BottleRock 2024 in the Napa Valley this year was one for the books. With headliners Stevie Nicks, Pearl Jam and Ed Sheeran across three great California days, it was a weekend to remember. Many Paste favorites, cover story alums and Album of the Week recipients, including St. Vincent, Bully, Stephen Sanchez, Holly Humberstone, Norah Jones, Kali Uchis and Dehd took the stage, and it was a pretty spectacular showcase of just how great 2024 has been for music thus far.
Here’s what our critic Cat Woods had to say about Pearl Jam in her recent review of Dark Matter: “For anyone over 30, the bygone era Pearl Jam is inextricably entwined with endures in the melancholic, angst-soaked singles from album Ten, as ‘Alive,’ ‘Even Flow’ and ‘Jeremy’ are justifiably grunge anthems. Those early moments, some derived from demos that guitarist Stone Gossard had written for his previous band Mother Love Bone, were a combination of truthful, personal stories and dramatic fictional flourishes all anchored by Vedder’s unique, grizzly-edged baritone. Dark Matter carries that legacy without straying far from the Pearl Jam blueprint of more than three decades. The album title alludes to cosmic mystery, but there’s nothing ambiguous in the chemistry between Vedder and Gossard in particular. A band still in their best form, and as the US election looms and global news is relentlessly dire, their limitless energy to protest, “react and respond” is invigorating.”
Check out BottleRock 2024 in photos below, with Cameron Diaz, Katherine Power, Tinx and My Morning Jacket captured by Ezra Trost-Goldhammer and the rest captured by Donny Evans.
Akira Galaxy
All Time Low
Bebe Rexha
Boy With Uke
Bradley Cooper, Andrew Zimmern, Jose Andres & Steph Curry