Imagine Dragons close out opening day of BottleRock Napa Valley

A chilly wind whipped through downtown Napa as Imagine Dragons took the stage to wrap the opening day at the seventh BottleRock Napa Valley music, food and drink festival, but between the simmering start of sunburn from the day, and a lot of beer and wine, no one seemed to mind.

The band opened with “Believer,” complete with a confetti storm and light show, and then lead singer Dan Reynolds paused to receive a rainbow banner handed to the stage.

“This is a free, safe zone to be yourself, whatever that may be,” he said. Then the band plunged into “It’s Time” and “Whatever It Takes.”

Imagine Dragons first played BottleRock in 2015. Its return was a Northern California homecoming of sorts for the band, which includes bassist Ben McKee, who grew up in Forestville and graduated from El Molino High School.

The festival’s demographics Friday leaned toward music lovers in their 20s, but there also were some young families.

Two young women - Taylor, 23, and Katy, 24, who gave only their first names - came out from New York City to BottleRock for their first time, primarily to see a single act: OneRepublic, a pop band that has risen in popularity since emerging from Colorado Springs more than a decade and a half ago.

The band toured as a headliner from 2008 through 2017, then took a hiatus, but continues to release new music, including “Rescue Me,” which it performed Friday.

“We found out this was OneRepublic’s only concert, and we planned the whole trip around it,” Katy said.

“We’re also excited about AJR and Alec Benjamin,” Taylor added. “Everyone we wanted to see is on the same day, so we’re here for one day.”

Later, AJR - brothers Adam, Jack and Ryan Met - got a big crowd-roaring approval at the festival’s Firefox Stage, where fans sang along with their performance of “Sober Up.”

Jamie Ramirez, 41, of Modesto, made his early afternoon at BottleRock a family affair Friday, bringing his wife and their three children - daughters ages 9 and 11, and a 4-year-old son.

“We were nervous about it being too crowded, but there’s plenty of room right now,” he said. “We’ll see how long they last.”

On the other side of the Napa Valley Expo grounds, a red-haired little girl in a pink dress sat on her daddy’s shoulders and swayed to the sounds of rising funk and soul artist Just Loud.

“It feels good to be in Napa,” the singer told the swelling afternoon crowd, and their mood matched his words.

Classic stage patter abounded. “How’s your afternoon, BottleRock?” Tyler Glenn, lead singer of the Utah rockers Neon Trees, asked the crowd during a hard-hitting afternoon set, to be greeted by cheers.

As the day heated up, so did the music, with Lovely the Band from Los Angeles pounding out “I Like the Way It Hurts.”

Singer and bandleader Jenny Lewis drew a huge crowd late in the day, delivering intense vocals while dressed in a sequined pink gown and big pink-rimmed sunglasses while playing a pink and baby blue guitar.

The festival opened under cloudy skies late Friday morning, with the sun breaking through by early afternoon, and more sunny weather expected through Saturday.

Rain is forecast for Sunday, the last day of the three-day event and festivalgoers should be forewarned that the festival’s security won’t allow patrons to bring in umbrellas.

“Just dress as waterproof as you can,” BottleRock spokesman Tom Fuller said.

Organizers expect 40,000 visitors a day at the festival, which was sold out as of Thursday. BottleRock tickets go on sale every January for the May event. Last year’s festival, starring Bruno Mars, sold out within a week.

“We called it The Bruno Effect,” Fuller said.

This weekend’s remaining headliners are Neil Young and Pharrell Williams on Saturday and Carlos Santana and Mumford & Sons on Sunday.

More than 80 bands will perform on six stages during the weekend festival.

You can reach Staff Writer Dan Taylor at 707-521-5243 or dan.taylor@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @danarts.