NAPA — The crowds at the Napa Valley Expo felt bigger and a little younger on Saturday, and there was an excitement in the air for one of the most prominent performers ever to take the BottleRock stage.

Justin Timberlake

There was little question as to who the biggest draw was on Saturday, and maybe the biggest of the weekend, based on the masses gathered in front of the main stage to catch the arrival of Justin Timberlake. The BottleRock appearance was Timberlake’s last in America as part of an extended tour.

“Bay Area!” Timberlake shouted, emerging on the stage in an oversized sport coat, flanked by his large backing band, The Tennessee Kids.

Much like Green Day the night prior, there was basically no waiting for the barrage of hits to begin. Timberlake opened with “Mirrors,” a track that has now amassed more than 1 billion streams on YouTube. From there, it was right into “Cry Me A River,” one of the singer’s most memorable tracks. Columns of smoke shot upward during the choppy “My Love,” and there was an epic guitar solo.

Timberlake was all smiles from start to finish, pointing out fans and carrying on a casual conversation throughout the night. He seemed relaxed, maybe grateful, for the end of a long tour. He laid down more crowd-pleasing upbeat tracks like “LoveStoned/I Think That She Knows.”

“Y’all ready to dance?” he asked. Most of the crowd seemed to be.

The Tennessee Kids weren’t an average backing band. From the horns to the rhythm section and dual guitar attack, every song felt alive. The tracks also felt like they had specific live arrangements: some with half-time breakdowns, others with extended jam sessions. The onstage chemistry between Timberlake and the band was infectious.

“You made that jacket!? You want me to sign it?” Timberlake asked one fan holding up a custom denim jacket. He gave a sheepish look in complying, “OK….”

As Timberlake put his signature on the jacket pocket, more items came flying onstage, including a cowboy hat.

“Sorry, I’ll be with you in just a second, BottleRock,” he said with a laugh.

Justin Timberlake jumped in and out of choreography throughout the performance, popping and locking along with the rhythm. Later, he showed appreciation for his family and friends, many of whom were in attendance.

“Love and gratitude to each and every one of you, especially since I’ve been doing this for a long time,” he said.

The moment seemed heartfelt, especially given Timberlake’s recent brushes with controversy like his DUI. The moment was broken with levity as a stagehand worked on a piece of equipment on Timberlake’s back.

“Is there a man in black touching my ass right now? I’ve definitely had nightmares about this,” he said. “I hope it was as good for you as it was for me.”

The pacing was brisk. The trio of “Suit & Tie,” “Rock Your Body” and “Can’t Stop The Feeling” engaged the crowd to move, the latter especially.

“Hope you’re all having a healthy weekend with as little tannins as possible,” Timberlake said, making the wine references.

One thing he also made quite clear was that this show would be his last for a while. With no obvious new music on the horizon, maybe a chance to rest is what the doctor ordered.

“I don’t know when we’ll meet again, but I know it will be beautiful when we do,” he said.

He then played an acoustic guitar on “Selfish” and “What Goes Around – Comes Around.”

Kicking off a medley with the spectacular “Holy Grail,” Timberlake mixed in a few more between briefly turning over his set to his DJ. Then “SexyBack” sent the audience into a frenzy.

After a brief encore break, Timberlake returned and peeled off his jacket to reveal a T-shirt with an old photo of his wife, Jessica Biel. Biel just happened to be at the festival to debut her new wine label. The set closed inauspiciously with Timberlake sitting behind a piano for “Until the End of Time.”

Benson Boone

Crooner and belter Benson Boone may as well have been the Saturday headliner for the young people at BottleRock.

The girls (especially) went ballistic when he sauntered onto the stage, following his band, struck a Statue of Liberty pose atop a grand piano sitting on a riser and then catapulted several levels of stage in a single bound to get to the front.

He wore a black and red leather jacket, and a sparkly belt buckle over his jeans. The jacket didn’t last long, and the crowd’s pitch rose higher as he revealed a white tank top. He wasted no time, kicking right into the updated “Sorry I’m Here for Someone Else,” strutting down a ramp in front of the stage, as well as the sides. He would rarely be still for more than an hour. On “Cry,” Boone switched between a bellow and high falsetto, a la Freddie Mercury. Next came banger “Coffee Cake” and bluesy guitar ballad “Drunk In My Mind,” with his falsetto reaching higher and higher.

Boone was magnetic on stage, looking directly at fans and pointing to them before pivoting away quickly. His band was tight, but the guitarist had top billing, soloing with her guitar behind her head during “There She Goes.”

A couple of times, Boone sat at the piano, during the Beatles-eque “Slow It Down” and somber ballad “Love of Mine.” The set included folky rockers “Death Wish Love” and “Pretty Slowly,” as well as new single, “The Momma Song,” a touching ballad looking at the fragility of life. There’s a homesickness line at the beginning about California “getting colder and colder,” which was clearly not true with the balmy weather, so while singing he looked up and shook his head in the negative.

Of course, Boone is also known for his mid-song acrobatics, which he showed off on numerous occasions, at one point performing a backflip sideways like it was no big deal.

“All right, BottleRock; the sad songs are done,” Boone said toward the end. “Well, almost.”

This was his intro to a cover of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.” A couple songs later, he concluded with his breakout hit, “Beautiful Things.”

4 Non Blondes

While a good portion of the audience may have been waiting for a single, viral moment, San-Francisco-born ’90s band 4 Non Blondes delivered one of the BottleRock weekend’s best performances.

Linda Perry and her bandmates, bassist Christa Hillhouse, guitarist Roger Rocha and drummer Dawn Richardson, revved through the entire hourlong set, and it sure looked like they could have kept on going even though they have barely ever performed publicly in more than a decade. Or as Perry put it: “It really feels good to be up on this stage. I’m not gonna lie. It feels good to be at BottleRock. I’ve never been here because I don’t get out much.”

The singer wore a simplistic sack-like dress, chains around her neck and a studded black glove on her strumming hand. In all, the band looked like San Francisco punks. One of the memorable moments came early when Perry’s child, 10-year-old Rhodes, introduced the band.

Of course, the band knew the crowd wanted to hear “What’s Up,” so Perry teased attendees with one line from the chorus before the band instead kicked into a fiery rendition of Led Zeppelin’s “Rock and Roll.” And from that point on, Perry was feeling it. Next came a boisterous “Push and Shove” and an absolutely infectious “Train” that had Rocha shredding. The singer’s voice was gruff and powerful throughout on songs like “Strange Places,” where she again teased the audience with a snippet of “What’s Up.”

“What They Want” combined jagged punk in the choruses and New-Wavey verses. Perry then ordered that the band would skip a song, “Untilted,” and instead move right into 4 Non Blondes’ biggest hit.

“Some people say [that] when you have such a big song, you don’t like it,” Perry explained. “That’s not true. I fuckin’ love every song I’ve ever written.”

Then while singing there song’s outro, Perry concluded “What’s Up” is more relevant than it’s ever been.

“We still have a long battle ahead of us!” she yelled. “For a fuckin’ revolution!” And she was just getting started. On the next song, “Drop the Bomb,” she demanded that the audience sing the key line: “Only you can change your world.”

“Louder, man, if we’re gonna change the world!”

The band was not going out quietly. On new song “Monomorphic,” one of several that made up the fiery conclusion, Perry throatily screamed the words about fighting the darkness. “Don’t Wanna” was downright anthemic. “Hollow” ended in guitar squeals and feedback. Perry and co. also broke out an older song, “Mighty Lady,” a punk song with a Spanish music chord progression.

“We used to play it at the Nightbreak in San Francisco,” she said.

Perry told her audience that it needed to learn the band’s new songs because they would return to BottleRock in 2026. Toward the end of the set, she also brought attention to 4 Non Blondes’ original guitarist Shaunna Hall, who was watching from below the stage.

Ice Cube

“What’s the definition of a pyroclastic flow?” asked the voice of actor Keith David in the intro to Ice Cube’s BottleRock set, taken from his 2008 album, Raw Footage. “That’s what happens when a volcano blows. That’s what happens when Ice Cube starts to flow.”

It’s a little dramatic but the man earned the right to talk himself up. The man is still on his game.

As he told us multiple times during the show, Ice Cube has been making music for 40 years now. There’s a reason for that; he’s very good at it. He sounds just like he has since the ‘80s, with his versions of “Straight Outta Compton” and “Gangsta Gangsta” not missing a beat. Classics like “Friday” and “You Know How We Do It” had people dancing.

However, several songs off his latest album Man Down, didn’t hit quite as hard. “So Sensitive” definitely sounded like it came from a rich guy in his mid-50s, and things like complaints about pronouns didn’t seem to land with a Bay Area audience.

Throughout the performance, Cube was joined by fellow L.A. rapper WC, who was in the group Westside Connection with him in the late ‘90s and early ‘00s. WC filled in admirably for everyone from Snoop to Dr. Dre when guest verses needed to be rapped, and even got to show off one of his own songs, “West Up!” Their banter, while sometimes sounding like a ‘90s album sketch, did a good job of keeping the show going.

As good a job as WC did, it was a bit strange that he was the only guest. Too $hort, who originally appeared on both “Ain’t Got No Haters” and “She Sanctified,” lives about 45 minutes away in Oakland. E-40, who was also on “She Sanctified,” performed a day earlier. Ice Cube rapped both those songs and there was more than a little surprise at least one of them didn’t show up.

In the end, though, did anyone care when they heard the first notes of “Check Yo Self” or “Today Was A Good Day”? No, not even a little. Because he’s still the definition of a pyroclastic flow.

Kaleo

Icelandic folk rockers Kaleo brought effortless excellence, performing their brand of authentic rock with a bluesy, Southern twist. The band might as well hail from deep in the heart of Appalachia, not Mosfellsbær, Iceland. The five-piece drew a sizable crowd to take in the rootsy rock, tailor-made for a sunny summer day. 

Vocalist and guitarist Jökull Júlíusson, better known as JJ, is quite a presence. His banter is gruff and fairly soft spoken, allowing his performance to do the talking. Each song brought something a little different, employing everything from a steel guitar to a flying V, the shades of rock varied throughout the set. 

The five piece, as a whole, was tight and all in lock step. Júlíusson checked in with crowd throughout, asking if they were keeping hydrated on the hot afternoon. Harmonica player Þorleifur Gaukur Davíðsson delivered a particularly inspired performance of his instrument.

Playing songs like “USA Today,” the pace was mostly upbeat throughout the set. “Automobile” has the benefit of shouting out a few Northern California cities, which naturally played well for the locals.

Lauren Mayberry

Chvrches vocalist Lauren Mayberry showed off her range in a performance that honed in on her solo material, something the Scottish singer pointed out early in her set.

“If you’re at this show, you probably know that I’m in another band called Chvrches,” Mayberry said. “We always have a great time in the Bay Area and we had a great time at this festival last time.”

Mayberry’s solo work allows her a little more musical freedom to play a little bit heavier or a little bit softer, showing a side that’s more raw and less synth-heavy. As with most Mayberry performances, her conversational stage banter is such a fun addition to the show.

“I just stick things on my face and write sad lyrics—stick to what you know,” she said dryly as she introduced her two bandmates, whom she said “do the heavy lifting.”

Playing tracks like “Crocodile Tears” and “Change Shapes,” Mayberry showed impressive vocal prowess. She slowed things down for the acoustic ballad “Anywhere but Dancing.”

Mayberry spoke of political anxieties, both in the U.K. and the U.S., introducing the track “Something in the Air.”

“I’m just here wearing my ‘Protect the Dolls’ shirt, and I’d much rather be on this side,” she said.

Maybe the most charming moment of the set came when Mayberry covered the same song that Kate Hudson took on, The Verve’s “Bittersweet Symphony.”

“We turned up in the same outfit, musically speaking,” Mayberry said. “There’s not a lot I do better than Kate Hudson, but I think I have her at the screamo thing.”

The song became a running joke of sorts through the remainder of the set as Mayberry. She said she considered dropping it from the set, but the band was running ahead of schedule, so they pressed on.

“I petition to have ‘Bittersweet Symphony’ played by every artist in every set moving forward,” she joked.

Lawrence

Sibling duo Lawrence has come a long way from playing tiny clubs alone on stage to the large production they had at BottleRock, with their band that included a full brass section. But one thing they’ve always had is their immense sound. The band blasted through numerous energetic Brill-Building-inspired pop cuts that offered a full, rich sound but never overstayed their welcome.

Many of the songs were from Lawrence’s latest record, Family Business, and the band kicked things off with the title track, in matching plaid suits inspired by or directly from the ’80s. Clyde Lawrence led the band from his keyboard; Gracie Lawrence sang, danced and riled up the crowd; and the rest of the band didn’t just deliver the majority of the sound but looked like it was heaving a blast doing it.

“It’s Not All About You,” which Gracie led, was representative of the whole set: retro sensibilities but modern attitude.

Clyde then talked how Lawrence is not playing many shows this summer because Gracie is on Broadway and has recently been nominated for a Tony Award in the Best Featured Actress category. But the band jumped at the opportunity to return to BottleRock, Clyde continued.

Other highlights included the breezy “Casualty,” funky “Shot” and poppy “Guy I Used To Be.” Then, the duo introduced guitarist Grace Bowers as a special guest (Bowers is performing on Sunday) for a cover of the Beatles’ “Get Back.” Following a sax solo, Clyde revved her up and she started soloing; however, there was no sound. A minute later, when the issue was resolved and Bowers was still mid-solo, she quickly blew many away.

LA LOM

SoCal instrumental trio LA LOM delivered a regional flavor and attitude. Guitarist Zac Sokolow offered up brief stories about the songs the band played. Some would come from the various states of Mexico, and Sokolow would carefully lay out their geography and influence.

The band was incredibly tight, mixing jazz with a rock attitude. Bassist Jake Faulkner played both a rock and stand-up instrument.

LA LOM’s songs switched up time signatures, adding to the complexity. Drummer Nicholas Bakerplaying felt like an improvisational effort the whole way.

Alt-pop band Balu Brigada’s first festival outside their native New Zealand was certainly something to see. Brothers Pierre and Henry Beasley front the band, with Henry spending most songs on guitar, Pierre on bass, and both sharing vocal duties. They were joined by a drummer and a keyboardist to round out the band.

That instrumentation isn’t set in stone, however. Sometimes, Pierre puts the bass down and focuses on lead vocals like at the beginning of “Designer,” sometimes Pierre takes over guitar so Henry can focus on vocals, and on the yet-to-be-released “Backseat,” they both played guitar for a much grungier, harder rock sound. Pierre even crushed a guitar solo even though it’s not his primary instrument.

Though they usually fall back into their default configuration, the flexibility makes for an interesting show. Their well-known songs like “So Cold” and “2good” translated well to a live setting. At their second festival in the U.S., you’ll probably find them on a much bigger stage.

Follow writer Mike DeWald at BlueSky. Follow publisher Daniel J. Willis at BlueSky. Follow editor Roman Gokhman at Bluesky. Follow photographer Matt Pang at Instagram. Follow photographer Sean Liming at Instagram.