BottleRock kicks off, drawing music fans and gourmands

Crowds cheered as the gates flung open Friday and thousands of music fans poured onto the grounds of the Napa Valley Expo for the start of BottleRock, the three-day festival that is seeking to put down roots in Wine Country.

“The excitement was there from minute one,” said Tom Fuller, a spokesman for the festival.

Napa Valley reggae rock band Pion 2 Zion kicked off the event, now in its third year. The goal is to open the festival every year with a local band, Fuller said.

It’s an idea Carl Diller of Las Vegas appreciated.

“There’s room for everybody,” he said while sitting on a blanket with his wife, Karry, near the stage where Pion 2 Zion was performing around noon on Friday.

Band members expressed their appreciation as well, calling it a blessing and thanking those who put on the event and turned out the large audience. On the first day alone, ticket sales came in at 30,000, Fuller said.

“This is just a little surreal for me,” Pion 2 Zion singer and saxophonist Chad Schuler said while on stage. “Last year, I was you, looking at all the bands.”

Organizers expect the festival to draw a total of 100,000 attendees over the three days, surpassing last year’s attendance by 20,000. Limited one-day tickets still were available Friday for the weekend, starting at $149.

The Dillers attended the inaugural Bottle Rock in 2013, which featured a lineup of top acts, but left behind a slew of debts and financial disputes. Karry Diller credited the new owners, who took over before last year’s festival, with better organization. She also liked that event organizers were providing water to fill bottles and recycling containers.

“It’s like good wine,” her husband said about the event. “It gets better with age.”

Fuller said the diverse musical lineup catered to fans of all ages. The couple, in their 50s, were excited to see Imagine Dragons take the stage late Friday, as well as Los Lobos.

Karry Diller also pointed to the festival’s array of gourmet food vendors and its laid-back atmosphere, with fewer acts but also less of the bustle of bigger outdoor festivals like Coachella.

“We came more for the experience than the bands,” Karry Diller said.

Long lines stretched around the paella and pad thai stands, as well as at the food trucks, which offered dishes ranging from curry to gourmet cupcakes.

For friends Krysta Cotten and Amanda Fontenot, the treats were a nice bonus. The 23-year-olds traveled to Napa from Louisiana for what they considered an impressive lineup, including The Mowgli’s, who played Friday, and The Avett Brothers, who are set to perform Saturday.

“We like everybody,” Fontenot said about the lineup.

Not all attendees were serious music fans and many were first-timers at a multiday event.

Karen Day, 58, arrived without a plan for who she would watch. “I’m not even sure who’s playing,” said Day, who drove up from Huntington Beach.

She voiced hope the festival would introduce her to new bands.

“I’m an old lady. I listen to classic rock,” Day said. “It’s good for me to branch out.”

Standing in line before the gates opened, Lesa Barrett of Concord couldn’t wait to kick off her 31st birthday celebration this weekend.

“I’m excited to hang out in the sun, have drinks and have good food,” said Barrett, who waiting with her cousin and best friend. The women planned to attend all three days and were looking forward to Snoop Dogg and No Doubt, two of Sunday’s headliners.

“It’s our first multiday festival,” said Barrett’s friend, Cristina Medina.

You can reach Staff Writer Eloísa Ruano González at 521-5458 or eloisa.gonzalez@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @eloisanews.