SAN JOSE, Calif. — More than 75 acts are scheduled to appear during the 2026 BottleRock Napa Valley festival.

They range from top-tier headliners — such as Lorde, Foo Fighters, Backstreet Boys, Lil Wayne, LCD Soundsystem, Sombr and Teddy Swims — to rising-star acts like Good Neighbors, BigXthaPlug and The Heavy Heavy.

There are longtime favorites (Men at Work, Chaka Khan, Better Than Ezra) right next to new artists (Indy, Betty Taylor, Buffalo Traffic Jam).

And you’ve got everything from hip-hop (Ludacris) and alternative (Bush) to R&B (the mighty Kool & the Gang) to punk (The Return of Jackie and Judy).

So, yeah, there is definitely a lot going on during this year’s BottleRock, which runs May 22-24 at Napa Valley Expo in downtown Napa.

And unless you’ve got a proper game plan going into the party then you’re probably going to miss some of the best stuff taking place.

That’s where we come in with our annual accept-no-substitutes BottleRock Napa Valley Hourly Guide, telling you exactly where you should be, what you should hear and even what you should eat during each and every hour of the three-day affair.

So, buckle up, grab some comfortable shoes and get ready to experience BottleRock to the fullest. Note: Set times and stage assignments are subject to change, so check bottlerocknapavalley.com for the most up-to-date information.

Here’s our hourly guide.

Day 1 (May 22)

You’re going to need plenty of energy for this awesome three-day weekend, so let’s fuel up first with one of those tasty designer hot dog creations at Sumo Dog. My favorite is the Miso Katsu, which is a breaded and fried hot dog topped with miso mustard, coleslaw and more.

With your belly properly filled, it’s time to catch your first music act of the 2026 BottleRock Napa Valley — Indy — who opens up the Prudential Stage at noon. You might not have heard of this New Zealand electropop artist, but you’ve most definitely heard of her sister — Lorde. And let’s just say that musical talent absolutely runs in the family.

Stick with this member of the Yelich-O’Connor family right up until her set ends at 1 p.m. and then hurry over in time to see Hannah Cohen on the T-Mobile Stage. Cohen is a jazzy indie-electropop artist who hails from San Francisco and has released four studio albums, the most recent of which is last year’s critically acclaimed “Earthstar Mountain.”

Give Cohen about 20 minutes then head back over to Prudential for another dose of Kiwi musical magic with the Beths. Ride along with these New Zealand indie-pop purveyors right up until 2:30 p.m. and then move to the NorthBay Health Stage for the Chin Chins, partially in hopes that Green Day drummer Tre Cool — the husband of Chins Chins vocalist Sara Rose — might take the stage with the band.

Yet if Tre Cool waits until the Chins Chins’ finale to possibly make an appearance then, well, you’re going to miss him. And it will most definitely be worth it because the trade-off is catching the Paradox over at HelloFresh Stage. I’d plan on sticking with these fun pop-punksters from 3 to 3:45 p.m. then wash down their Blink 182-style rock with some dreamy electropop from New Constellations — a band that should appeal to fans of Chvrches and Phantogram — on NorthBay Health Stage.

Take in about 20 minutes then jump over to catch every single second of the legendary Chaka Khan’s set on Prudential Stage.

Stick around for another five minutes or so after the “Queen of Funk” takes her bow, just to soak up those soulful vibes still floating around the stage, and then hit NorthBay Health for some cool indie/soft rock tunes from New York City’s Melt.

We’ve got the Pride of Vacaville — Papa Roach — dishing out those retro nu-metal grooves on T-Mobile Stage beginning at 6:45 p.m. About 15 minutes of Papa should be plenty, so then move over to catch up with Naughty By Nature rapper Treach on NorthBay Health. That brings us to (a quick) dinnertime, with a tasty chicken sandwich from Q Restaurant sounding like a fine plan.

This year’s Day 1 is the best of the three days in terms of headliners. And we’d love to catch some of Lil Wayne (one of our all-time favorite hip-hop artists) on T-Mobile and would be curious to see ‘80s hitmakers Men at Work on HelloFresh.

Yet, we’re going to very contentedly pass on both in order to take in all the Lorde we can as the New Zeland singer-songwriter rocks the Prudential from 8:15 to 9:45 p.m. Yes, she’s that fantastic on the live stage — and her latest full-length, “Virgin,” was the best album of 2025.

Day 2 (May 23)

It seems like we recommend seeing the Alive every single year and, for our money, this Sabbath/Floyd-inspired young rock act is still the best bet for starting Day 2. So, grab some lunch — perhaps some Osha Thai — and rock out at the Prudential from noon to about 12:50 p.m.

Paris “daughter of Michael” Jackson opens up T-Mobile at 1 p.m., which should be quite interesting. Yet, give her only about 25 minutes of your time because our No. 1 must-see act of Day 2 — the Return of Jackie and Judy — plays 1:30 to 2:15 p.m. on Prudential. And we don’t want to miss any of this Ramones tribute band featuring Sleater-Kinney and comedian/drummer Fred Armisen.

We dig the indie-pop tunes of Flipturn — a Fernandina Beach, Florida, outfit that comes across like a more-mellow Vampire Weekend — so go have a listen on T-Mobile from roughly 2:20 to 2:45 p.m. Then race back to Prudential for Rock & Roll Hall of Famers Joan Jett & the Blackhearts.

We’re definitely interested in rising indie-pop star Charlotte Lawrence on the NorthBay Health Stage, but not so much so that we’re willing to miss hearing Bush perform “Glycerine,” “Everything Zen” or anything else from “Sixteen Stone” during the band’s 3:45 p.m. set on T-Mobile.

As Gavin Rossdale waves goodbye to the crowd, jet on over to HelloFresh to catch the 30-or-so minutes remaining in the set from Mexican retro-funk-pop-electronic act Midnight Generation. Then pinball right back to T-Mobile at 5:15 for Busta Rhymes, the blazingly fast rapper who also happens to have put up an amazingly competitive fight against horror icon Michael Myers in 2002’s underrated “Halloween: Resurrection.”

That should leave us with about 15 minutes for electronic music legends LCD Soundsystem, which is all we’re willing to spare because Rilo Kiley — our second must-see act for Day 2 — comes calling at T-Mobile at 6:45 p.m. We recommend soaking up a full hour of the fine indie-pop from Jenny Lewis and company.

At this point, the heavy foot traffic will be charging toward Day 2 headliners Foo Fighters. Yet, we’re willing to pass on Dave Grohl and company — mainly because we’ve already seen them headline BottleRock twice in the last 10 years — in order to catch the approximately 30 minutes left in hip-hop troupe Arrested Development’s set on HelloFresh. At that point, your stomach has probably been growling for a good hour, so answer that call with some tacos at Taqueria Rosita. You still have plenty of time to catch some of the Foos, who play until 9:45 p.m., but — once again — we’d rather use that opportunity to catch a different act. So, let’s close out Night 2 with a big helping of soulful island reggae grooves from Maui’s Maoli on the HelloFresh Stage.

Day 3 (May 24)

Today we’re playing the Backstreet Boys waiting game. And as the music begins on the last day of BottleRock 2026 we’ve got roughly eight hours until the world’s greatest “boy band” takes the stage. So, yeah, let’s have some fun.

Your first destination should be to see Kentucky bluesman Nat Myers, who will get the party started on T-Mobile at noon.

And what goes better with blues than barbecue? Well, certainly not much. So go straight from Myers to grab some grub from Stateline Road Smokehouse. Then it’s right back to T-Mobile for Izzy Escobar, a rising star in the pop vocals department who has been compared to the likes of Adele and SZA and who contributed a song to “The Devil Wears Prada 2.”

We’re willing to sign off on a full half-hour of Escobar before directing you over to Prudential for the already-in-progress Larkin Poe set. This Georgia-reared, Nashville-based blues-rock outfit — led by sisters Rebecca and Megan Lovell — is terrific so give them your full attention right up to 2:30 p.m. Then hustle over to NorthBay Health to see what the Montana indie-folk outfit Buffalo Traffic Jam is all about.

We’re guessing 10 minutes of Buffalo Traffic is more than enough — and, really, that’s a good thing. Because you absolutely need to be back at Prudential by 3 p.m. for Kool & the Gang, knowing full well that when these R&B legends play “Celebration” the result should be nothing short of joyful pandemonium.

Kool & the Gang takes us right up to 4 p.m. — aka, only four more hours until Backstreet Boys time — so keep right on pushing on. Your next stop should be NorthBay Health for the Heavy Heavy, a U.K. act with a sound that certainly isn’t heavy, but still should appeal to fans of Fleetwood Mac and the Mamas & the Papas.

An hour’s worth of HH’s sunshiny pop-rock should have you ready for a change of musical pace, which you’ll definitely get by checking out BigXthaPlug at 5:15 p.m. on T-Mobile. The talented Texan, who mixes trap, country rap and other styles, has seen his star absolutely skyrocket since releasing the debut album “Amar” in 2023.

Good Neighbours probably won’t be as good in concert as BigXthaPlug, but they are so massively hyped that it seems only right to give the U.K. indie-pop act a half hour of your time. So, head over to HelloFresh around 6 p.m. to see if there is any substance behind the ballyhoo.

Two hours to go until Backstreet Boys, which still gives you time to watch Sombr — another massive-buzz artist — on the Prudential Stage.

Once Sombr departs the stage at 7:15 p.m. go grab one more meal — perhaps a pizza at Oenotri — and then secure a good spot at Prudential to take in your last set of Day 3.

And, yes, you guessed it — It’s Backstreet Boys time.

Sounds like an amazing way to bring your 2026 BottleRock Napa Valley to a close. But we’d still like to apologize in advance for singing along to “Quit Playing Games With My Heart” — our favorite romantic pop ballad of the ‘90s — with perhaps a bit too much gusto.

We simply can’t help ourselves when Backstreet’s back, alright?

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