Just The Messenger

Blue Note Jazz Festival 2022 was one of the most incredible musical and cultural experiences I‘ve ever had. So much so, I’m curious to see the next experience that will knock it out of the top 5. On July 29, Napa, California hosted the Blue Note Jazz Festival with Artist in Residence, Robert Glasper. Going to this festival was undoubtedly one of the best decisions I’ve made. 

So rewind: my friend Patrice originally posted about this festival back in April 2022. I was SHOCKED at the lineup and lowkey thought it was a scam. The amount and depth of talent they curated for this weekend in Napa! Like… there’s no way. I played myself with the first round of tickets, waiting on my friend to confirm they’d go with me (note to all of you reading this: JUST BUY THE DAMN THING!!  – the ticket, the flight, the meal… Do not wait or let your decision to experience the things you want, be contingent on another person validating that for you). So alas, I missed the tickets and proceeded to sign up for the waiting list with every email address I’ve ever owned in life. Two months later, they released tickets and a lineup for an added Friday set – Nope, I wasn’t going… I wanted the full experience – so I kept waiting for them to (hoping they would) release more Saturday and Sunday tickets. A week or so later, they did. 🙌🏽🙌🏽I wasn’t missing tickets this time around so I decided to buy two tickets – I figured I’d either find someone to go with me or I’d sell the extra one. Didn’t matter to me, but I was in there! 

After weeks of trying to find someone who was both available and wanted to spend the money, I had all but given up on selling the ticket and just taking the L. But a guy I grew up with/childhood friend decided to buy the ticket in the fourth quarter with :03 seconds on the clock! 

I ended up flying from Boston, where I was during the week, completing a Non Profit Leadership program at the Harvard Kennedy Executive School (slight flex😊). I flew into San Francisco, rented a car and drove directly to Napa. After a full day of travel, I knew there was no way I was making Alex Isley’s set – even though she was one I really wanted to see, so I stopped to grab a few festival essentials, freshen up and head to the festival. I decided to take the shuttle which added an additional 30 minutes to the trip so I didn’t arrive until around 5pm. I walked into Kamasi Washington’s set. (Note: You had to put your phone in a locked pouch when you entered the main stage area, so I didn’t get to record any of his set 😢.) I wasn’t familiar with his music beforehand, but a friend told me to check him out and I’m so glad I did… Such a talent! Because Friday was an added day, it wasn’t super packed and the crowd was very diverse – in age, gender, race, size – it was dope! Folks spread out across the lawn with bottles of wine and weed – just completely vibing out. After Kamasi’s set, I went to finesse getting my phone unlocked. I promise I wasn’t that thirsty to record, but I definitely didn’t like the feeling of not having any way to contact anyone, especially considering I was rolling solo. I was able to get my phone unlocked and snuck it in to watch Chaka Khan perform with Rob, my childhood homie who bought the other ticket. As we’re vibing to Chaka (who was incredible by the way! This was my second time seeing her live and she was even better this time around), we look over the aisle to VIP and see Dwayne Wade, Gabrielle Union, Terry and Rebecca Crews. I immediately thought “OH, this is a whole THING!”. After Chaka’s set, it was time for Dinner Party’s performance – truth be told, I didn’t realize that Dinner Party was a group 🥴(Robert Glasper, Kamasi Washington and Terrace Martin) and thought this was just the segment of the show that Dave Chappelle hosted – oh yeah, Dave hosted a portion of the show each night with Robert Glasper, which I came to learn was one of the best parts of the festival each night. Dave gets on stage cracking jokes and narrating while Dinner Party has a whole jam session behind him. He starts talking about how historic this night is and I won’t lie, you could feel that energy in the air – like this is something iconic – a major cultural moment taking place and I am so glad I was there to witness it – and so close to the action! Dave proceeds to bring out Katt Williams and they freestyle while Dinner Party provides the soundtrack. Then out comes Yasiin Bey (formally Mos Def) – swoon 😍. Then Snoop comes out and performs like a 6 song-set. If you thought you didn’t need to see Snoop perform live, you’re wrong! He’s an incredible performer and super engaging as an entertainer. He aptly named Napa Valley, the Nappy for the weekend. ✊🏽

I ended my night back at the hotel – which I learned was much further from the venue than I originally anticipated or planned for – all good, I’d figure that out later. 

Day two started with a wine tasting and tour at Jordan Winery then I headed to the grounds. I pulled up around Flying Lotus’ set and ended up finding Patrice and her group of friends – who had finessed their way into VIP, so we joined them (in the same spot DWade and Gabrielle Union were the day before.) I won’t lie, this day of the fest was pretty whack. Erykah Badu was supposed to headline the evening but got COVID and somehow they couldn’t find anyone to replace her, so they did a repeat of the set from Friday just without Snoop and this time, Robbery Glasper and Dave Chappelle were lit. Glasper kept going off on tangents, talking more than performing. It was a mess. After their debauchery, Blackstar performed. While I love them individually, I can’t say I know a lot of their music as a group, but friends who were into them said the set was whack – and long. One thing that was different from the first day was that today, it was PACKED. The freedom and ease of the day before, did not exist. 

We dipped out and I stayed at a bed and breakfast closer to the festival grounds. I woke up and ate breakfast and then while driving to catch the shuttle, got a call from Patrice and the girls to come to brunch at the ranch they were staying at, which happened to be the same ranch Dave, Yasiin and Katt Williams were all staying at – perfect 🤩. Pulled up to a cute ass hotel complex equipped with the most helpful grounds crew, cute little “go carts” to get you from point A to B and a beautiful lavender and eucalyptus pool! Brunch was also cute. I didn’t eat much because I had just eaten but we saw Yasiin and Dave while brunching and Katt later as we walked the property – it was so dope and the complex was incredible. Definitely had planned to stay here if I returned this year. We then headed to the festival – which was THICK 🥵. Folks were spilling over onto the walkways, there was nowhere for blankets or sitting. Folks were out today and it was absolutely beautiful being in this sea of Black freedom. I caught the tail end of Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah (formerly Christian Scott Atunde), who was one of the acts I REALLY wanted to see. I’m such a fan of his music and he’s SO talented. We headed into the festival and this time they weren’t playing about the phones so none of us got to keep ours 😢. We walked straight into VIP this time, as though we were supposed to be there – because we were 🤷🏽‍♀️. We watched Corinne Bailey Rae, Ledisi and Amel Larrieux – all INCREDIBLE and D Smoke (my boo) perform with Dinner Party. Anthony Anderson even pulled up to vibe with the crowd for a bit. Then I was fed up – I needed my phone. Maxwell was the closer and I was salty that I wasn’t able to record any of the artists from the earlier sets because they all snapped. I got my phone back and immediately got a call from Rob who also had just gotten his phone back. He had somehow scored 2 All Access backstage passes and was inviting me to join him. I won’t lie – while I was excited, there were SO many people there and the thought of having to traverse that crowd to meet him, gave me big anxiety, so I was initially going to pass until my girls talked me into it. I figured out an easier way to get backstage and as soon as I crossed the threshold, everyone I had spent the weekend admiring from afar, were five to six feet in front of me – it was surreal. Yasiin, D. Smoke, Robert Glasper, J. Ivy, Mark Curry, Mara Hruby, Dave Chappelle, a whole bunch of folks that I didn’t know but knew they were famous. And then they started ushering Maxwell in. We all had to shift to either side of the stage or the VIP stage area. We followed most of the crowd to the front of the stage. On the way there I got to meet Mark Curry and give him his flowers (so I can officially say I was Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper 😆). We moved around and stood directly in front of the stage where I got to see Maxwell perform from 30 feet away and dance next to D. Smoke. I was in heaven, yall! The festival ended and Rob and I started trying to figure out where the after party was. During the walk to catch our Uber, we ended up flowing into the artist’s VIP lounge where everyone we just saw backstage was now chilling in the coolest lounge setup: dj, drinks, food, multiple activations: a basketball court, live performances, live art – It was dope. I met Anthony Anderson and Robert Glasper and gave them both their flowers. I even saw some folks I knew from Chicago. We kicked it there for a while and then decided to head back to get my car from the ranch where I had parked earlier. On the way there, we learned that that’s where the actual afterparty was happening. After getting my bag and keys – and grilling the grounds driver about how we could get into the party (he was adamant there was no way we were getting in the party because both Dave’s and the ground’s security were airtight). We decided to check it out before we left just to see. Y’all… we walked right into that after party – no wristband, no carding, nothing! It was us and about 25 other people including Young Jeezy and his wife Jeanne Mai and several of the folks I named before: Anthony Anderson, Dave Chappelle, Mark Curry and again, a bunch of celebs I couldn’t recognize in a lineup – but we were in there. Dave was lit! Telling jokes, but lowkey salty cause no one was dancing, just talking. I got to hug him and tell him how much of a fan I am. We ate, we drank, we met the band and we dipped. 

WHAT A TIME, y’all. I never would’ve guessed when I bought the tickets that I would have THAT good of a time. I knew I needed to be there but the universe showed me exactly how much. It was one of the most feel-good, good energy experiences I’ve ever had and it was just so dope and affirming to see so many of us in Napa Valley with some of the greatest musicians of our time, in a space that was literally no drama, no stress, no worries, just good vibes. I am so glad I went. It was a reminder to me to continue to just do me and go with the flow. Not to let other people’s limitations and reservations become my limitations and reservations.

I was curious to see if they were going to do it again this year. Especially because the closing night got a little spicy because the band/Dave wanted to keep playing/vibing and the venue was not going! I wondered if they were gonna ban Blacks from Napa, but alas, we’re back in that thang this year. While the lineup looks great this year too (definitely not touching last year’s), I already knew there was no way I was going to top the experience I had last year, so I decided to sit this one out. But everyone who’s mentioned it to me, I’ve highly recommended that they go. It is a truly once in a lifetime experience and I’m so glad I got to be completely immersed in the very first one. 

I love us for real.  I hope we continue to have events like this because we deserve!

*check my IG profile for the forbidden footage I captured 😆

Tips:
– Be prepared to lock those phones up or finesse a way to keep them without getting caught
– If you’re taking the shuttle to the grounds, factor in an additional 30-45 mins going and an hour returning (everyone leaving at the same time)
– If there’s space, chairs/blankets etc are a nice to have. if it’s packed, they become a nuisance to carry
– Do the after parties!
– If there’s a day that you don’t care much about the performances, do some wine tastings/vineyard tours
– For lodging, 30 mins on Google is really 50-60 mins in Napa time
– There’s food inside the venue so don’t feel like you have to eat before you come but obviously, there’s better options if you do