Sunny skies bring summer vibes to BottleRock's opening day

May 22-Sunglasses, baseball caps, sunscreen and bohemian-inspired fashion were out in full force on a bright cloudless Friday, as Napa Valley Expo welcomed BottleRock Festival goers to day one of its sold-out festival this weekend.

With temperatures in the high 70s, picnic blankets strewn across the grass and beverages in hand, Friday set the scene for the upcoming weekend as audience members belted out "Pocketful of Sunshine" that reverberated throughout the area as Natasha Bedingfield took to the T-Mobile stage.

This weekend's BottleRock lineup includes big-name artists including Foo Fighters, Backstreet Boys, Lorde, SOMBR, Men at Work and 70 additional artists.

Activities returning to the festival included Silent Disco by Allianz, The Beauty Bar by Ulta Beauty - previously known as The Spa - and the Roller Rink, though not in collaboration with Lululemon unlike the previous year.

Along with a new rotation of headliners this year, BottleRock also announced new stage names.

Five stages have been renamed: Prudential (formerly the JaM Cellars Stage), T-Mobile (formerly Verizon), HelloFresh (formerly Prudential), NorthBay Health (formerly White Claw) and Backstage by United (formerly JaM Cellars Jampad).

The highly anticipated festival first started in 2013 and has since drawn 120,000 people annually to Napa Valley, with attendees traveling as close from American Canyon to across the country in New York.

Once the gates opened at 11:30 a.m., a crowd of festivalgoers took off sprinting towards the T-Mobile and Prudential stages, eager to claim a spot at the front of the stage by the barriers.

By 11:45 a.m., cousins Rachel Paren and Laura Morofsky claimed their spot with picnic blankets behind the barrier at T-Mobile stage.

"I just flew in from Portland last night," said Paren. "Tonight I'm seeing Men at Work. But we like the small bands too because they bring the energy. There's a couple big names we're excited to see but we love discovering the new people."

Paren added she is excited for the variety of food vendors and looks forward to the "vibes" all weekend.

Morofsky, an American Canyon resident, also looked forward to discovering new small bands.

"There's just so much to look forward to. So many artists but tonight I'm seeing Men at Work," said Morofsky.

While most out-of-state attendees hopped on a plane to Wine County, others made the trek on wheels.

Kelsey Shayner, along with her boyfriend, made the 12-hour drive from Utah to attend their first BottleRock.

"The drive wasn't bad," said Shayner with a smile. "Long, but not bad. And it's cheaper."

Alongside Shayner were her friends Elizabeth Cobb from New York City and Cynthia Grissom from Virginia.

All three women were also among the first attendees to arrive early at the T-Mobile stage.

Both Cobb and Grissom flew into San Francisco International Airport on Thursday night.

"I go to a lot of EDM music festivals, so I'm used to being at festivals," said Cobb. "I'm excited to see Lorde and SOMBR."

"I actually was going to check out the culinary stage later on," Grissom said. "But I can't wait to see The Warning tomorrow and Papa Roach tonight."

"Don't forget Backstreet Boys," added Shayner.

Under the sun, other attendees took advantage of the designated blanket zone between the Prudential and Backstage lawn.

Sonia Santellano, wearing both sunglasses and a floppy wide-brimmed summer hat, held a portable fan to beat the heat. Her husband, Jeff, sat alongside her, nodded his head to songs from indie-pop artist Indy as she performed on stage.The couple made the three-and-a-half hour drive from Fresno and plan to attend all three days.

"This is our first time here. We saw the lineup and decided to jump the gun and come here," said Jeff.

When asked which artist they were most excited to see this weekend, both enthusiastically responded at the same time with Jeff blurting out "Foo Fighters!" and Sonia S. smiling and yelling, "Backstreet Boys!"

As the afternoon continued, so did the steady stream of attendees flowing from the 3rd St. and Burnell St. entrances.

Sections including the Culinary Garden gradually swelled with lines forming at every food stall and tables packed underneath the Shaded Terrance with hungry festival-goers.

Mother and daughter Michelle and Ava Serrato sat in front of the Williams Sonoma stage, both to watch The Beths perform on screen and to rest their feet for a bit.

This weekend marks Michelle's third time and Ava's first time at BottleRock.

Ava Serrato, a student from UC San Diego, flew up to spend the weekend with her mother.

"I heard the vibes are supposed to be insane and so far it has been," Ava Serrato said. "I honestly can't wait for Lorde and The Warning tomorrow."

BottleRock also brought back its highly anticipated Williams Sonoma Culinary Stage, where esteemed chefs cook alongside celebrity guests throughout the day in various half hour intervals.

Between 4 and 4:30 p.m., Food Network chef Aaron May was joined alongside singer and rapper John Bellion, Friday headliner Teddy Swims and Forward Golden State Warriors player Jimmy Butler.

"It's a beautiful day, it's a beautiful crowd. Let's have some fun!" May exclaimed to a cheering crowd.

The event kicked off with May's version of a "Midnight Cowboy" cocktail with shaken ingredients that included bourbon, espresso liqueur, date syrup and chocolate bitters.

"We like chocolate, don't we?" said Butler, winking at the crowd as he shook the tumbler around.

The main dish was a tiered "Uncrustables" dessert with elevated ingredients: Japanese milk bread, coconut cream, blackberry bourbon jam, peanut butter, candied bacon roses, espresso powder and a pinch of salt.

"Who's the real chef here?" Butler asked with a smile as May quickly retorted, "Not (Stephen) Curry, I'll tell ya that much."

Not only did Butler dish out quips, he also sprinkled in a karaoke performance by singing early 2000s teenage heart-throb classics "A Thousand Miles" by Vanessa Carlton and "Beautiful Soul" by Jesse McCartney.

Back at the T-Mobile stage, as the sunset bathed the crowd in golden hour hues, Vacaville-based band Papa Roach took to the stage amidst roaring cheers, head thrashing and rock-n-roll hand signs.

"What's up BottleRock? We are Papa Roach and we are absolutely thrilled to be in front of all you lovely people," Lead singer Jacoby Shaddix shouted into the microphone as plumes of smoke and flames shot up from behind. "We're from Vacaville, a small cowtown. We were just small boys back in 1993 with big dreams thinking we could do this. We're still up here having the time of our lives."

Shaddix gave a shoutout to his parents and his son, Brixton, who were all in attendance. With Jerry Horton as the lead guitarist, Tobin Esperance on bass and Tony Palermo on drums, Papa Roach opened their set with "Even If It Kills Me" followed by "Between Angels And Insects" and "Getting Away With Murder."

"Anyone watchin' Papa Roach for the first time tonight? If you are, welcome to the family," said Shaddix.

Friday night headliners Lorde and Lil Wayne were scheduled to close out the Prudential and T-Mobile Stage. Men at Work and Meredith Marks with DJ Umami were scheduled to close out the HelloFresh and NorthBay Health stages.

Look for stories on the festival throughout the weekend at timesheraldonline.com and thereporter.com.

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This story was originally published May 22, 2026 at 7:34 PM.