'With a packed lineup including Megan Thee Stallion, Miley Cyrus, G-Eazy, Jack Harlow, Jessie Reyez and more taking to the stage, many of us, including myself, were ready to do some hot girl shit.' megantheestallion mileycyrus hotgirlshit
After a year of cancelled music festivals and travel, musicians and attendees of the Bottlerock Napa Valley Music Festival were thrilled to drink wine together, dance together and enjoy a little bit of normalcy for three days from Sept 3-5. This was the first music festival/live music event I personally attended since before the pandemic and I was not the only one.
But attending a live-music festival mid pandemic means extra measures had to be taken to ensure the health and safety of attendees. Last summer, like most of 2020, Bottlerock Napa Valley was cancelled. Usually, Bottlerock takes place earlier in the summer around Memorial Day, but because of the pandemic the festival took place in early September.
Pollstar, a website which keeps track of live-music economic data estimated the total lost revenue for the live music industry in 2020 at more than $30 billion. “What made me have a deeper connection for this festival was the atmosphere. I was surrounded by people who loved the music as much as me and knowing that I was going to see my favorite artist with cool people made it a surreal experience,” Tij said.
While COVID-19 has disrupted all of our lives and its looming presence threatens our physical health and economy, Bottlerock attendees said the festival was giving back something the virus has taken away: a sense of healing, community and hope.