The first ever Mountain Oasis Electronic Music Summit has just announced their lineup for 2013.  The festival takes place in Asheville, NC on October 25th through the 27th.  Mountain Oasis is programmed and produced by AC Entertainment, the company that helped put together MoogFest.  Towards the end of last year, Moog Music and AC Entertainment split up when Moog declined to renew its licensing agreement with AC.  Mountain Oasis now takes the place of MoogFest as AC Entertainment’s presence in North Carolina.  The Mountain Oasis festival will take place the same weekend and location as previous MoogFests.  This however will not be the end of MoogFest.  Moogfest just recently announced a new partnership with Paxahau along with a new logo. Along with it they stated that MoogFest will not be taking place in 2013, but will return April 25th through the 27th in Asheville for MoogFest 2014.

So set aside all your worries, North Carolina will not be losing a music festival.  Instead we will be gaining another one and after looking at the intial lineup announcement, it looks to be a damn good one.  The lineup, despite not being completed yet, is full of some big names and rarities.  Neutral Milk Hotel will be playing one of their first shows in fifteen years together at this year’s festival. Trent Reznor will be playing twice with How to Destroy Angels as well as Nine Inch Nails who are just coming off their hiatus. Other notable artists include Animal Collective, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Chromatics, Tricky, Zola Jesus and JG Thirwell, Pretty Lights, Bassnectar, and Bosnian Rainbows. Many more artists will be announced in the coming future. The festival will also feature talks, seminars, panels, interactive experiences, exhibitions and more by artists and other esteemed members of the musical community. Tickets will go on sale Thursdau, May 2nd at 12:00 pm Eastern Time. Stay tuned for more details as the full lineup will be announced.

Hopscotch Music Festival has announced their full lineup for this year’s music festival. The festival will house close to 175 different bands across 15 different venues in downtown Raleigh. This year’s festival features the best from the Triangle music scene as well as a healthy mix of other national and international acts. As always, City Plaza (the mainstage) features some great talent. Local 90s-esque indie rockers Gross Ghost kick off Friday night at City Plaza followed by WKNC’s favorite new wave synth-gods Future Islands. Big Boi will finish off the night at City Plaza.  Local indie-pop newcomers The Lollipops will open the night at City Plaza on Saturday. The Breeders (Kim Deal of the Pixies) will honor the twentieth anniversary of their hit album Last Splash by playing it in its entirety.  British rockers Spiritualized will headline the night at City Plaza with their stunning breed of space rock.

While City Plaza may appear to be the mainstage of Hopscotch, there are many other amazing shows that take place.  As the headliner finishes up their show at City Plaza, concerts all around downtown Raleigh at Hopscotch’s 14 other venues are just beginning.  While there are way to many incredible bands to highlight in this post, other notable acts playing around Raleigh include Local Natives, John Cale, Sleep, Earl Sweatshirt, Low, Kurt Vile and the Violators, Action Bronson, Matthew Dear, Oblivians, The Rosebuds, Califone, ADULT., Merzbow, Chatham County Line, Mikal Cronin, Pere Ubu, Marnie Stern, Pig Destroyer, Ryan Hemsworth, WOLD, Pissed Jeans, Matmos, Charlemagne Palestine, Wolf Eyes, Holly Herndon, Purling Hiss and Mount Moriah.  To see the full list of bands along with profiles for each band go here.  Tickets are available here.  Stay tuned for more Hopscotch information and coverage.

Hopscotch Music Festival is the largest music festival in North Carolina.  This year Hopscotch will host nearly 175 bands at 15 different venues across Raleigh.  The festival will take place September 5-7th, 2013.  In addition to the 175 bands on the bill for the festival, there will be dozens of day parties every day featuring many more bands.

Hopscotch, now in its fourth year of existence, promises to continue its rise in popularity and is beginning to solidify itself as one of the great music festivals of the East Coast.  Hopscotch’s first announcement came a couple months ago when they revealed that The Velvet Underground co-founder John Cale, who more recently has had a very successful career as a solo artist and producer, would play Hopscotch 2013.  A month later they announced that stoner, doom metal band Sleep would be making their first appearance in North Carolina in over 20 years at the festival.  Experimental electro-pop genius Matthew Dear was the next to be added to this year’s bill.  Then one of the most surprising announcements came.  The Breeders began as a side project for Kim Deal of Pixies and Tanya Donelly of Throwing Muses.  It then grew into so much more.  The Breeders are active again with Kim Deal at the helm joined with her sister Kelley Deal along with Jim MacPherson, and Josephine Wiggs.  This is the same line-up that recorded the critically acclaimed album Last Splash that they will perform in full at this year’s festival.

Even with just four acts announced,  this year promises to be better than all of the previous years.  The full lineup will be announced tomorrow April 24th at 10 am.  Be sure to check here for the unveiling of the lineup.  Don’t forget to get your passes for this year’s festival as soon as possible here.  We look forward to seeing you all out and about at this year’s festival!

Be sure to check out Hopscotch’s upcoming Road Shows here.

Record Store Day is now in its sixth year of existence.  Throughout its six years, it has garnered more and more interest as vinyl sales numbers continue to ramp up in a world that seems to be going more and more digital.  In addition to being a day to celebrate record stores with special sales, m0re and more bands and artists have been creating limited edition releases specifically for sale at record stores on this hallowed day.  In its first year, there was only about ten special releases.  Last year featured over 400 different limited edition Record Store Day releases.  This year promises to be the best yet with even more releases as well as having the always enthusiastic Jack White at the helm as the Offical Record Store Day Ambassador of 2013.  He has been quite busy doing some really incredible things in preparation for this day.  You can check out the full list of releases for this year here.  So be sure to get out there to support your local record store and treat yourself to something special!

Here’s a list of Record Store Day participators in the Triangle:

Raleigh
Nice Price Books and Records, Raleigh
Edward McKay Used Books and More
In The Groove Records
Schoolkids Records

Durham
Hunky Dory
Bull City Records
Offbeat Music
Nice Price Books & Records

Chapel Hill/Carrboro
CD Alley
All Day Records

If you are located elsewhere you can look up participators in your area here.

Every week, WKNC compiles a list of charts and adds. Here are the Daytime Indie Rock charts for this week. You can tune into our Daytime programming weekdays from 5am to 7pm.

Record Store Day 2013 (April 20th) is quickly approaching. This year’s Record Store Day Ambassador is the one and only Jack White. Jack White seems to be the perfect representative for the cause. Not only has he released countless albums with The White Stripes, The Raconteurs, and The Dead Weather as well as a solo album; he also runs his own record label and owns his own record store. Jack White is the “Jack of all trades” when it comes to the music industry. Not only has he produced and help released a lot of new music, he has also found the time to repress and re-release old blues records as well. You can check out his official Record Store Day Ambassador video as well as read his “Ambassadorial Wake Up Call” here.

In addition to all his Ambassador duties, Jack White has found time along with the rest of his Third Man crew to refurbish a 1947 Voice-o-Graph machine that is currently the world’s only record booth of its kind that is operational and open to the public. The Third Man Record Booth will be debuted at the Nashville Third Man Record Store on Record Store Day. Check out a video of this incredible machine here.

Hillsborough Street is the cultural hub that separates NC State’s Campus from the rest of Raleigh. It is a host to many different great restaurants and shops. This Saturday the vendors are coming together to present the Triangle with a music festival for Earth Day. Music starts at noon and will go until 2am at various venues up and down Hillsborough Street. The event features every kind of music “from alternative rock to Top 40 covers and New Orleans rhythm and blues.” Several local artists featured on WKNC will be performing including Lizzy Ross Band, Greg Humphreys, as well as Once and Future Kings. Nationally-acclaimed garage noise rock band METZ will also be in attendance as they play at Schoolkids Records at 3:30pm before their show at the Local 506 that night. There will also be many other different events and discounts from vendors all day. More information as well as concert schedules are available here. Be sure to check out this event and celebrate Earth Day!

Every week, WKNC compiles a list of charts and adds. Here are the Daytime Indie Rock charts for this week. You can tune into our Daytime programming weekdays from 5am to 7pm.

In 6 hours, we will advance into the Final Four of Soundtap’s Madness College Radio Showdown. We need your help to advance to the finals! Basically, Soundtap created a competition modeled after College Basketball’s NCAA Tournament. They chose 64 college radio stations to go head to head. We have made it through to the Elite Eight and it looks like we will be moving into the Final Four. You advance to the next round by having more hours of people streaming your station through their website. Rutgers University and Carnegie Mellon University have been battling it out hard and we will face the winner starting at 3 am. We need your help to beat them to move on for the chance to win it all. Here is what you need to do:

1. Go to http://soundtap.com/madness. They also have a free iPhone app that you can find by searching Soundtap.
2. Click on WKNC and hit Listen Live!
3. YOU HAVE TO LOG IN IN ORDER FOR IT TO COUNT. You can log in with either your Facebook or email address.
4. LISTEN ENDLESSLY! Remember to check the page about every hour or so. While the stream will not stop playing, it will stop counting towards our total time. A message will pop up and ask: “ARE YOU STILL LISTENING?” Once you click “YES I AM!!!!” it will start counting the time you have spent streaming again.

Thank you so much for helping us out with this competition and don’t forget to vote for us in Indy’s Best of 2013!

Every year, Independent Weekly holds a vote for the best of that year in the Triangle.  Voting for the Best of 2013 has already begun.  Vote for your Triangle favorites in the six different categories: Wine & Dine, Out & About, Goods, Services, Media and Comments section.  Voting will end April 15th.  Be sure to get in your votes for all sorts of awards such as best local brewery, best restaurants, best place to people watch, best venues, and most importantly best radio station.  So get out there and vote to give your favorites in the Triangle the chance they deserve to be recognized!You can vote here.  Here are the categories that we are in the running for:

 
Best College Radio Station
Best Non-Profit Radio Station
Best Local Internet Radio Station
Best Commercial Radio Station (if you’re feeling really crazy and want to stick it to the man)
Best Radio DJ- Vote for Adam Kincaid the host of The Local Beat Fridays 5-8pm
Best Local Blog

Tuesday, April 2nd- Brett Harris, Young Rapids, and Paperhaus at Motorco Music Hall, 8pm, FREE

 (Young Rapids)

As always, the Triangle provides us with some great concerts this week.  You can check out the full round-up over at the Rock Report.  The standout show for this week features local singer/songwriter Brett Harris as well as two up and coming indie pop-rock bands out of DC. Brett Harris has become something of a local master of pop. He began his career by releasing a batch of EPs and touring heavily. His debut album Man of Few Words was released in 2010 and made its rounds through various music blogs.  After some time off since its release, he is back at it again.

But the main highlight of this show are the bands making their way down from DC.  Young Rapids released their debut album Day Light Savings last year.  The album received quite a bit of praise from all around including some love from NPR’s All Songs Considered as their infectious breed of perfectly crafted indie pop-rock took hold.  Their music is a very smartly composed and driven of indie rock that is sure to get you going.  With them they bring an even newer band out of DC, Paperhaus.  Paperhaus is a band in much of the same vain with a bit more of a psychedelic influence.  Their new song “Helicopters” off their upcoming EP, Lo Hi Lo, was recently featured on NPR.  While love for music from DC is to expected from NPR, this DC duo of bands have received a stamp of approval from the rest of the country as well as their two-month nationwide tour approaches its end.  So be sure to stop by the Motorco this Tuesday for a great time.  Who can say no to a free show?

Every week, WKNC compiles a list of charts and adds. Here are the Daytime Indie Rock charts for this week. You can tune into our Daytime programming weekdays from 5am to 7pm.

When you think of a house show, you typically think a grungy basement with beer cans strewn everywhere. This show was quite different. This concert was put on by Common Chord Concerts, a self-proclaimed “network of music-lovers in Charlotte and surrounding communities that share an interest in original acoustic, Americana and folk/rock music.” Common Chord has only been in existence for a couple months, but has put on some incredible shows so far with a strong line-up of shows in the coming months.

After walking into the Common Chords founder’s wonderful home, I knew this show would be anything but ordinary even by Bombadil’s standards. The atmosphere was very light-hearted as show-goers brought snacks to share and mingled with the band members and other fans. The turn-out for the show was quite impressive for this being Common Chords’ third event. As 8 o’clock approached, everyone made their way into the living room area where the band had set up their equipment. Some moved to the kitchen and others to the balcony to get a better view as everyone geared up for the concert that was about to take place in the living room.

Everyone cheered as the band members made the transition from socializing to taking the makeshift stage space in their usual eccentric clothes. James announced that it had been a while since they had played a house show and they were really looking forward to the intimate opportunity. This show was to be my first time seeing them as a three-piece since their guitarist Bryan was off finishing his graduate studies and unable to join. They are each incredibly talented songwriters and musicians, so I was interested to see how their show would hold up with the absence of a band member. I was not disappointed. The performances were incredible and the atmosphere made for some great story-telling about the origins of the songs. The narratives made for one of the most intimate shows I had been to as Daniel shared his hardships of trying to continue writing songs while he was suffering from nerve damage several years back. The stories covered everything from sweet tea to cross country unicycle rides as the entire audience listened and laughed along.

There seemed to be no real set list as they continuously called out songs to each other as well as asking the audience for requests. They played a good mix of songs that spanned their entire career. From “Jellybean Wine” and “Johnny” to new songs such as “Have Me” and “Boring Country Song” from their upcoming album Metrics of Affection due out July 23rd. Everyone in attendance was singing along and enjoying the incredible performance. To make the night even more personal, they relocated to the kitchen to perform an a cappella version of “Get to Getting On.” At one point, Daniel made Stuart perform his new solo piano song “What Does It Mean” as he joined the crowd in the rows of folding chairs and couches. Although they seemed to have played every song in their repertoire, the show ended all too quickly with an extraordinary performance of “Honeymoon.” They barely finished bowing before someone in the kitchen started chanting encore. As a form of payback, Stuart then joined the ranks of chairs as he made Daniel give a stirring rendition of “Marriage” as everyone sang along. After the applause faded, they took their places at their instruments one last time for the song “We Were Meant to Be.” After thanking the audience and the hosts, the house once again transitioned from venue to house party as everyone milled around and socialized after the mutual experience. Although it was not quite your typical concert, the unique atmosphere made for one amazing night with the always impressive Bombadil.

We just released the new NC State Student Media App today!  We are really excited about this great new feature.  It is easy to use and looks incredible.  The app is available to download for free to both your Apple and Android devices.  This app gives you the ability to stream WKNC, check out recently played songs, and request songs easily from your mobile device!   It also features amazing content content from the Technician, the Agromeck, the Windhover, and the Nubian Message.  Be sure to download the app for another easy way to listen to WKNC.

Hopscotch Music Festival just recently announced their upcoming Hopscotch Road Shows shown above. Several other music festivals such as Bonnaroo have begun to do this. This is Hopscotch’s first attempt to bring some of their past festival favorites on the road to some new areas to try and spread their influence. Hopscotch is now going into its fourth year of existence, and it continues to grow. Hopscotch 2013 takes place September 5th-7th all across downtown Raleigh. While the line-up has not been announced yet, they just recently revealed that the co-founder of The Velvet Underground, John Cale, will be performing at this year’s festival. The rest of the line-up will be announced in late April. With the additional effort being to put into road shows and the success of past years, this year’s festival promises to be the best yet.

Each of the road shows host an incredibly strong line-up. All of these bands have performed either at past festivals or at day parties. Most of these acts hail from North Carolina and are no stranger to putting on incredible live shows. With each show only being $5, there is no way that you have any better to do on these nights. So be sure to check out the road show nearest you and stay tuned for the full line-up announcement for Hopscotch 2013 in late April!