Few people would associate Snoop Dog with cooking, let alone doing it live on the stage. yet at BottleRock 2018, there he was, stood on the stage, grilling chicken in the sizzling 80-degree weather. Welcome to the peculiar and exciting of BottleRock, a music and food-infused festival which began in 2013 in Napa, California. 

From 25th to 27th May, we were invited by Alaska Airline (a major sponsor of the event) as their Skydeck VIP guests to attend the three-day sold-out BottleRock. As a VIP guest, not only had we had access to the elevated viewing deck, “Skydeck” with unparalleled views of the main stage and culinary stages, but also up-close prime viewing areas and shade at each stage, premium bars, comfy seats, shade, live acoustic performances, DJ sets, and upgraded VIP-only restrooms. 

The entire setup of BottleRock, with outdoor booths and food stands, feels like a clean and bourgeois version of a county fair. Instead of dirt and mud, as festivalgoers, we were walking on artificial grass. Instead of typical festival food like hot dogs and cheeseburgers, we had choices of Sushi, Vietnamese noodle salad, hand-made pizza, specialty burgers, gyro wraps, Ben&Jerry ice creams,  and much more. Instead of just soda and beer, we were choosing Chardonnay of various vintages from Napa and Sonoma Valley. No matter you are vegan, vegetarian, meat-lover, gluten-free, wine spectator, you could easily find something delicious there to nibble.  

But food was just the icing on the cake at this festival, the lineup of the music artists is the most impressive part. Over the course of three days, we listened to live performance of the headliners such as Bruno Mars, the Chainsmokers, the Killers, Muse, Halsey, Snoop Dog, the old classics, such as Billy Idols, The Wind, Earth and Fire, as well as upcoming artists such as the Wrecks, MountJoy, and etc. There is just something for everyone!

Our favorites were the Chainsmokers and, of course, Bruno Mars. At the Chainsmokers' performance, we managed to find some spots right in front of the stage. We were singing among thousands of people, dancing to the beats of their electroic music, and enjoying the craziness of fans. As for Bruno Mars, we watched it from our comfort seating at "the Suites", which has unobstructed views of the main stage and the crowd. To watch around 100,000 people singing, dancing, cheering to almost every song Bruno was performing was just incredible! 

All in all, BottleRock was just an amazing music festival! And with the amazing Alaska Air Skydeck pass, the experience was even more mesmerzing. My advice for next year 2019, forget about Coachella,  get the tickets of BottleRock as soon as they are released.