Carrie Underwood tops Festival Napa Valley 2023 lineup

Country music superstar Carrie Underwood will headline this summer’s Festival Napa Valley, the organizers announced Wednesday.

The Grammy-winning artist, who rose to fame after winning the 2005 season of “American Idol,” is one of several internationally known performers, chefs, winemakers and others who will appear during the 17th annual festival’s lineup of events, July 8-23.

Underwood will perform July 16 at Oakville winery Nickel & Nickel as part of the festival’s Arts for All Gala, an annual fundraising event.

Innovative string trio Time for Three performs July 9. Spanish guitarist Pablo Sáinz Villegas and pianist Alexander Malofeev perform July 14 for the Festival Napa Valley Opening Night event. Classical vocalist Matteo Bocelli performs July 15, and operatic vocalist Lucas Meachem portrays the titular role in a staging of the classic comedic opera “Don Pasquale” July 22.

The full list of artists slated to appear at more than 60 events associated with the festival is at festivalnapavalley.org.

Venues include Charles Krug Winery in St. Helena and the CIA at Copia in Napa.

Festival Napa Valley co-founder and director of artistic planning Charles Letourneau said the guiding principle behind the lineup always has been excellence.

“Whatever we put on stage, we want to make sure it’s the best of the best,” he said. “From that, we try to balance (a) variety of genres, artists and programs so that we put together an experience that people will remember forever.”

According to Letourneau, the event has become a destination as much for artists as for the audiences.

“We’re at the point where people (artists) are calling us, wanting to come to the festival,” he said.

The festival’s daytime concerts are free to attend, and tickets for evening concerts and performances are $35 for general admission.

“We want to make it accessible to everyone and make it our gift to the community,” Letourneau said. “We are a nonprofit and we exist to bring the arts to all. That’s the way we put it.”

A limited number of all-day and all-access passes, starting at $1,500, are also available and provide admission to the Arts for All Gala, daily lunches and dinners hosted by local winemakers at Napa Valley wineries and other special events.

Tickets for the festival’s July 15 Taste of Napa culinary showcase at the Meritage Resort and Spa are $150 for general admission and $295 for reserve salon access.

In addition to Underwood’s performance, the festival’s Arts for All Gala will feature a dinner prepared by Michelin-star chef Charlie Palmer paired with offerings from the Far Niente and Nickel & Nickel family of wines.

Proceeds from the gala support Festival Napa Valley’s public school education programs, summer music academies for college-age students and scholarships for students and talented emerging musicians.

According to Letourneau, the festival hosted more than 90 concerts and music education programs last year.

Other 2023 Festival Napa Valley highlights include a screening of Gordon Getty’s acclaimed feature-length opera film “Goodbye, Mr. Chips” at Cameo Cinema in St. Helena, July 12; the Northern California premiere of Lera Auerbach’s Symphony No. 6, “Vessels of Light,” featuring cellist Kristina Reiko Cooper, at Charles Krug, July 18; a dance performance featuring Ukrainian and Russian ballet soloists displaced by the war at Charles Krug, July 21; and the season finale concert featuring the all-star ensemble Festival Orchestra Napa at Charles Krug, July 22.

Event tickets and passes are available now. For more information, go to festivalnapavalley.org/attend.