While much of the Bay Area was in the midst ofTaylor Swift mania, where the pop superstarbroke curfewduring the first of her twoEras Tour shows at Levi’s Stadium, a Wine Country crowd was grooving to a very different female powerhouse.
mjb,称为“R&B女王”,帮助close out the first night of the second annual Blue Note Jazz Festival Napa on Friday, July 28, at Silverado Resort with an hour-long set packed with hits spanning her three decade-long career, from 1992’s “Real Love” to 2022’s “Good Morning Gorgeous.”
Hitting the main stage erected on the resort’s driving range, the award-winning singer made an entrance in a rhinestone-studded denim outfit with thigh-high boots to match, Blige came out hot jumping right into “You Remind Me,” her first hit single off her debut album “What’s the 411?”
From there, the hits kept coming, sparking several festival-wide sing-alongs that had Blige pointing the mic off stage as fans belted out full verses and hooks to slow jams (“Not Gon’ Cry”), empowering tracks (“Be Happy”) and radio bangers (“Family Affair”) that showcased the best of her three decade-long career.
Blige appropriately closed out with “MJB Da MVP,” capping off a pretty tame outing for the festival, which moved to the Silverado Resort in Napa this summer despite some residents who expressed concerns over noise, traffic andsafety.
Blue Note Jazz Festival Napa:Noon-10 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, July 29-30. Tickets start at $225. Silverado Resort, 1600 Atlas Peak Road, Napa.www.bluenotejazz.com/jazz-festival-napa
In fact, unlike Swift, the festival ended on time — a surprise consideringlast year’s inaugural runat Charles Krug Winery in St. Helena, where hosts Dave Chappelle and Robert Glasper broke the city’s noise ordinance two nights in a row.
This time around, the two seemed to want to stick to the rules.
“Don’t forget to pick up your trash when you leave so we can be invited back,” Chappelle said, chuckling as the audience began thinning out. “I want everybody to behave … everybody be quiet when you leave, for the white people sipping wine out there.”
And yet the comedian and Glasper continued to get the remaining crowd riled up, giving shout-outs to the first day’s performers, from R&B singer Ari Lennox and hip-hop pioneers De La Soul to funk master George Clinton, who played across the outdoor event’s three stages.
They also reminded special ticketholders about thefestival’s nightly after parties, held from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m. indoors on-site at Silverado for an extra cost of more than $260. The parties feature Chappelle’s touring mix master DJ Trauma and guests, which on Friday included “Queen of Bounce” herself Big Freedia, who performed earlier in the day, and hip-hop producer 9th Wonder.
“Everyone get home safe,” Chappelle said before dropping the mic. “We’ll see you tomorrow.”
Blue Note Jazz Festival Napa, curated by Glasper, an award-winning jazz pianist, continues through Sunday, July 30, with headliners Nas and Chance the Rapper as well as the father and son duo ofBobby和Taylor McFerrin, Digable Planets, Talib Kweli, Madlib,Gary Clark Jr.和many more.
Freelance writer Yoshi Kato contributed to this report.
Reach Mariecar Mendoza:mmendoza@sfchronicle.com