Review: Acclaimed rock act brings reunion tour to BottleRock Napa
Rilo Kiley didn’t treat its BottleRock night show as an afterthought.
The acclaimed Los Angeles indie-rock act - which regrouped last year after a dozen years apart - absolutely slayed in its 90-minute show at the Uptown Theatre in Napa, making everyone in attendance on Friday (May 22) happy with their decision to stay up late.
Taking the stage at 11 p.m. - a little more than a hour after Lorde had closed out the first day of the 2026 BottleRock Napa Valley festival - Rilo Kiley kicked off the 18-song show with a triumphant take on the title track to 2002’s “The Execution of All Things.”
The group - consisting of lead vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Jenny Lewis, guitarist-vocalist Blake Sennett, bassist Pierre de Reeder, drummer Jason Boesel and guitarist/keyboardist Harrison Whitford - just kept getting better as the night progressed, rolling through offerings from all four of its full-length studio albums as well as a single track (the delightful dance number “Frug”) from the band’s 1999 self-titled EP.
Much of the crowd was up and dancing beginning with the second song - the rambunctious fellow “Execution” number “Spectacular Views” - as Sennett rolled through one blistering lead after another.
Sennett, who also sang lead a couple of numbers, is an axe man of the highest order and it was joy to see him rough up these numbers on the live stage.
The synergy between band and audience reached its peak in the second half of the show, right as Lewis was crooning through “Silver Lining” - one of the finest radio-friendly pop-rock tunes of the past 20 years - and later followed up with an explosive “Portions for Foxes.”
The group closed its AfterDark show with a three-song encore - finally finishing up with a rocked-out “Pictures of Success” - fully ready to take on the BottleRock festival crowd the next day (Saturday, May 23)
And Rilo Kiley will do just that beginning at 6:45 p.m. May 23 at the T-Mobile Stage. For more information, visit bottlerocknapavalley.com.
Rilo Kiley setlist:
1) “The Execution of All Things”
2) “Spectacular Views”
3) “Paint’s Peeling”
4) “The Moneymaker”
5) “Dreamworld”
6) “I Never”
7) “Close Call”
8) “It’s a Hit”
9) “Does He Love You?”
10) “Ripchord”
11) “The Good That Won’t Come Out”
12) “Silver Lining”
13) “With Arms Outstretched”
14) “A Better Son/Daughter”
15) “Portions for Foxes”
Encore:
16) “Frug”
17) “Breakin’ Up”
18) “Pictures of Success”
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This story was originally published May 23, 2026 at 1:05 PM.