Review: Superstar '80s act wins over huge crowd during festival show
Kool & the Gang was the oldest band on the BottleRock Napa Valley bill, having first come together to make music — albeit under a string of different names — way back in 1964.
Yet, these Jersey City legends still sounded mighty “Fresh,” if you will, as they treated thousands of music lovers to just shy of an hour’s worth of iconic R&B/soul/funk/disco tunes on Sunday (May 24) on the BottleRock’s biggie Prudential Stage.
“BottleRock, are you ready to party?” bassist Robert “Kool” Bell asked the crowd right at the start of this terrific eight-song, no-filler set. “Are you ready to get down?”
The crowd answered in the affirmative on both counts, boogieing around an open field under the hot midday sun as if they were instead dancing well past midnight at the old Studio 54 as the group opened with a groovy one-two punch of “Fresh” and “Too Hot.”
From there, Kool & the Gang rolled right into a tender take on “Joanna,” the memorable single from 1983’s “In the Heart” that was the only romantic ballad — or true slow song of any type — to make the BottleRock setlist. (Granted, the steamy “Too Hot,” while not a ballad, does have a kind of slow-jam feel to it.)
Bell — the soul surviving founding member of the group — and his seven immensely talented bandmates went right back into party mode as they offered up a dynamic tripleheader of “Jungle Boogie,” “Hollywood Swingin'” and “Ladies’ Night.”
Shawn “Shawny Mac” McQuiller did a solid job leading the charge on vocals, working in front of a four-piece horn brigade and a funky-as-can-be rhythm section.
The horn players all took their turns in the spotlight, resulting in particularly memorable moments from trombonist Jermaine Bryson on “Hollywood Swingin'” and saxophonist Louis “Nicky” Taylor on “Too Hot.” And that sweet guitar lead from Rick Marcel on “Too Hot” is also still sticking to my ribs.
The group neared the finish line with one of its finest jams — “Get Down on It” — the gold-certified single from 1981’s “Something Special” that, believe it or not, the Backstreet Boys would also touch upon during their headlining set on the same stage just a few hours later.
Kool & the Gang closed with the song that everyone was looking forward to singing along to on this afternoon — “Celebration” — which many around these parts know as “the A’s victory song.”
And this band was certainly victorious on this afternoon, wowing the old fans and winning over plenty of new ones during its time at BottleRock.
Kool & the Gang setlist:
1. “Fresh”
2. “Too Hot”
3. “Joanna”
4. “Jungle Boogie”
5. “Hollywood Swingin'”
6. “Ladies’ Night”
7. “Get Down on It”
8. “Celebration”
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This story was originally published May 26, 2026 at 9:10 AM.