NAPA — It was just a couple of songs into Ed Sheeran’s headlining BottleRock set when he told a story of his first hit, “The A Team,” and how he got a pub to play the song over and over, hoping that one day someone would find the same passion that he had for it. He came up empty many times, but all that mattered was the time he didn’t.

It’s a story that’s instructive to the type of performer that Sheeran is.

Ed Sheeran

Cut to what would have been the second song in the set, “Shivers.” Sheeran went through his looping process only to find his keyboard wasn’t working. Given he’s the only performer on stage, with a mic, guitar and the small keyboard, it’s the type of snafu that could grind a show to a halt. Instead, Sheeran barely blinked, quickly calling an audible to his tech.

“You fix the keyboard, I’ll play something else; that’s how you know it’s all live,” he said.

That quick interaction defined Sheeran’s immense talent during his 90-minute set to close out BottleRock to an absolutely jam-packed crowd. He laid down some rules early on, explaining how loop pedals work and that all the sounds are created by him and deleted at the end of the night.

“I would like you to end this week with no voices,” he said. “I will sing in tune; you will sing as loudly as possible.”

Sheeran had to call a few audibles during the show, stopping mid-song during “I’m a Mess” to check on the welfare of some people in the front. On “Give Me Love,” he built up to an epic ending, adding a crescendo, having the crowd harmonize a high and low part in unison. Again, Sheeran tried his keyboard—to no avail.

“I write a lot of songs, some of them never get released; I call those hard drive hits,” he said. “But some songs go to the other people.”

One of those songs was Justin Bieber’s “Love Yourself,” which Sheeran adeptly performed while his “loop pedal [was] rebooting.”

The third time was ultimately the charm, and the keyboard was back. Sheeran gave a relieved thumbs up to his hard-working techs after he successfully got through “Shivers.” If not for his comfort in working on the fly, the set could have gone very differently. Instead, no one missed a beat, and had he not mentioned anything, the crowd may have not even known anything was wrong.

Sheeran’s most dramatic looped creations made for some of the best moments in the show, like when he bridged covers of “Superstition” and “Ain’t No Sunshine” with his own, “Take It Back.”

One of the more touching moments came during “Eyes Closed,” when he talked about losing a close friend and how until the funeral actually arrived, he never truly believed it to be real. After, Sheeran announced that he was moving into the singalong portion of the show with some of his more rousing songs.

“This next song your grandmother knows the words to, so if you don’t know the words, you are at the wrong concert,” he said.

That song was “Thinking Out Loud,” and as expected, the crowd delivered the familiar lines at high volume. From there it was on to “Photograph” and “Perfect.”

Also impressive was Sheeran’s ability to lay down wordy verses and rap at hyperspeed with ease. On the funky “Don’t,” he infused a dose of “No Diggity” and “California Love,” while on “You Need Me, I Don’t Need You,” he powered through multiple lengthy verses without breaking a sweat. That track and the equally thrilling “Bloodstream” had complex and beautiful looped backing. On the latter, Sheeran created a soundscape of vocal melodies.

The biggest crowd pleasers came last: the bouncy “Shape Of You” and a scintillating “Bad Habits.”

“We do a lot of traveling and play a lot of places, and this very well might be the best festival around,” Sheeran said.

The Offspring

You’ve almost definitely already heard, but Ed Sheeran played a song with The Offspring. As Offspring frontman Dexter Holland told the story, the first CD Sheeran bought as a kid was an Offspring album, so he wanted to play “Million Miles Away,” which the band hadn’t played since 2016. That would presumably make Sheeran’s first CD 2000’s Conspiracy of One, if you need more trivia for your Ed Sheeran fan site.

But enough about the guest. It’s time to focus on the main event.

The Offspring played a raucous, crowd-pleasing show that probably got to everyone’s favorite of their songs. They said they’d play some old and some new songs, but there were only three songs from the 21st century, and one was a Sheeran special request. The rest were from their prime and, based on the number of people singing along to each one, their most popular.

They opened with “Come Out and Play” from Smash, which just turned 30 this past April, followed by “All I Want,” from next album Ixnay on the Hombre and the classic video game “Crazy Taxi.” Some bands start slow and lead up to the big hits. Offspring started there and just kept going.

The pace kept up with “Want You Bad” and “Staring at the Sun,” until Holland needed a break and left it to Noodles, lead guitarist and the only other remaining member of the classic lineup. Holland took a couple breaks, and one of the younger band members took some of the highest notes here and there, but that’s the risk you take deciding to sing punk rock as a tenor. It’s hard to keep it going as you get close to your 60th birthday.

Fortunately, nobody cared about any of that. Especially since Noodles absolutely rocked a guitar cover of Edvard Grieg’s “In the Hall of the Mountain King.” Holland returned, and they moved from the 19th century to the 20th with a cover of the Ramones’ “Blitzkrieg Bop,” complete with a man in a gorilla mask holding a sign that said “Hey Ho Let’s Go.”

After high-point-of-profanity “Bad Habit” and some redhead crashing the party, they got on to “Gotta Get Away” and one of their most recognizable singles, “Pretty Fly for a White Guy.” The latter had two wacky waving inflatable-arm-flailing tube men dressed as the titular white guy from the song’s video.

Rare for a non-headlining festival set, the Offspring had an encore: “You’re Gonna Go Far, Kid” from 2008’s Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace, and perhaps the biggest crowd-pleaser of an incredibly crowd-pleasing set, the classic ode to the worst relationship you’ve ever had, “Self Esteem.” It seemed that the entire crowd knew and shouted every word to the song.

 

The Beaches

Toronto quartet The Beaches brought some needed electricity in a spirited hour-long set. A little punk, rock and occasionally a little rootsy, it was a winning formula. The performance was lively, upbeat, and used the entirety of the stage.

“Wine hangovers are the worst,” guitarist Kylie Miller said.

“I’m ready to crush some wine grapes later in the day,” bassist Jordan Miller shot back.

The interplay between the members and the crowd was half the fun of the set.

“We just got in after playing Red Rocks,” Miller said. “That was a bucket list gig, and this is another…a wine bucket.”

The band was tight and energetic on tracks like “Me and Me,” “Fascination” and “Kismet.”

“Who’s excited for Ed Sheeran?” Miller asked midway through. “I’m actually using his in-ears [monitors] today.” To which guitarist Leandra Earl quipped, “Would you say they’re… the shape of you?”

The band continued with “Shower Beer,” with Miller and Earl performing dizzying synchronized spins with the rhythm of the song.

With a number of festival appearances scheduled during the day, the group joked about how busy it was, wondering if it’d also be performing a wedding along the way.

“Some of you haven’t experienced lesbian trauma, and it shows,” Earl said, introducing “Edge of the Earth.” “My therapist hates me.”

Stephen Marley

While Stephen Marley is an accomplished musician in his own right, winning Grammys both solo and for collaborations with older brother Ziggy, father Bob Marley loomed large over the set.

That’s figurative, but also very literal. A large portrait of Bob Marley hung at the back of the stage alongside a golden lion statue, representing the Lion of Judah, and a portrait of Ethiopian Emperor and Rastafari messiah Haile Selassie.

The elder Marley also loomed large in the performance. Roughly half the songs were his or that of the Wailers. They had a bit more of a mellow vibe when Stephen performed them—not substantially different, but not quite the same. It was most notable on the more universally recognized songs like “I Shot the Sheriff.”

The other half, aside from one Joe Higgs cover (“There’s a Reward”), was Stephen Marley’s own material. “Chase Dem” was an early entry and one of the better ones, along with “Old Soul,” for which his current tour was named. Across the board, the set was a nice, chill oasis. Sitting between Queens of the Stone Age blaring from one side and Ed Sheeran echoing from the other, it was a relaxing end to a festival.

Norah Jones

Singer-songwriter Norah Jones brought an impressive intimacy that’s difficult to achieve at a festival. It came at just the right time of day, when the heat was reaching its peak. Many in the crowd laid out on blankets and took in Jones’ stellar voice and uber-talented band in a relaxed setting, without the pressures of the crush. Jones spoke softly as she took the stage in a multicolored dress that had some similarities to the backdrop behind her.

“Can you see me up here or am I ‘Where’s Waldo?’” she quietly said.

First sitting at her piano, Jones eased into the performance, announcing she would be leaning heavily on her new album Visions. Jones’ voice remains a revelation. Smokey and serene, it’s a delight to hear her do her thing.

She kept the banter to a minimum, checking in with the crowd occasionally to make sure they were still with her. Jones played tracks like “Running” at the keys and strapped on a guitar for songs like “Queen of the Sea.” Worth noting was her band, which played with such an intricate nuance that managed to translate even from a distance. Her drummer in particular struck with such a light, yet focused touch, the rhythms were almost tactical in their precision.

 

Action Bronson

It’s not common to see a rapper with a full band, especially in the modern era of SoundCloud rappers who often just play the recorded versions of their songs. But Action Bronson came with a band. And we’re not just talking guitarist, bassist and drummer; there was a keyboard when a song called for it, and a saxophone came out at one point.

The band was excellent! There were times Action Bronson would leave the stage for a break and the band would just jam, and those segments were very, very good. But that’s not who the fans were there to see. Fans wanted the rapper who broke out enough to get multiple TV show deals.

“They’ve gotta give me something to fuckin’ play with,” Bronson announced, picking up a tambourine.

It seemed like most of the songs were from his major label debut, 2015’s Mr. Wonderful, and it’s never a bad idea to stick with the old stuff. “Terry,” “Actin’ Crazy” and “Baby Blue” from Wonderful made the cut, among others.

The only time he nearly lost the crowd was one line in “Live From the Moon,” from 2018’s White Bronco: “Fuck Star Wars, Indiana Jones is better, bitch.” That one got a smattering of boos.

The Soul Rebels with Talib Kweli

The Soul Rebels are New Orleans legends. They’ve been around in some form for over 30 years, and they’ve been on the nationwide mainstream radar since bands like Green Day and Metallica collaborated with them at shows. They showed Napa why that is.

If you’re wondering what the Soul Rebels are all about, picture a brass band playing a cover of Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky.” They did just that, and it was amazing. As catchy as that song is by two French robots, it’s somehow even catchier played by a stationary second line.

The Soul Rebels played some of their own songs as well, of course. “Good Time” and “Greatness,” especially, were hits. They also played a solid cover of Bob Marley’s “Could You Be Loved,” shouting out that Marley’s son Stephen would be playing that very stage later on.

The band was billed on the schedule as “The Soul Rebels featuring Talib Kweli,” and the Black Star rapper did eventually take the stage with 20 minutes left of their 75-minute set. It’s hard to decide whether Kweli’s late entrance is a good or bad thing. On the one hand, Soul Rebels are fantastic on their own. On the other, Kweli is a legend. And he showed why, performing some of his own songs like “The Blast” and covers like Mobb Deep’s “Quiet Storm.”

Cannons

L.A. dreampop trio Cannons brought a refreshing ethereal and atmospheric sound to the Verizon Stage, on an afternoon with heavier rock. Frontwoman Michelle Joy was reserved, but had a quiet confidence that made the set even more inviting.

Guitarist Ryan Clapham and bassist Paul Davis laid down a shimmering musical backdrop. The spacious sound reverberated down everywhere, allowing Joy to take command on the vocals.

“The song is one of my favorites,” she said before kicking into “Can You Feel My Heart?”

Mixing in tracks like “Shadows,” “Bright Lights” and “Hurricane,” the band locked into a solid mid-tempo groove, perfect for the relaxed atmosphere and the people on blankets strewn across the lawn.

Joy led a singalong on “Crush,” encouraging the crowd to sing the chorus. The band is touring in support of its 2023 album, Heartbeat Highway.

Brittany Davis

Brittany Davis is difficult to define. They’re from Seattle and have been in a band with Pearl Jam’s Stone Gossard, but they’re definitely not grunge. They’re originally from Kansas City but they’re not exactly blues. There are flashes of those things, but also funk, rock, hip-hop and a dozen other things rarely if ever put together.

The only way to define them, basically, is that they’re very, very good.

Davis is “blind, Black and overweight,” as they describe themself on “Follow My Lead,” and on their latest album, Image Issues, they also play every instrument and help produce. They came in hot with set opener “Madd” and immediately came in even hotter, firing up the crowd with a declaration of, “Turn it up! Let’s burn this motherfucker down!”

Pure infectious joy beginning to end, Davis even made the requests to the sound board fun. After asking for more vocals on the monitor—something the average listener isn’t expected to bother paying attention to—they got what they wanted and said, “That’s it, I feel the juice now! That’s got some Crisco on it,” to laughs from the crowd.

Last year, the Prudential stage hosted blues guitar legend Christone “Kingfish” Ingram and, by the end of the set, had filled so much that listeners were spilling out into walkways. This year, Brittany Davis had the same effect, stretching the area’s capacity as their set went on. Maybe from now on, artists who blend blues with modern styles should just get a bigger stage to save some trouble.

Jane Leo

Jane Leo—a duo made up of Jane Ellen Bryant on vocals and keys and Daniel “Leo” Leopold on guitar and vocals—was a bit like a band out of time. Their synth-driven art pop had a definite ‘80s vibe, fluctuating between a sort of ethereal new wave and what fellow duo Sleigh Bells would sound like if it had gotten its start about 25 years earlier than it did.

The pace picked up as the set went along, beginning with the pair harmonizing over their throwback sounds, adding some guitar solos after a song or two on “Tell Me (I’m On Your Mind),” and ramping it up from there. Soon the “Jane half” was stepping from her keyboard and going full frontwoman, while the “Leo half” slid into the background to rock the guitar and contribute backup vocals.

By the time they got to “Diamond Hands,” released just over a week ago on May 17, and “WOW,” which they’ve described as being written to channel the energy of their live shows, the song and the show came together into that promised energy.

Tors

Sunday mornings are the most relaxed part of BottleRock’s weekends. U.K. imports Tors fit the bill with their blend of rock and melodic pop.

“This is our first show in America; thanks for having us,” guitarist and vocalist Matt Weedon said to the arriving, likely tired, festival-goers. “Listen to how quiet and polite you are. Is this what America is like? No?”

All three members sang, delivering some of the most pitch-perfect harmonies of the festival. Theo Weedon’s warm and dulcet tones were stunningly good, and the backing elevated that sound. He was chatty and informal throughout the 50-minute set, casually introducing his band to the audience.

“Our drummer Jack had his heart broken recently and he won’t stop talking about it,” said Weedon, who often targeted drummer Jack Bowden with his stage banter. “He’s single and ready to mingle, and honestly, we’re hoping someone will take him off our hands.”

The band adjusted their song “Amsterdam” to be more festival-centric, changing one lyric to “Did you ever make it to BottleRock?”

“Our parents gave us two pieces of advice: They said, ‘we won’t lend you any money’ and ‘don’t ever give up,’” Weedon said as Tors rolled into closer “Never Give Up.”

Forrest Day

Forrest Day hails from Oakland. He told the crowd this, but we could have figured it out on our own when he made some rare jokes about the festival’s opulent and elevated VIP areas.

“You’ve got the Kentucky Derby over there,” he said, pointing up to one VIP terrace. “You’ve got a match at Wimbledon over there. You can so clearly see the economics from the stage.”

The set wasn’t all class consciousness, though he did play a song called “Sweatshop Cathedral.” His mix of rock, jazz, hip-hop, soul and a dozen other influences had a hard rocking feel. If you only know “Sleepwalk,” his viral hit that he used to open the show, you don’t have a full sense of his vibe. A better example would be a couple songs after that: “Hyperactive.”

Day mentioned that his two kids under 5 years old were in the crowd and said ‘hi’ to them once, though one was apparently crying. Later on, when introducing “Fuck You Love You,” he clarified: “I got my own kids in the audience so I can say whatever I want.”

We even got a bonus song; after introducing the band and playing what felt like a closer, he noticed that his band had eight minutes left, so he threw in another. The song was “About Time,” which he said was appropriate because it was about time for them on stage.

“I’m Forrest Day, not Action Bronson!” the similarly tattooed Day said to close the show. “He’s up later!”