It’s that time of the year again. The weather is beginning to cool at night, hurricanes are on our horizon, NC State football is starting up and what is it that I smell? Ah, the fresh scent of one of the greatest music festivals in the nation right here in our own back yard. Hopscotch Music Festival is next week, September 6-8, in downtown Raleigh and everyone around is excited and geared up for this third annual event.

This week on the Local Beat I am going to be joined once again by Grayson Currin and Greg Lowenhagen, Co-Director and Director of Hopscotch Music Fest, for the first hour of the Local Beat. Grayson and Greg have been hard at work for the past year and we are going to take a behind the scenes look at what they have been up to and talk about this massive festival that is about to hit our streets. Over 250 bands playing the official Hopscotch and unofficial day parties and tons of other exciting events all jam packed into 3 days. Tune in at 5pm to hear some great conversation with the minds behind the music and madness.

At 6pm I am introducing a new(ish) group to my listeners: The Toddlers. The Toddlers have actually been around for a couple of years, on and off, but did not solidify a lineup until about a year ago. With that momentum they have been playing shows around the state and are currently scheduled to play a show Saturday night in Winston-Salem at Krankies with Birds of Avalon, a Hopscotch day party next Friday at Deep South, and an official Hopscotch show at the Hive. Also, check out their Kickstarter campaign that is up and running to support their new album.

For the final hour of the program I am welcoming back a dear friend, James Phillips, drummer for Durham based band Bombadil. Aside from being a fantastic musician and lyricist and working with groups between here and Portland, James has taken the leap from folk music into electronica for a new solo album, 29 Days, under the alias Sumner James.  In support of the release that happened this past Tuesday Bombadil is playing a show Saturday evening at the Cats Cradle with Massachusetts band You Won’t.

As always, the fun starts at 5 p.m. and will last until 8 p.m.! Be sure to follow the Local Beat on Twitter or Facebook and download tons of free local music on our ReverbNation page!

Lost in the Trees had their album release show at Cat’s Cradle this past Friday, April 20. Brice Randall Brickford and The Toddlers were the two opening bands. The Toddlers are another side project band of Missy Thangs (The Love Language, Soft Company). Alongside Missy Thangs were Noah Dehmer, Ellis Anderson, and Nathan Toben. They started off with a galloping song and before the set was over I could swear that they were close to resurrecting Jim Morrison on stage. Dehmer’s voice sounded remarkably like the Lizard King himself and everyone seemed really into it.

When Lost in the Trees came out Christmas lights turned on around the stage and everyone knew it was about to be an extraordinary set. They started the set with “Walk Around the Lake,” which pleased everyone to hear a familiar tune right off the bat. Next up they began playing songs off their new album starting with what is probably the most popular song on the album, “Red.” The set list continued to build; all the songs and stage presence were very strong and evocative. Emma Nadeau, dressed in red with glitter on her face, seemed to effortlessly produce the most hauntingly beautiful vocals while she wasn’t playing her French horn. Ari Picker and Jenavieve Varga never hold back in their performances and that was definitely the case at this show. Ari’s fidelity to his songs resounds through his vocals that travel for miles, with a voice so emotionally pure you can tell what he’s singing isn’t forged. Jenavieve is a powerhouse violinist and it’s her performance that lets you know how meaningful the music is.

Photo by Jeffrey Smith.

The apex of the show was their song “Garden,” which was played midway through their set right before they reeled in the rest of their songs. “Garden” is the most involved song off the new album and served as the perfect beginning to the end of their show. They then relaxed and played an old favorite, “Song for the Painter.” Before they began to play “Golden Eyelids,” Ari requested that everyone slow dance to the song to make it special. Specifically asking to recreate scenes from “Back to the Future 1 or 2, but not Back to the Future 3,” he said, laughing. For the encore they performed “All Alone in an Empty House.”  It was a spectacular show as always; I can’t imagine anyone could have walked away disappointed.

By Beth Moore.

Friday, May 13th the crowd at Cat’s Cradle was anything but unlucky. The set was extended, putting in a second opener to Lost in the Trees. Due to the growling in my tummy I missed the first opener, The Towers. Instead, I ran over to Carrburrito for a bangin’ fish taco (and not the Urban Dictionary definition, so please don’t go there!) . Mmmmm. Oh, right, the show.

Upon my return, completely stuffed, the second opening band, The Toddlers, came on. This unsigned Chapel Hill band played loud rock music that was carried by the lead singer’s deep voice. I couldn’t quite put my finger on the depth of his voice; somewhere in-between Matt Berninger, of the National and Charlotte-based artist Benji Hughes.

By the time The Toddlers were halfway through their set, Cat’s Cradle was packed. Questions of “is this Lost in the Trees?,” were being answered with shouts and whispers from “This is the second band… I don’t think so” and “How could you think that?”, to “Hell yeah!”. Needless to say, there were some very new fans in the audience, and they were about to be blown away.

Lost in the Trees performed at Cat's Cradle Friday, May 13

After two 45-minute opening sets, the long awaited Lost in the Trees made it to the stage. Ari Picker floated across the stage as he plucked at his guitar, while Emma Nadeu did her usual amazing thing playing about eleventy-billion instruments. Having seen Lost in the Trees about 5 times now, I can say that this show had a different feeling than others. It was more focused and less ethereal. The back-up instrumentals became harder, while Ari himself became more billowy. It was a difficult scenario to describe, but I have a feeling that their new record will have many of these elements. They played a few songs that will be on that new record; they display the same musical genius as in the other albums but the energy seems stronger. They played some Lost in the Trees staples like “Song for the Painter” and “Walk Around the Lake”, to which everyone sung along, even the people who in the beginning weren’t sure if they were The Toddlers.

Lost in the Trees is up to great things, and always worth seeing!

Here are the shows happening this week that WKNC is giving tickets away to:

Monday, October 19:
Art Brut w/ Princeton and Ben Davis & The Jetts @ Cat’s Cradle

Art Brut

Wednesday October 21:
Sea Wolf w/ Port O’ Brien and Sarah Lov @ Nightlight – Presented by Cat’s Cradle

Sea Wolf

Dr. Dog and Jeffery Lewis @ Cat’s Cradle

Dr. Dog

Thursday, October 22:
Cartel w/ This Providence, The Summer Set and The Bigger Lights @ Lincoln Theatre

Cartel

Friday ,October 23:
NAPS (side project of Lonnie Walker) with  Tavo Carbone and Trevor Wilson @ Nightlight

The Mars Volta @ Disco Rodeo – Presented by Live Nation

The Mars Volta

Saturday October 24th:
Blount Harvey w/ Waylandsphere @ The Pour House

Electric Six w/ The Gay Blades and Millions of Brazilians @ Cat’s Cradle

Electric Six photo by Alicia Gbur

The Moaners w/ The Toddlers and Weatherkings @ Nightlight

The Moaners photo by Michael Triplett

Thursday w/ Fall of Troy, The Dear Hunter, and Midnight Masses @ Lincoln Theatre

Thursday

Be sure to listen in to 88.1 WKNC for your chance to win tickets!!

Here are the great shows happening this week to which WKNC is giving away tickets:

Wednesday, Sept. 30:

Ra Ra Riot with Maps and Atlases and Princeton @ Cat’s Cradle

Ra Ra Riot photo by Sarah Cass

Friday, Oct. 2:

SMNMNMN with Josh Drye Consortium and The Toddlers @ Nightlight

SMNMNMN

American Aquarium with Shawn Fisher and the Juke Box & Gabriel Kelly @ The Pour House

American Aquarium photo by Amy Schlatter

Saturday, Oct 3:

Hear Here Finale Show feat. The Love Language, Inflowential, and Motor Skills @ The Pour House

Hear Here

This is the second and final Hear Here show to promote the all-local and all-amazing tunes of some great artists from the area. The first show of the two part series was sold out and presented at Cat’s Cradle. If you weren’t able to attend the first show be sure to get your tickets now or listen to WKNC for your chance to win tickets!