Despite some delays and a few last-minute tweaks to the lineup, BottleRock Napa Valley is underway.
Music-starved concertgoers had their first shot at a major Bay Area festival this weekend as the three-day event started on Friday. It's one of the biggest large-scale events in the Bay Area since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the festival has been sold-out for months.
Attendees on Friday were eager to get back to normal.
"It's my first everything since COVID," a concertgoer named Katie told KCBS Radio. "It's wonderful!"
Attendees are required to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test from within the previous 72 hours. Masks are also mandatory in the few indoor spaces on the festival grounds.
Stephanie, another concertgoer, told KCBS Radio she hoped people are being safer in general.
"I'm a critical care nurse, so it's nice to be able to be amongst people and not patients," she said. "So, it's kind of fun."
BottleRock is normally held in May, but it was first delayed until last October and then this May until organizers settled on Labor Day weekend. John Truchard, who co-owns JaM Cellars with his wife Michele, said the festival is a boon to the local economy and exhibitors were ready to welcome back visitors to the Napa Valley.
"It exposes folks that wouldn't normally come to Napa," he told KCBS Radio. "They come here, get good exposure to the chefs, good exposure to the wines. The music is the draw, but the food and wine is a nice wrap."
The California Highway Patrol said traffic flow was smooth throughout Friday. But the real test would be after the Highwomen finish performing as the night's headliner, Sgt. William Bradshaw told KCBS Radio.
"Everybody comes throughout the day, but they all leave at the same time," he said. "When 40,000 people dump out of here, you know it's over."
The festival runs through Sunday, with Guns N' Roses, the Foo Fighters, Miley Cyrus and the East Bay's own G-Eazy all set to perform. Chris Stapleton, originally scheduled to replace Stevie Nicks as Friday night's headliner, won't perform due to what he said was a non-COVID-related illness.
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