A Day at Bottlerock, Wine Country’s Music Festival -

Bottlerock is Napa’s annual three-day music festival. After a 2020 hiatus (for obvious reasons) the festival returned this year to close out summer on Labor Day Weekend. I feel like going to Bottlerock is a rite of passage – if you live in Napa, you have to go at least once.

Being that I live walking distance to the festival site, it seemed especially necessary to check it out this year, so my husband and I bought single-day tickets for Saturday. I scored great prices on last-minute tickets by going to Fanimal, a site that is up front about their pricing with no hidden fees.

On Friday night, we sat in our backyard to hear the music and people watch as crowds came and went. I was impressed with how kempt the people looked after a day of festival fun, and genuinely expected it to get rowdier. I jokingly said this festival has classy-Napa-vibes, and that actually held true, as we observed on our day there Saturday. The festival has a hard curfew at 10pm, which definitely helps prevent a rowdy late-night crowd. Everyone has plenty of time to have tons of fun throughout the day!

First of all, it felt great that festivals are back. In my opinion, nothing beats being outdoors hearing live music. I don’t even need to know all the bands playing, it’s still super enjoyable, especially in a festival atmosphere where you can explore several genres and eat and drink to your heart’s content.

Bottlerock has six different stages, including a culinary stage featuring chefs alongside celebrity guests & musicians. This year Guns & Roses headlined the main stage and Miley Cyrus closed out the Verizon Stage. There are so many other artists playing throughout the day, so no matter where you wander in the festival grounds, you’ll be hearing great music.

Below are a few tips about what to expect and how to plan a day at Bottlerock.

Food: The festival opens just before noon, so grab breakfast or brunch before heading in. Inside the festival are endless dining options, featuring everything from high-end Napa restaurants to pizza and hot dogs. I love that so many local eateries are showcased here. You can get a taste of Napa Valley all in one place.

Drinks: Beer, craft beer, cocktails, and of course, wine + bubbles. Drink booths are setup in multiple areas, pretty easily accessible when you want a refill. You’re allowed to bring in empty, reusable bottles for the water filling stations and you definitely should. Cans of cold water are available for purchase at $4 each. If you’re patient, wait in the lines for the water stations, but the cans were convenient so I did splurge on a couple of those.
- My hot tip for cold drinks: Bring a spare reusable water bottle: one for water, one for a cocktail. I waited in a very long line for Aperol Spritz (worth it!), so when I reached the front, I figured I’d grab two so I wouldn’t have to come back. Life hack: Dump your second drink into your empty bottle and saved a nice chilled drink for later.

Setup: The grounds are easy to walk through and there’s decent seating available if you want to rest. You can also bring a blanket if you want to find a spot on the ground in front of a stage. We mostly stood at every stage we went to, except the Plaza Stage where we hung out on the bleachers while we ate. I loved walking around and looking at all the art installations (hello, photo ops!) and people watching was great, too!

Fashion: It’ll be hot during the day, but chilly at night, so don’t forget a jacket. I opted for a dress (scored this one under $40 a week before the festival, thanks to Amazon Prime!) and I think shorts would be a good idea too. Personally, I thought it was too hot for jeans, but they could work for you. My biggest advice is avoid rompers or jumpsuits! It’s never fun to fully strip down inside a teeny tiny porta-potty! Another piece of advice is keep in mind your outfit won’t stay spotless. The grounds are dusty, so shoes will be dirty and you never know if someone will spill on or near you, so if that happens, grab some napkins & shake it off. For shoes, maybe this goes without saying, but wear something comfy since you’ll be walking a lot – definitely not the day to be breaking in brand new shoes! Lastly, I was so grateful for my hat! I honestly wore it because I liked it with my outfit, but I’m glad I did because it kept the sun off my face. If you skip the hat, don’t forget sunglasses.
- Outfit essentials:
- Shorts/jeans or a dress
- Avoid rompers/jumpsuits
- Jacket
- Comfy shoes
- Hat or sunglasses
- Expect your outfit (especially shoes) to get a little dusty!

Accessories & other things to bring: I bought this clear/iridescent tote bag from Amazon to carry everything in. The rules say only a small fanny pack size bag is allowed or if you want something larger, it has to be clear. I did see people inside with backpacks and bigger bags, but I didn’t want to take a chance, so that tote bag passed the test and was easy to throw everything in. Most of the stages have little to no shade during the day, so this portable fan helped me stay cool. Other recommendations to bring: hand sanitizer, sunscreen (non-aerosol) and a portable phone charger. There are charging stations available, but it’s so much easier to have on one you if you need it by the end of the night. On that note, I was thoroughly impressed with the cell service! I’m used to messages taking forever to send or videos not uploading, but everything worked like a charm – great news in case you get split up from your group.
- Accessory essentials:
- Clear tote bag or small purse/fanny pack
- Portable fan
- Hand sanitizer
- Sunscreen (non-aerosol)
- Portable phone charger

Overall, Bottlerock was a great experience! I hope to do it again next year, and I’d probably go for more than one day. I’d definitely recommend checking it out – even the one-day experience was fantastic, and you can explore other things to do in Napa on the surrounding days.

If you have any questions or any tips I may have forgot, I’d love to hear in the comments!