Bring your stamina to BottleRock Napa Valley to savor the many amazing acts stacked all day, so you won’t miss anything. Discover new music, watch your favorite artists up close, and easily access one stage from the next. Observe culinary greats paired with celebrities performing culinary shenanigans on the Williams Sonoma Culinary Stage, and delight in the best local Napa Valley bites in the Culinary Garden.
In addition to the all-star lineup accompanying every musical genre, this year there was a Lululemon Roller Rink, Silent Disco by Allianz, and Spa By Be Love. Presented by JaM Cellars, the JaM Pad Clubroom brings guests “backstage” and feet away from the top musical performances, with a seat and a pour of wine like Butter Chardonnay.
BottleRock has something for everyone and this 3-day music festival from May 23 – 25, 2025 did not disappoint.
It’s the best way to kick off summer, right in the heart of NorCal wine country. Book your tickets for next year’s rockin’ experience from May 22 – 24, 2026. Check out the 2025 BottleRock Highlights Video recap.
10 Memorable Moments from BottleRock Napa Valley 2025
Dressed in jean shorts and a purple Def Leppard Tee, Benson Boone did a daring flip at the Williams Sonoma Culinary Stage – after concocting Moonbeam ice cream inspired by his Mystical Magical song – all with the help of the Voltaggio Brothers, Green Day drummer Tres Cool, and actor/comedian Adam Devine. Boone blended the ice cream slowly – with blueberry, mini marshmallows, and zests of lemon – before giving the concoction his approval and performing his signature move. “Moonbeam ice cream, taking off your blue jeans.”
Iron Chef Morimoto celebrated his 70th birthday on the William Sonoma Culinary Stage, as he slayed a massive 200-pound tuna in less than 14 minutes, then served guests slices of the rich, prized sushi cuts. The Baja-caught tuna’s price tag may have been anywhere from $10,000 – $40,000. The crowd sang Happy Birthday to the legendary Japanese chef as host Andrew Zimmern narrated the fish sword journey.
Artist Linda Perry of 4 Non Blondes performed with her band for the first time in 30+ years, then sang at the JaM Pad Clubroom while the crowd sang in unison, “Hey – ey -ey, What’s going on?”
Benson Boone drew the biggest crowd. On stage, he shared how close he is with his parents, then belted his new “Momma” song. We counted at least 8 flips, one landing into the audience as a finale. The audience was captivated by his one-hour performance at 6 PM, that went on hours before the headliners. Is he Freddy Mercury’s spiritual grandson? His commanding stage presence, mesmerizing voice, and moving lyrics have us all hooked. All of this stardom at 22 years old and we didn’t even know who he was until the Grammys.
Ice Cube told the crowd he was going to play the Ice Cube Love Song and the crowd went wild with the 1999 hit “You Can Do It” as the rap lyrics took us back to “You can do it. Put your back into it. I can do it. Put your @$$ into it. Don’t stop, get it, get it.” The crowd lost their minds for this hip hop legend moving and grooving with wild abandon and a lot of weed. Other legendary American rappers like E-40 and Flavor Flav rocked various stages over the weekend, reminding us of the good ole 90s and resurecting sayings like, “Yeah, boyeeee.” E-40 has a wine line called Earl Stevens and Flavor Flav showed off his kitchen skills making his secret fried chicken recipe on the Williams Sonoma Culinary Stage.
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Kate Hudson performed her first festival after releasing her debut album, but the most moving song was her rendition of the 1999 song, Take a Picture, by Filter.
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Green Day’s punk rock brought us back to the 90s – opening with their 2004 American Idiot song, tweaked to oppose the “MAGA” agenda. Lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong’s youngest son, Jakob Armstrong, and his band Ultra Q, performed a stellar show of post punk energetic tunes earlier in the day on the same stage, sharing, “This is the largest stage we’ve ever performed.”
Sublime’s frontman, Jakob Nowell, revived his father’s 90s band by taking over lead vocals as original vocalist Bradley Nowell died in 1997, when Jakob was a baby.
Kaskade’s electrifying EDM show with guest vocalist Skylar Gray drew a huge elated dancing crowd of all ages. Seeing him play the largest crowd ever in Coachella history in 2015 secured our love for his music, but in a belated Instagram stories post, Kaskade remarks how he couldn’t believe he was stacked against Green Day as a dueling headliner as, “People in the North Bay pledge allegiance to Green Day.” But it didn’t seem to affect the crowd sprawling in every direction and jamming into every crevice in VIP. Kaskade is one of the top DJ’s in the world and it’s impossible not to be moved by his rising and scintillating rhythms, remixes with top musicians, and intoxicating climactic beats.
The Chef from Gerard’s Paella left his restaurant station to ask if the girl seated next to me if she was enjoying her paella. This level of personal culinary attentiveness is what you can expect from BottleRock. Everywhere, people were polite, friendly, and courteous – even maneuvering in stage-front crowds. Culinary options abound, from the local Napa area, ready to excite and delight tastebuds between shows in the Culinary Garden. Some of our favorites included Progressive Lao Street Food, serving a Lao Lao Set of fried chicken, pork, and beef and a surprising Anchovy Sundae with coconut ice cream, sweet Brioche roll, and brown sugar caramel topped with crispy anchovy. Other standout options included Sumo Dog’s elevated hot dogs, Slanted Door’s Vietnamese eats, Tarla’s Mediterranean Grill, Napa Yard’s Kalua Pork and Ahi Poke, and State Line Road Smoke House, with their famous brisket burnt ends. Butter Chardonnay and Butter Pinot were favorite wine sips from the Jam Cellars JaM Pad.
For more, here are 10 reasons BottleRock Napa Valley is the best music festival in America.
Wondering what to wear? Click here for the BottleRock fashion scoop.
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