BOTTLEROCK'S ECLECTIC LINEUP WINS FANS IN NAPA: MUSIC FESTIVAL BLENDS AGING RADIO STAPLES, HIP-HOP, NEW INDIE ROCK AND COUNTRY

As the sun set on BottleRock Sunday night, headliner Eric Church surveyed the festival's gourmet food trucks, wine tents and picturesque setting.

"I've played a lot of really rough gigs in my life. Places that were really tough, really shady," the country star said. "Napa Valley," he continued, "ain't one of them."

Church's set offered a twangy alternative to the rest of the festival's musical offerings, which over three days included aging radio staples, lively hip-hop and newer indie rock. The rollicking "Talladega" chronicled all the country-music standbys of whiskey, women and fast cars as the crowd thinned out after three days of music that, against all odds, seemed largely successful.

BottleRock returned to Napa under the helm of new company Latitude 38 Entertainment after an inaugural year plagued with financial woes and $8 million in debt, and many music-industry pundits questioned this year's potential success.

But the revamped festival drew large crowds, especially on Saturday, when Outkast delivered an electrifying headlining set that had the entire Expo moving to hits like "So Fresh, So Clean" and "Ms. Jackson."

David Graham of Latitude 38 estimated attendance for the first day at "just over 20,000," and upwards of 30,000 for Saturday. Sunday's attendance was likely back around 20,000, BottleRock representative Tom Fuller said.

If festival organizers dipped deep into their budget for booking the recently reunited Atlanta hip-hop duo, it paid off. Attendance was the highest for Outkast's set, but more importantly, the elusive communal spirit of togetherness so sought after at outdoor festivals was never more present throughout the three days than during the group's energetic, ubiquitous smash hit "Hey Ya!"

The Saturday surge underscored the ironic problem of BottleRock simply being too popular. The Expo grounds turned into a claustrophobe's nightmare as crowded bottlenecks of slow-moving bodies clogged the pathways between stages.

At the end of Saturday night, thousands of fans stood stranded in a slow-moving line for shuttle buses back to the off-site parking. Two- and three-hour waits were reported, and hundreds opted instead to walk the distance of nearly four miles.

On Friday night, The Cure's epic two-and-a-half hour set included favorites like "Lovesong," "Just Like Heaven" and "Pictures of You." But the celebration ended abruptly at 10 p.m., when a strict curfew resulted in the plug being pulled on the band's stage power during the song "Why Can't I Be You?" The crowd continued to sing along anyway, as lead vocalist Robert Smith mouthed the word "sorry" and waved goodbye to the famously gloomy band's fervent fanbase.

"Crazy On You" hitmakers Heart, while in the middle of a Led Zeppelin medley Saturday, were also intentionally unplugged for going past the 10 p.m. curfew. The sound went out accidentally during Weezer's first song of the day, "My Name Is Jonas." Once again, the crowd sang loud enough to fill in the two-minute silence, and the band picked up without missing a beat when the power returned.

On paper, BottleRock's lineup initially appeared almost too eclectic, with rap and country acts playing right after each other. But a heavy dose of '90s nostalgia acts on the schedule, which had been mocked in the music blogosphere and beyond, proved to be the great unifier of the festival.

Over and over, hits from the Clinton era won over the excited crowds, from Smash Mouth's "All Star" to the Spin Doctors' "Two Princes." Weezer, Cracker, Gin Blossoms, Blues Traveler and Barenaked Ladies also dusted off hits from 20 years ago, all of which went over perfectly with a crowd young enough to sustain the rigors of a large outdoor festival but old enough to have disposable income.

"I'm loving it," said Margritte Kissel, 26, from Davis. "This is the best '90s throwback I could ever have."

With friends, Kissel bought a ticket for all three days of BottleRock, and on Sunday said she wasn't exhausted, her stamina bolstered by all the great musical memories of middle school. "Third Eye Blind playing 'Semi-Charmed Life,' that's been my highlight," she said.

On Sunday, L.L. Cool J noted the number of country fans in the audience and bridged the gaps in genres by performing his hit "I Need Love" over the riff to Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama" with his turntable partner DJ Z-Trip while throwing red roses to women in the crowd.

Just as many highlights of the weekend came from lesser-known acts. Ben Sollee began Friday's lineup by playing a captivating mix of percussive cello and plaintive vocals, winning over BottleRock's early birds. Los Angeles punk duo No Age made a furious noise Saturday, inspiring 13-year-old budding guitarist Owen McKenzie, from Los Altos, to keep playing.

Matt & Kim held dozens of spontaneous dance parties on stage between their tight, jovial pop songs, and country singer James Otto unreeled song after well-crafted song for the Wrangler-and-Stetson set.

Numerous local bands were given stage time, a token concession that most festivals undertake to make good with area residents by shunting bands into bad time slots and faraway stages. At BottleRock, the local band stage was nearly always well-attended, and Petaluma's Trebuchet and Healdsburg's Crazy Famous both played to enthusiastic crowds.

Such cultural cross-pollination is the aim of any good festival, and BottleRock 2.0 benefited from a recurring sense of discovery at its four stages, rather than leaning on huge names like last year's event.

Big names in the sports world showed up throughout the weekend, including former Giants shortstop Rich Aurilia and skateboarding legend Tony Hawk.

On Sunday, the 49ers' Vernon Davis watched L.L. Cool J from the side of the stage.

"I wanted to see Outkast, but I missed 'em," said the tight end, who mentioned he listens to Jay Z and Kings of Leon to get pumped for games. "I'll see L.L. Cool J any day, though."

Sunday's lineup attracted less interest, and ticket scalpers on Napa's Third Street bridge faced a buyer's market. One couple from Oakland were able to score tickets for just $50 each, $100 less than face value.

Around the neighborhood, many residents lounged on their porches, drank beer, sold water and hot dogs or charged $20-$25 for parking on their property.

Directly across from BottleRock's main gates, Villa Iris Jewelry offered parking for the high-end fee of $100. Villa Iris owner Jerovi Sanson said that he'd had several BottleRock attendees -- a Maserati here, a Mercedes-Benz there -- take him up on the prime real estate.

"There are a lot of people who have so much money they don't know what to do with it. I might as well be the recipient of that," Sanson said.