Hopscotch Festival hosts day parties and after parties at clubs and other venues all around Raleigh the weekend of the Hopscotch Music Festival. This year the day parties will be just as stacked as the main event with upcoming artists and bands from all over the world, and some local North Carolina artists. Raleigh venues hosting Hopscotch day and night parties include The Pour House, Schoolkids Records, Slim’s, and more.
For the last two years I have tried to go to day parties and shows after the festival, and have gotten to see acts like Wednesday, MJ Lenderman, and other artists in smaller and more intimate venues, which is a treat in comparison to seeing them on the big stages during the day. This year I have a few artists that I’m really excited to see at some day parties and late night shows. Some of the artists I am most excited to see at day parties are Florry, Horse Jumper of Love, TONSTARTSSBANDHT, Dazy, Sluice, and so many other artists.
Dazy is a band that I have seen live and am excited for the opportunity to see them again. I saw them open for Snail Mail and Water From Your Eyes in May of this year. They play very enjoyable and fuzzy power pop, which I love. Their hooks are catchy and fun, and they played their whole set without stopping once, keeping the energy high during their set. They are playing at Slims on Thursday, September 7 at 4 p.m. as part of the Tiger Bomb x Terrorbird day party. They are also playing at 11 p.m. on Thursday night at the Wicked Witch.
The other four acts I have never seen live and have been wanting to see for a long time. Horse Jumper of Love is a band that I have been following for a while since I heard their debut record from 2017. “Ugly Brunette” and “Spaceman” are some of my favorite songs from the indie rock outlet. The album is beautifully simplistic, it’s full of strange and charming lyrics and gorgeous guitar riffs and melodies. They are also playing the Tiger Bomb x Terrorbird day party at Slims on the 7 at 4:30 p.m. right after Dazy. They are playing at Kings at 12:00 a.m. on Friday, September 8 as well.
Sluice is the contemporary folk project from Durham, North Carolina based-singer songwriter Justin Morris. In March of 2023 Sluice released their album “Radial Gate” which is a filled with Appalachian folk, slowcore, field recordings, and alt-country tunes reminiscent of Mount Eerie or Bill Callahan, he even refers to himself as a “cartoon Callahan” on his song “Fourth of July.” The
album is really endearing and a pleasant listen. Sluice is playing the Psychic Hotline and Glow Management Company day party at Kings on Saturday, September 9.
Florry is a Philadelphia based alt-country band who recently released their newest album, The Holey Bible, which I have been listening to non stop over the last month. The album is full of southern twang fun, clever lyrics, and some heartbreaking ballads like “Song For My Art.” This show will definitely be a must see for fans of Wednesday and MJ Lenderman. They’ll be playing at Slims on Thursday, September 7 at 2:30 p.m. and Neptunes on Friday, September 8th at 1:00 p.m. for the Dear Life Records day party, which is the label they are on.
The last artist I’m really looking forward to seeing is TONSTARTSSBANDHT, a psychedelic, noise rock group from Orlando, Florida. I listened to their album “Petunia” when it came out in 2021 and really enjoyed it. The album is filled with glimmering and fuzzy guitars, sharp drums, layered lush instrumentation, and beautiful harmonies. They’re playing a club show at 12:30 a.m. at Kings on Saturday, September 9, which may be tough to get to after a long weekend of bouncing around to different shows but I heard that they put on a great live performance.
I’m really excited to discover more artists through the main festival, day parties, and club shows. More information about the lineup and schedule can be found on the Hopscotch Music Festival’s website.