Even if you already know which of the headliners at BottleRock Napa Valley 2023 you’re picking to watch (Post Malone or the Smashing Pumpkins, Lizzo or Duran Duran, Lil Nas X or the Red Hot Chili Peppers), the festival presents many musical options. Because of the relatively small footprint of BottleRock at the Napa Valley Expo, first-time visitors are often surprised at just how many of the acts it’s possible to catch over three days.

You’ll be making important choices all day long, and I love to call it a choose-your-own-adventure experience. But if you don’t know the difference between Garza and Great Northern, let RIFF curate your music experience with this hour-by-hour guide.

One important thing to note: We’ve written this guide before BottleRock announced stage times and personalities for its Williams Sonoma Culinary Stage. If you’re into celebrity-watching, you can’t go wrong with the culinary stage, where you’ll likely find yourself at some point. Also, there will be more than a few artists splitting time between the Jampad and the VIP Village stage. If you can reach them (and have access), it will increase the odds of you catching more artists that you want to see. But for now, let’s stick to the four main stages.

Ready? Here we go…

Friday

12 to 3 p.m.

Arrive a bit early, by 11:45 a.m. to make sure you allow time for getting past the entrance, then head over to the Verizon Stage (that’s the second biggest one, across from the main stage; we’ll just call it Verizon from now on) and get your BottleRock started at 12:15 p.m. with Peter Cat Recording Co. (12:15 to 1:15 p.m.), a Delhi, India electronic soul and R&B band (is there any better way to begin a festival?). After 20 to 30 minutes, head over to the JaM Cellars (main) stage for the bedroom pop of Ayleen Valentine (12:30 to 1:30 p.m.).

Then either scoot up to get closer for TikTok-famous sunny pop artist Nicky Youre (2 to 3 p.m.) or make your way back to Verizon for the moody guitar pop of Jean Dawson (1:45 to 2:45 p.m.). Another great option during this same time is Great Northern (2:15 to 3 p.m.) at the Truly Stage at the far corner of the Napa Valley Expo. This duo consists of indie actress and singer Rachel Stolte and former Thirty Seconds to Mars guitarist Solon Bixler. They’re also on the moody spectrum, but have a decidedly more “rock” sound.

3 to 5 p.m.

If it’s 3 p.m., you’ve already missed the first 15 minutes of BottleRock regulars Moonalice (2:45 to 3:45 p.m.) on the Allianz Stage. If you remember them as a jam band, know that they’ve gotten a lot more soul-sounding with the addition of Lester Chambers of the Chambers brothers, as well as local vocal trio T Sisters. The problem is that this stage time overlaps with four others also deserving of your time! You’re going to have to choose no more than two of these: Rock band The Airborne Toxic Event (3:15 to 4:15 p.m.) is at Verizon. Choose them if you need a dose of emotional, sweeping rock songs. Electronic duo Thievery Corporation (3:30 to 4:30 p.m.) is at the main stage. Choose them if you want to space out or dance to music that blends sounds from throughout the world with hypnotic beats. San Francisco blues rockers The Stone Foxes (3:30 to 4:30 p.m.) are at Truly delivering the killer riffs. We like all these artists, which is why we’ve spoken to all of them. And you can include folky singer-songwriter Pete Yorn (4:15 to 5:15 p.m.) into the mix, who plays on Allianz (after Moonalice).

5 to 8 p.m.

The 5 o’clock time slot presents three fun options. First, pick between dirty garage rockers Starcrawler (4:45 to 5:45 p.m.) over at Truly or rapper Killer Mike (4:45 to 5:45 p.m.) at Verizon, who replaced Yung Gravy. Finally, you’ve got synth-pop stalwarts Dan Smith and Bastille (5 to 6 p.m.) over at the main stage.

The next couple of hours present numerous options. If you have missed all of the four or more Bay Area appearances over the last couple of years by Tom Petty sideman Mike Campbell with his band the Dirty Knobs (5:45 p.m. to 6:45 p.m.), this is a can’t-miss opportunity. They’re at Allianz. This also means you’ll miss pop-rock band Beach Weather (6 to 6:45 p.m.) at Truly. But if you chose the latter, your next band will likely be alt-rockers Phantogram (6:15 to 7:30 p.m.) at Verizon. If you love your jams acoustic and lightning-quick, head over instead to the main stage for skilled bluegrass musician Billy Strings and his band (6:30 to 7:45 p.m.).

After Billy Strings (or Phantogram), unless you care about getting as close as possible to one of the headliners, make a beeline for either alt-rock and pop-punk rocker KennyHoopla (7:15 to 8:15 p.m.) at Truly or folky pop duo Lucius (7:15 to 8:15 p.m.) at Allianz.

8 to 10 p.m.

With all respect to the Bay Area’s War (8:50 to 10 p.m.) at Allianz, or silent disco (8:45) at Truly, this one’s all about the headliners. It’s between the Smashing Pumpkins (8:05 to 10 p.m.) at Verizon or Post Malone (8:30 to 10 p.m.) at the main stage. Both acts have played in the Bay Area since last summer (Pumpkins last fall at Chase Center in San Francisco and Posty at Outside Lands), so we suggest going with whoever you haven’t seen recently, and barring that, your favorite. The Pumpkins are likely to be playing songs that you haven’t heard yet from their new triple-album, Atum.

Saturday

12 to 3 p.m.

We begin on a more mellow note on Saturday. If you want to get a meditation session in as BottleRock day two starts, come early for East Forest (11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.) at Allianz. This artist fuses ruminative moods and soundscapes, and actually leads meditation! His 2019 project,“Music For Mushrooms: A Soundtrack For the Psychedelic Practitioner,” is a five-hour-long “psilocybin soundtrack.” But it’s not too out there, as he’s worked with Jon Hopkins, Typhoon and Nick Mulvey. But if that’s too out there, get yourself some lunch and get ready for Paris Jackson (12:30 to 1:15 p.m.) at the main stage. The model/musician is the only daughter of the King of Pop, and her music is refreshingly folk- and rock-leaning.

After you get your fill, and if you still have some time, head on over to Verizon for a solo set by Thievery Corporation’s Rob Garza (12:45 to 1:45 p.m.), which will also be in the dance and electronic mold, for 20 to 30 minutes, before bouncing back to the main stage for critically acclaimed folky soul artist Danielle Ponder (1:45 to 2:45 p.m.). At 2:15 p.m., you have a choice to make.

Then there’s also the surprise reunion of Keanu Reeves’ band, Dogstar (2:15 to 3:15 p.m.), which was just announced and takes place at Verizon. Otherwise, check out ’70s throwback rockers Mac Saturn (2:15 to 3 p.m.) at Truly. If you loved Greta Van Fleet last year, this is for you.

3 to 5 p.m.

Start off with a few minutes of pop-singer-songwriter Maude Latour (2:45 to 3:45 p.m.) at Allianz, and then keep the party going with Nile Rodgers and Chic (3:15 to 4:15 p.m.) at the main stage. Rodgers has written many of the biggest hits of the last 50 years, but with Chic and for other artists (did you catch him accepting a Grammy for Beyonce in February?).

When you’re ready to move on, you have your choice of terrific rapper and lyricist Lupe Fiasco (3:45 to 4:45 p.m.) at Verizon or Particle Kid (3:30 to 4:15 p.m.) at Truly. Who’s that, you ask? It’s none other than Willie Nelson’s other son, playing psych rock and hippy folk. If you bypass Lupe for Particle Kid, you’ll have enough time to scoot over to Allianz for avant-pop artist and violinist Sudan Archives (4:15 to 5:15 p.m.).

5 to 7 p.m.

The rest of the day is scheduled in a way that would allow you to catch at least 15 minutes of every performer if that’s what you wanted, but we suggest you spend less time walking and more time with the music. So begin with Canadian pop star Carly Rae Jepsen (4:45 to 5:45 p.m.) at the main stage.

Next, pick between bedroom pop artist Dayglow (5:15 and 6:15 p.m.) at Verizon and soul singer and musician Cautious Clay (5:45 to 6:45 p.m.) at Allianz. You could also go from Dayglow to sleek glam-pop band The Unlikely Candidates (6 to 6:45 p.m.) at Truly. The point is that these are all distinct types of music, and it should be generally easy to pick the ones you think you’ll like here.

Finally, scoot over to the main stage for soul singer, guitarist—and now, actor—Leon Bridges (6:15 to 7:30 p.m.). You’ll want to give him at least 30 minutes of undivided attention.

7 to 10 p.m.

If you’re a Leon Bridges fan, there’s nothing wrong with catching his entire set and then getting dinner as you wait for the night’s headliners. But if you want to raise the tempo, you’ve got options. First, make your way to Verizon for Swedish alt-pop singer Tove Lo (6:45 to 7:45 p.m.) If you’re a regular on TikTok or Instagram, you’ve probably run into the comedic songs and musical sketches of Jax (7:15 to 8:15 p.m.). Jaclyn Miskanic has started writing full-length ear-worms, and you can hear those at Truly.

And these artists lead us to the main event, Lizzo (8:15 to 10 p.m.) at the main stage and Duran Duran (8:20 to 10 p.m.) at Verizon. Both played in San Francisco last fall, but even if you were there, you’re likely to be at one of their sets. If you’re looking for an alternative, however, consider jazzy German electro-marching band (!?) MEUTE (8:45 to 10 p.m.) at Allianz.

Sunday

12 to 3 p.m.

We’ve made it to the final day of BottleRock Napa 2023! Reward yourself by starting with a set by soul, funk and rock musician Thunderstorm Artis (12:15 to 1:15 p.m.) at Verizon. The last time we’ve covered a show that he has opened, our crew came back singing his praises. When you’re ready to move on, catch the end of the set by Bay Area rockers The Alive (12:30 to 1:30 p.m.) at the main stage or the first part of the performance by Napa’s Go-Gos and Fleetwood Mac lovers Mama Said (1:15 to 2:15 p.m.) at Allianz.

From The Alive or Mama Said, make your way to Verizon to catch the beginning of the performance by SoCal pop trio half•alive (1:45 to 2:45 p.m.) and then back to the main stage for glam-rock band The Struts (2 to 3 p.m.), who’ve played BottleRock several times and never disappoint.

3 to 5 p.m.

Want more funk? You’re in luck. San Francisco’s own Monophonics (2:45 to 3:45 p.m.) have just kicked off their set at Allianz. Next, catch the first half-hour of blues rock and pop artist Teddy Swims (3:15 to 4:15 p.m.) at Verizon. Make sure to make it to the main stage in time to catch the biggest hits by folk-pop and country icon Sheryl Crow (3:30 to 4:30 p.m.). Then rush back over to Allianz for a half-hour or more of Cuban Afro-Caribbean music artist Cimafunk. Do this if it’s your thing. Do it even if it’s not. Festivals aren’t just about discovering a new indie band or underground DJ. Open yourself up to the world around you.

5 to 8 p.m.

This next part can be straightforward: If you’re on the hip-hop track, you’ll spend most of the rest of the night at Verizon. If you’re into rock, you’ll hop between the main stage, Allianz and Truly. But for those who want to mix it up, we suggest starting with a bit of rapper-singer Quinn XCII (4:45 to 5:45 p.m.) at Truly, bouncing to the main stage for some folk rock with Caamp (5 to 6 p.m.) and then to Allianz for the blues guitar wonder (even B.B. King said so!) that is Christone “Kingfish” Ingram (5:45 to 6:45 p.m.).

You don’t have too much time, though, because hip-hop icons Wu-Tang Clan (6:15 to 7:30) hit the Verizon stage, and sad-rockers The National (6:30 to 7:45 p.m.) are on just 15 minutes later on the main stage. Our advice? Forty-five minutes of each! And then finish off this block with Bay Area blues musician Taj Mahal (7:15 to 8:15 p.m.) at Allianz.

8 to 10 p.m.

Finish up BottleRock 2023 by choosing your preferred headliner, the Red Hot Chili Peppers (8:15 to 9:45 p.m.), making their return to the main stage, or Lil Nas X (8:15 to 9:30 p.m.) at Verizon. Both of those two stages too crowded? There’s blue collar rock with Los Lobos (8:45 to 10 p.m.) at Allianz, or silent disco with regulator Warren G (8:45 to 10 p.m.) at Truly.

Follow editor Roman Gokhman at Twitter.com/RomiTheWriter.