The Offspring performs at Aftershock Fest in Sacramento on Oct. 9, 2021. They play at BottleRock Napa this May. Courtesy.

BottleRock Napa Valley announced its lineup this week. Odds are, I’ll once again be covering at least one day. Every year I swear it’s my last because of my increasingly useless knees, then I return. So I’m perhaps more eager than most to know what I’m getting into.

Fortunately, it’s almost always good news. Unlike Outside Lands, which has cared less and less about the music every year as it tries to convert itself into a Coachella-style social event, BottleRock does a great job at booking really great artists and bands for both my demographic and that of many others.

Join me as we go over five bands I’m most excited to see. Tragically, they’re spread out over all three days, which means by Monday I may or may not still be able to walk.

Stevie Nicks — “Edge of Seventeen”

I haven’t seen Stevie Nicks live since I went to a Fleetwood Mac show with my dad as a teen. Every time she comes around, I joke that I’ll be exactly like Peter Griffin on “Family Guy” in the cutaway where he went to see Stevie Nicks. I don’t mean exactly as hyperbole; I would need a lot of twirling room for “Edge of Seventeen” specifically because it’s one of the few songs I consider truly perfect.

Even more exciting is that Nicks, despite being 75, isn’t confined to a designated Old People Night as she would at other festivals. Leading into her set is Megan Thee Stallion, and the day also includes Bebe Rexha, who I think the youths still listen to. Right? Or is she old now, too? Who can keep up. Stupid youths.

Gogol Bordello — “Start Wearing Purple”

Also Friday! If somehow you’ve never run across Gogol Bordello, you’re missing out. They’ve been around for around 25 years now and they play Romani punk, which is exactly as wonderful as it sounds. And if it doesn’t sound wonderful, that means you don’t know what that combination of words signifies. Listen to this song and you’ll get it.

I’ve said many times that I love folk metal, but folk punk is also right up there. Romani punk obviously, but Celtic punk is also a favorite, and any others who distorts their guitars enough to scratch that particular itch. Any genre is better if you get inspired by people who colored so far outside the lines that towns tried to ban their shows in the ’80s.

Pearl Jam — “Jeremy”

I mean, obviously. The core ongoing theme of this column is that I’m stuck in the ’90s with my musical tastes, and if we’re being honest, wardrobe. So one of the core foundational bands of the grunge era is absolutely on my list of favorites. Unless Kurt Cobain reveals he faked his death like Elvis and Tupac, this is the closest I can get to reliving my glory days.

The caveat of course is that “grunge” is only barely a thing. Nirvana vs. Pearl Jam was a subject of arguments like Beatles vs. the Rolling Stones and Michael Jackson vs. Prince in other times. Because while they did share a genre, an era and a vibe, they were based on very different influences. Pearl Jam, for example, was clearly inspired by classic rock going back to the early ’60s. Nirvana was more a punk band with a Seattle personality rather than New York or London. Under these superficial commonalities were wildly distinct roots.

Aside from nostalgia, that’s the big reason my tastes are stuck in the early ’90s. It’s the last era when bands were allowed to experiment, to have different inspirations, to be different. From the late ’90s on, everything has been clearly defined in genre and subgenre boxes with the only differences being execution within the template. And while that can certainly be done well—a haiku can be art as much as beat poetry—I prefer the diversity.

Get off my lawn!

T-Pain — “War Pigs”

I’m putting T-Pain on the list solely in the hope that he does a set of covers at BottleRock because, oh my God, he’s an amazing musician whose talent is absolute wasted by being AutoTuned to oblivion in his hits.

I started the video above at the beginning of “War Pigs” but I strongly encourage you to listen to the whole hour. He covers “Don’t Stop Believin’,” “Stay With Me,” “Tennessee Whiskey” and many more. He crushes every single one. Not a lot of people in the world are capable of what he does in this hour of performance! Most people aren’t that good at one genre, let alone all of them! It’s just an unbelievable flex of his talent.

All that said, if the show is just “Buy U a Drank” and “I’m Sprung,” I take it back. They’re good songs but not in my top five most anticipated of the festival. So throw me a bone, man.

The Offspring — “Vultures”

You may be asking, with all the praise I heaped on those two Friday acts and those two Saturday acts, which day did I pick to attend BottleRock?

I asked for Sunday.

Ed Sheeran is the headliner and he’s good, I like his hits and I’ve heard he’s a great live act, but I want Sunday specifically to see The Offspring. I’ve loved this band since I was a teen but for various reasons I’ve never been able to see a show. The Offspring is one of the last members of my list of living artists I want to see in concert while I can. And with Rage Against the Machine back out of the question, it just increases my eagerness.

If you’re curious, previous members of the list were The B-52s, Devo and The HU. All amazing.

Follow publisher Daniel J. Willis and send column ideas to him at @bayareadata.press on BlueSky. (He has some invites if you ask nicely).