BottleRock bands get personal and political about gun violence
While attending the first day of BottleRock, the music and wine festival annually held in Napa, it was hard not to think about the recent scourge of gun violence that’s horrified the country.
Onstage, singers called for action. Throughout the festival grounds, concert-goers admitted feeling nervous about being in a crowd, meanwhile security teams clad in military-style gear served as a constant presence.
Fantastic Negrito performs at BottleRock 2022 in Napa, California on May 27, 2022.
Beth SaravoOakland-based blues musician Fantastic Negrito noted in his set that the issue of gun violence hits particularly close to home for him. Negrito, whose birth name is Xavier Amin Dphrepaulezz, lost his brother to gun violence when he was just 14-years-old.
He then broke into a song aptly titled, “You Better Have a Gun,” but made sure to tell the audience, “don’t take it literally, dummies.”
On a day when many bands made statements, Misterwives’ performance was perhaps the most overtly political. The indie pop group, led by frontwoman Mandy Lee, addressed multiple issues during their set.
Mandy Lee, of Misterwives, performs at BottleRock 2022 in Napa, California on May 27, 2022.
Demian Becerra
Performing in front of a red screen with the words “Bans off our bodies” in massive block letters, Lee called out to the crowd begging to politicians: “For the love of god, regulate guns not women’s bodies.” The line received thunderous applause.
Even headliner Metallica, not a band known to shy away from violent imagery, seemed to soften at least one lyric. While performing the 1982 hit “Seek and Destroy”, in which the title is repeated multiple times, lead singer James Hetfield replaced one line in the chorus with the words “love each other.”
The theme extended beyond just the performers. Along with the typical festival garb of face paint and faux-retro threads, a number of patrons wore hats and shirts with political slogans such as “real men don’t support violence” and “say gay, say trans, say love.”
One less hopeful message read simply: “We’re so f—ked.”
Thankfully, fans and performers alike seemed intent on making the event as safe as possible. The rock band Spoon and the hip-hop artist SAINt JHN both halted their sets mid-song when they saw fans suffering from dehydration. Both times the crowds moved aside as quickly as possible to allow paramedics to get through.
SAINt JHN performs at BottleRock 2022 in Napa, California on May 27, 2022.
Yvonne GougeletSome festival attendees found that enjoying themselves was the ultimate sign of defiance against domestic terror. “It’s horrible, but nothing will stop me from going to concerts,” said a young woman who drove to BottleRock from San Diego.
That comment was in-line with an instruction from Mandy Lee, of Misterwives, to the crowd: “We have to leave here feeling better than when we arrived.”