Seeing these two acts at BottleRock highlighted how much Bruno Mars owes to Earth, Wind & Fire (and their contemporaries) for his captivating stage presence. Never mind that both acts have terrific songs that will endure for 50 years or more—think about the performance itself: bounding onto stage as a unit, coordinated outfits, dancing in unison while playing an instrument (don’t tell me it’s easy to play trumpet, spin and boogie at the same time) and having the frontman an integral part of a bouquet, not one flower surrounded by ornamental greens. These visuals are an integral part of creating lasting memories of music, and Mars does it perfectly.