Festivals that Rock with WINE!
It's that time of year again... festival season! A place you can go to see a multitude of bands on various stages all while eating delectable grub and sipping on something refreshing all in one day.
To be honest... I have a love/hate relationship with festivals. I love them for so many reasons and hate them for so many reasons as well. Well.... hate is a strong word but sometimes I really really really don't like them or at least aspects of them.
To get things started here's my Love / Hate List:
LOVE: I love the fact that you can go to one place and see a bunch of musicians you most likely wouldn't see otherwise.
HATE: I hate that there are SO many people and the best view you're going to get is standing on your tippy-toes wavering back and forth peeping through the back of everyone's head that's in front of you just to get a glimpse of the band / artist. Maybe this is just short people problems.
LOVE: The Food!!! At most festivals there are so many fun food choices to choose from. I actually plan my day around which acts I want to see and which food vendors I want to visit. I definitely scope out the food situation ahead of time and figure out what I'm going to eat before I enter those dusty gates.
HATE: The dust!! Most festivals are held in large fairgrounds or various grounds of some sort encompassed of grass and well... dirt. With all those darn people walking around taking selfies a lot of dirt gets kicked up and the next thing you know you can barely breath and your black outfit is now brown.
Alright, so now that you know what I love/hate about festivals and concert series let's get in to which festivals are coming up. I'll also share my favorite food vendors and some fun tips for each festival to try and help make it a more enjoyable experience.
BOTTLEROCK | May 25th - 27th, 2018 | Napa, CA
Talk about Rock 'N Vino! BottleRock incorporates wine country and music all in one nice little weekend. You get to be in beautiful wine country, enjoy all of the delectable wines wine country has to offer, taste delicious cuisine from some of wine country's top chefs modified to fit a festival setting and of course... rock out to a bunch of musicians at various stages around the fairgrounds.
Bottlerock covers all genres of music bringing Bruno Mars and Halsey to cover the Pop/Hot AC fans; The Killers, Muse, Incubus to please the indie / rock fans; Billy Idol, Earth, Wind and Fire for those feeling nostalgic; E-40 and Snoop Dogg for those that love rhymes and so many more. Plus they have a culinary stage where you can see your favorite celebrity chef cook alongside various musicians. It's a great time to be had and I highly recommend checking it out if you've never been before.
- The Food & The Wine: Being in Wine Country has it's benefits.... BottleRock has no shortage of wine available to their concert going attendees. The wineries are spread throughout the whole event in tents along the outskirts of the various stages, so essentially you're not too far from any wine at any given time. You do need a 21+ wristband so I suggest getting that right when you arrive to beat the lines. Each winery can spice up their tent to create a fun vibe for their visitors with some even featuring arts and crafts!
If you're a foodie, BottleRock is the festival for you! Featuring food from Morimoto, Meadowood and many other gourmet restaurants across the valley you're sure to find many options in their food village.
-Tips: Park in the lot downtown Napa across the bridge and a few blocks away from the actual venue. You'll get your steps in and you'll thank me later when you're trying to get out of dodge along with everyone else. Also, the obvious... bring sunblock, cash and an extra layer for when it cools down at night. BottleRock also allows guests to bring blankets and low chairs so you can claim your spot in front of your favorite stage and make everyone walk around you. They also have water stations throughout the venue so bring an empty water bottle and filler up when you get in to stay hydrated.
SOMO CONCERTS | Starts: June 2nd, 2018 | Rohnert Park, CA
SOMO Concerts is definitely making a name for itself in Sonoma County as a great venue to see a show. Every show is essentially like a mini festival. There are food vendors, beer, wine, the outdoor festival vibe where fans are encouraged to bring a blanket and enjoy some good tunes. The first concert of their season kicks off on June 2nd with Social Distortion followed by the Rock and Wine Festival featuring old school rock acts Y&T and Dokken on June 23rd and The Psychedelic Furs will be hitting the stage with X opening on July 25th.
- The Food & The Wine: Typically they have one or two food vendors on site for you to choose from or there is the option to go into Sally Tomatoes and order food from a limited menu. Bring cash as their credit card machines can be a bit testy. They have a full bar inside Sally Tomatoes as well where you can get your favorite libation of beer, wine or cocktails. There is also a bar towards the back of the venue giving you plenty of options to get your drink on.
- Tips: SOMO also allows you to bring in chairs (that must be low to the ground) or a blanket. As mentioned above... bring cash to make any purchases of food or drink. Typically the band performing will have a way to take credit if you want to buy some merch.
MONDAVI SUMMER CONCERT SERIES | Starts: June 30th, 2018 | Robert Mondavi Winery in Napa
The Margrit Mondavi Summer Concert Series is in it's 49th year! The music series started in 1969 originally focused on jazz and r&b musicians has evolved with the times and features popular artists in various genres. The first concert of the 2018 season kicks off on June 30th with Gavin DeGraw. The 2018 season will also feature: Citizen Cope with one of my favorite live bands, Vintage Trouble (Saturday, July 7th), Brandi Carlile (Saturday, July 14th), X Ambassadors with Cobi (Saturday, July 21st) and rounds off with Fits and the Tantrums with The Mowgli's (Saturday, July 28th).
- Tips: Unfortunately I have yet to visit Mondavi for a concert so you're on your own with this one. I'll update this post as soon as I make it out there for a show.
OUTSIDE LANDS | August 10th - 12th | San Francisco's Golden Gate Park
Bringing you all of your festival staples of good drinks, a great selection of food trucks and a lot of music set in the best city on the planet (in my opinion) San Francisco. I may be biased because I was born in SF but whatever, it's a great city. Outside Lands also features a whole wine area where you are able to sip and taste wines from various wineries across the country. Besides BottleRock I would say Outside Lands has the largest selection of wine available at their festival...two big thumbs up!
This year hitting the stage will be: Florence & the Machine, Miss Jackson if you're Nasty (aka Janet Jackson) is making her comeback, Beck, Huey Lewis & The News, Broken Social Scene and so many others.
- The Food and The Wine: Outside Lands offers a nice big wine tent featuring a ton of wineries. You do have to buy tickets for tastes but if wine is your thing this is the place to be. The food at Outside Lands is also pretty awesome and extensive. Do yourself a favor and don't just stick to the food tents alongside the outskirts of the main stages. Seek out the awesome food trucks as well, and don't miss the dessert row featuring all the sweetness you could want from freshly baked cookies, s'mores, ice cream and more.
- Tips: Well... to state the obvious, parking is a B*%ch. My recommendation would be to find a spot some distance away and then call an Uber / Lyft to get you there. Of course if you're a relative local to SF, take public transportation and you're good to go. Golden Gate Park is huge and there's a lot of ground to cover at this festival if you want to get the whole experience. To make your experience more streamlined Outside Lands has an app which will allow you to schedule the bands you want to see and will notify you when they're about to hit the stage.
SONOMA HARVEST MUSIC FESTIVAL | September 22nd & 23rd, 2018 | BR Cohn Winery
The Sonoma Harvest Music Festival is the newest festival on the list ending the three year hiatus BR Cohn Winery from concerts. This festival, presented by BottleRock, presents a more intimate setting capping out at about 3,000 guests per day. Featuring just 10 artists at this festival between two days will be: The Avett Brothers, The Head and the Heart, Lake Street Drive, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Shovels and Rope, ZZ Ward, The Suffers, Rayland Baxter, Con Brio and finally Royal Jelly Jive.
- Tips: Unfortunately since this is the first year for this event I have no input. But as soon as I have more info you'll get the lowdown.
AFTERSHOCK | October 13th and 14th, 2018 | Sacramento, CA
Ending festival season in Northern California with a bang is the Aftershock Festival in Sacramento, CA. Yes... Sacramento, CA in October... it's going to be HOT!!! This year they're answering many a rock fans prayer by bringing the reunited System of a Down to headline the festival. Also set to play are: Deftones, Alice in Chains, Shinedown, Sevendust, Incubus, 311 and so many more. This festival is for the true rock fan who likes to see various genres of rock music represented at one festival. I have to say out of all of the festivals Aftershocks food selection is probably my least favorite. I typically end up eating at the Grilled Cheese Food Truck or anywhere I can find chicken strips and fries. Good luck finding anything healthy that's delicious, no gourmet chefs here. That would probably be my biggest complaint at Aftershock. With regards to wine, they're keeping it in the rock family offering attendants the Caduceus Cellars & Merkin Vineyards Wine Garden (owned by Maynard James Keenan of Tool / A Perfect Circle / Pucifer...). For making wines out of Arizona they're pretty good and it's the only wine you'll find at this festival. Quick tip for anyone attending this festival... don't bring a backpack unless it's see-through, you'll be told to turn right around and put that thing in your car (not fun) and two bring some sort of fun face mask because it gets dusty and you don't want to breath that in and finally bring some warm clothes in your see-through backpack. Even though it's hot as balls during the day it cools down a lot during the evening.
- The Food and The Wine: Well... when you compare the food and wine offered at Aftershock compared to the rest of the festivals, Aftershock does fall a little short. Pretty much figure out which fried food you prefer the most and go to that food station / truck. My typical go-to is Drewski's Hot Rod Sandwiches though I've tried the "healthy" route and ordered from Mount Olympus before and was pleased with the gyro I ordered. For all the wine drinkers (which seems to be growing every year) they offer the Caduceus Cellars and Merkin Vineyards Wine Garden featuring rockin' wines made by... a rockstar, Maynard James Keenan. Their wines are actually pretty good considering they're from Arizona. If I'm feeling like I need a drink this is where you'll find me.
- Tips: Parking is limited around the venue. The main lot I used to park in which was located directly across the street from the entrance is now a building so you'll have to park a bit farther away in a business parking lot and pay a parking fee. They do offer a shuttle service but I've never taken it so I can't say if I would recommend it. From what I remember the shuttle picks you up from a parking lot that is about 15 to 30 minutes away from the venue so if you plan to take the shuttle be sure to plan ahead.
If you're going to bring a bag / backpack it HAS to be see-through. Don't even try to get any bag that is not see through in as you'll be told to march your booty right back to your car because they won't take it and keep it for you to come back later and get it. Also, you're not allowed to bring in empty water bottles. Pretty much if you can go to this festival wearing only your favorite band or cat tee, some jeans and vans... do that.
General Tips for all festivals:
- Dress comfortably. Don't be the girl walking around in high heels. First off, the ground is usually uneven and second I don't even want to know how much your feet will hurt 2 hours in. I'm not hating, I'm just saying you can still be cute and comfortable without the pumps.
- Bring sunscreen.
- Bring a cell phone charger. They're so small these days you can fit it comfortably in your see-through backpack.
- Bring cash.
- Bring earplugs. Yes, I know I sound like an old lady but I still want to hear when I'm actually an old lady. I wear them for the bands that I just want to check out but don't love then take them out when watching the bands that I do love because let's be real, I don't want to hear my voice singing their songs I want to hear them.
And that concludes the featured Northern California Festivals this year. Which ones will you be attending and who are you most excited to see?
