort of perfect. 

My group and I wandered into MoonAlice on the small stage on our way out. It was a super chill, groovy, way to end the day. There couldn’t have been more than 40 or so of us there, All of a sudden, the lead singer says “Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome our friend Melissa Etheridge” – who then came out and sang “Me and Bobby McGee with them…while we stood there stunned and grinning in the front row.

And of course, the realization that we were able to see Tom Petty just 4 months before he passed.

After last year’s respite, the JOY was back this year! Many NEW memories were made (along with the addition of a backyard tent and a front yard RV). Memorial Day weekend 2022 can’t come soon enough.