Jon Batiste headlined the Arts for All Gala celebrating music and the beloved summer festival’s entire slate of outdoor concerts
Words by CATHERINE BIGELOW
Photography by DREW ALTIZER PHOTOGRAPHY (except where noted)
With his melodeon raised high, multi-award-winning artist-composer Jon Batiste and his band weaved through a sold-out crowd on July 13 during the Arts for All Gala at Nickel & Nickel Winery in Oakville as he led Festival Napa Valley patrons in a joyful, Bourbon Street–style second line parade.
Alighting outside on a courtyard set with lounges and Spanish moss–draped trees, guests waved white napkins in the evening breeze as Batiste, a New Orleans native, traded jams with the Jeff Sanford Sextet brass band.
The swoon-worthy soiree scored a record-breaking $5 million in funds for the festival’s mission of making the arts accessible to all by providing Napa county music education, scholarships, and artistic development, as well as free public concerts and community events. Since its inception, the gala has raised more than $33 million and served some 8,500 students, seniors, and veterans.
The festival also unveiled its latest initiative, Music & Wellness, which will explore the healing power of music to enhance mental wellness, improve memory, and spark creativity.
Led by gala chairs Mary Beth Shimmon and her husband, FNV trustee David Shimmon, who joined forces with designer J. Riccardo Benavides, they upped the gala ante in creating a dynamic new look for the courtyard and dinner tent. Musical instruments adorned the glamorous foyer, leading into swank jazz club setting dubbed Club FNV. Dazzled diners savored a three-course New Orleans–inspired menu by Chef Rogelio Garcia (a James Beard Best Chef finalist), of the Michelin-starred Auro in Calistoga, which was paired with primo Nickel & Nickel vino.
Guests were also delighted to be gifted a copy of Garcia’s cookbook, Convivir: Modern Mexican Cuisine in California’s Wine Country, a 2025 James Beard Foundation Book Award winner.
“Each year, this gala hits a resounding note of joy and highlights the profound role the arts and education play in transforming lives,” Mary Beth Shimmon said. “We’re grateful for Jon Batiste’s passion in bringing people together through music and the arts, which aligns perfectly with the festival’s mission of celebrating the transformative power of arts education.”
Prior to Batiste’s spirited set — ranging with skillful riffs from Rachmaninoff to Leonard Cohen — the stage was popping with surprises as auctioneer Lydia Fenet enticed guests to bid on luxe auction lots, including a wine-tasting trip led by vintner Jean-Charles Boissett and a stay in his Parisian pied-à-terre, garnering two bids of $170K each. And Tatiana Copeland (proprietor of Bouchaine Vineyards and a grand-niece of Rachmaninoff) stunned supporters as she kicked off the fund-a-need by announcing she and her husband, Gerret Copeland, were pledging the festival with a donation of $1 million.
The evening also honored Alpha Omega vintner Robin Baggett, a loyal FNV trustee who is passing his board chairman baton onto trustee Steven Stull. Also among the crowd: Rep. Nancy Pelosi and her husband, Paul Pelosi; Gina Gallo; Katie and Peter Mondavi; Lt. Governor Eleni Kounalakis; FNV cofounder-CEO Rick Walker and founding artistic director Charles Letourneau; Romana Bracco; Elizabeth and Clarke Swanson; and SF Opera Board President Jack Calhoun.
SF-Napa entrepreneur Roger Walther, a longtime FNV board member, recalled the festival’s early days of working to corral support from Valley vintners, restaurateurs, and luxury properties.
“Thanks to the leadership of Rick (Walker) and the dedication of our board,” he said, “we have a whole new crop of partners who now seek out collaborations with the festival.”
The festival’s outdoor concert HQ is held upon the verdant grounds of the historic Charles Krug Winery. Excloo Patrons’ dinner and lunches are presented in vaunted properties ranging from Hall St. Helena and Quintessa to Bella Oaks, PlumpJack Estate, or St. Supéry Estate Vineyards & Winery (the only American vineyard under the umbrella of the privately held Chanel fashion empire).
High-flying guests also clamor to luxuriate in five-star partner resorts populating the valley, such as Bardessono, Stanly Ranch, Solage, Meadowood, the Francis House, and Napa Valley Lodge.
For festival devotees, those well-appointed rooms must be large enough to accommodate a plethora of Napa chic ensembles. The “16 best days of summer” require numerous costume changes amid back-to-back lunches, concerts, dinners, and events.
Thankfully, luxury Italian jeweler Pomellato is a premier FNV sponsor and held two days of elegant trunk show lunches (hosted by Nathalie Diamantis and Ken Moore) at Auberge du Soleil and Donum Estate, dotted with vineyards and a world-class sculpture collection.
This year, the festival’s featured artists — that’s among a total of 360 performing musicians — included mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato, baritone Lester Lynch, ballet dancer Tiler Peck, violinist Tessa Lark, pianist Tianxu An, and the Versailles Royal Opera Orchestra in its North American debut.
“It’s been a huge year for us,” FNV Executive Producer Sienna Peck said. “There are 90 artists just from the Versailles company, and we processed visas for all of them. Their Christian Lacroix–designed costumes for the performance of La Fille du régiment were packed into a shipping container and arrived here via boat.”
FNV has leaned into the visual arts (thanks to support from trustee Suzanne Deal Booth) with LED video installations that complement live concerts. This year’s big-screen cinematic celebration honored the soaring film scores by the late Italian maestro Ennio Morricone, who was the subject of Maria Manetti Celebrates La Dolce Vita! tribute concert and post-party at Castello di Amorosa.
Inside this Tuscan-inspired stone castle, the typical post-concert patrons dinner was transformed by FNV Director of Events Ken Savage and his partner, set designer Arnel Sancianco, into a roaming carnival of delights — with a nod to Morricone’s famed Spaghetti western films — featuring a saloon-style setting serving up wood-fired pizzas as well as a bespoke cowboy hat bar for delighted revelers. And arts philanthropist Maria Manetti Shrem joyfully presented her 2025 Manetti Shrem Opera Prize to soprano Marina Monzó and tenor Kang Wang.
“I love this program to celebrate great Italian artists,” Manetti Shrem said. “In the beginning of the festival, we were very few people. The first few years, my heart was bleeding because we presented these incredible artists but the theater was only one-third full. But with my late husband, Jan [Shrem], we persevered. Now performances are mostly sold out, and next year we will celebrate the festival’s 20th anniversary!”
That future was in focus during a Patron’s dinner concert at the Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, where 22-year-old pianist Maxim Lando wowed the crowd — performing pieces by Beethoven and Led Zeppelin — while playing a baby grand that floated atop a platform in a lake abloom with water lilies. He was the eighth recipient of the Darioush and Shahpar Khaledi Prize for Excellence & Innovation, created by founding FNV chairman Darioush Khaledi.
Following an alfresco dinner on the grounds of this storied winery, guests were treated to a sneak preview of new work by Dead Man Walking composer Jake Heggie and librettist Gene Scheer, whose recent work, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, debuts at The Metropolitan Opera opening night in September.
This dynamic musical duo are creating a one-act opera for the festival — in its inaugural large-scale musical commission. The book is based on the famous 1976 Judgement of Paris blind wine tasting, wherein the established French industry was bested by upstart Napa Valley vintners, led by the late Warren Winiarski, founder of the very property (now owned by Marchese Piero Antinori) upon which this tantalizing musical amuse-bouche was performed.
“When you experience these amazing artists, especially the young, emerging talents and are able to give their careers a boost, their inspiration drives my inspiration to keep innovating,” Rick Walker said. “Every year is like a blank canvas, with a variety of different talents applying color. We’ve developed a festival family among our generous sponsors, incredible valley vintner and hotel partners, as well as our loyal patrons whose engagement has grown immensely over two decades. Thanks to our amazing team and the brilliant artistic programming of Charles (Letourneau), we strive to create surprise and awe each season. The festival is a very fertile ground for creativity.”
Stay tuned: Patron Passes are on sale now for the 20th anniversary edition of Festival Napa Valley, July 10–19, 2026. festivalnapavalley.org.
July 25, 2025
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