Author: WKNC Admin
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Hip Hopscotch 2015
Whoever curated Hopscotch’s hip hop lineup did a great job this year. On top of that, every rapper that performed at the festival deserved to be there, especially rising local stars like Skyblew and Ace Henderson. If you were a Hip Hop head at Hopscotch, there was more than enough material to keep your head nodding and your hands in the air.
Things started well on Thursday night when Lizzo took the stage at CAM. She may be one of the best artists I’ve ever seen on stage, and actually made me feel happy inside while she was performing. Maybe it was the sugar from the cookies she tossed out to her fans during the performance of her most popular single, “Batches & Cookies.” Either way she sang, rapped, and danced her way through her performance with swag for days, and kicked things off with a bang.
Friday at Lincoln Theatre was maybe one of the best nights at a music festival that I’ve ever experienced. Skyblew started off the night in front of a sparse crowd, but brought great energy with his jazzy backpack rap style. Then Chaz French took the stage and switched the vibe to a totally different pole by turning the treble down, and the bass way the f@$k up. He moshed his way through a set that landed himself in the middle of the audience, getting down with his fans (myself included), and setting the house on fire. He was followed by Father, who seemed like he had better things to do than rock with Raleigh folks, but the crowd got even thicker, and even rowdier with his presence.
Then Pusha T came out and conquered the festival. There was so much love in the building for King Push and it made me exceedingly proud as a hip hop head to be a part of it. If any veteran rapper deserves it, it’s him. Thanks for that Raleigh. Pusha T appreciated it too by tweeting: “Murdered #Hopscotch15 no fans, just family… love”
After the extreme energy of Friday night, Cakes Da Killa and Goldlink had some big shoes to fill at CAM on Saturday. Both of them rose to the occasion with amazing stage presence. Cakes Da Killa went through his set, cracking jokes with the crowd, and getting down into the audience to get crazy on the floor. Literally. Goldlink came out with equal amounts of energy and performed his set way longer than he was even scheduled to.
My only issue with Hopscotch, was with how Hip Hop was scheduled. All the fire was used on Friday night. Don’t get me wrong, Saturday night was DOPE, but the crowd wasn’t as hype, and not much was done to get it there. In my opinion, Friday night’s lineup should have been Saturday’s and vice versa. I know that artists’ touring schedules have a lot to do with how they’re scheduled at festivals like this, but a little more attention to detail could have been used to keep the heads ringing to the end of the road.
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Hopscotch Interview: River Whyless
DJ Duchess and Curlz MT interviewed the group River Whyless Saturday,
September 12th for WKNC as a part of Hopscotch, live in Wristband City. The band, from Asheville, NC, shared some of their best experiences together, as well as their craziest. Listen here to learn more about their recent releases and upcoming album.
9/16: Tony Lucca @ Cat’s Cradle Backroom
9/16: Weather Warlock @ The Pinhook
9/17: Little Wings @ The Pinhook
9/18: Langhorne Slim @ Cat’s Cradle
9/19: MikeD, Sponge Bath, etc. @ The Pinhook
9/19: David Liebe Hart @ Kings
9/19: Vacationer @ Cat’s Cradle Backroom
9/19: Kodaline @ Cat’s Cradle
9/20: Breathers @ Pinhook
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Lost Without Hopscotch???
Some people have been at a loss of what to do now Hopscotch 2015 has come to a close. But fear not music and festival lovers! For there are many upcoming events in North Carolina that can quench your hunger until next years Hopscotching Season.
WKNC Friday’s On The Lawn
As always, WKNC will be hosting our Friday’s On The Lawn with local bands on NC State’s campus. Come join us on Harris Lawn in front of Witherspoon September 25th. Like us on facebook to see other upcoming Friday’s on the Lawn events.
Carrbrro Music Fest
If you really can’t wait, if you need a music festival NOW look no further that right down the road from downtown Raleigh. September 27th is the Carrboro Music Fest.
WKNC Double Barrel Benefit
Everyone who is anyone who knows anybody or has heard of good music will be there. The artists haven’t been announced, but last year’s DDB was a blast, featuring bands like Museum Mouth, Body Games, Elvis Depressedly, and many more. This two weekend mini-fest is put on by your favorite radio station every year, and helps us raise most of our funds. This event is held two weekends in February.
Moogfest 2016
This music festival has moved from Asheville, NC to Bull City (Durham, NC). Come on out if you want to see what the great city of Durham has to offer, as well as the great experimental, electronic, and pop-artists that will be playing the event. The artists haven’t been announced yet, but keep a lookout for the event which occurs May 19-May 22 2016.
Other than that, try not to go into too much Hopscotch withdrawal, a year will be up before you know it.
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Favorite Hopscotch Experiences
Dj Duchess here to tell you my favorite parts of Hopscotch Music Festival 2015.
As I’ve never been to Hopscotch, this was my first year, and I certainly didn’t know what to expect, or what I was going to see. Here were a few of my favorite bands that I saw, and some of the great experiences too.
Mitski
My number one must-see artist was Mitski, and she did not disappoint. My fellow DJ and friend ncsu-guest was right beside me, front and center to enjoy the show. It was amazing to finally see her live, as we both used to listen almost everyday to her song First Love/Late Spring in our dorm room.
Here’s our mom and ncsu-guest sharing a personal moment.
Then, two bands that I didn’t expect to see at Hopscotch were Advaeta and River Whyless. Initially I had planned on going to slim’s to see Wahyas and Bully, but when I realized the age restriction on the venue, I had the option to see the lovely Advaeta instead at Lincoln Theatre. I liked them so much that I acutally bought their album after the show. Check them out if you like Daddy Issues or Wahyas.
River Whyless I actually got to interview live at Wristband city with DJ Curlz MT. They were really great people that had a wonderful sense of humor and presence. I was lucky to catch their show at Tir Na Nóg Saturday night. While I’ve never been a huge fan of folk, they certainly swayed me. They have a very professional presence when performing, that’s also very comical and fun. Before they began playing, fiddle player and singer, Halli, asked the crowd, “Anyone need to take a pee break?” Definitely check out this amazing band from Asheville.
Also, while resting between sets at Tir Na Nóg on Thursday night, a nice woman by the name of Katie/Katey came up to me to have a “one hit conversation” which she described to be a time where we talk, get to know each other, and then never see each other again. That was one of my favorite moments at Hopscotch, getting to just sit down and chat about life with a complete stranger. So here’s a shout-out to Katie who works in Journalism. I think that experiences sums up what Hopscotch can really offer, and that’s meeting new people and gaining friends you never thought you’d meet, all while seeing some great bands.
Thefacesblur – Kings Barcade
Less Western – Deep South
Boulevards – CAM Raleigh
Drippy Inputs – Kings Barcade
River Whyless – Tir na nOg
Ian William Craig – Fletcher Opera Theater
Hanz – CAM Raleigh
Choked Out – Kings Barcade
Sheer Mag – Slim’s
Clark – Kings Barcade
Godflesh – Lincoln Theater
Vibekillers
American Aquarium
X
Dwight Yoakam
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ShoeScotch
Forget the music. Forget the bands. Forget everything Hopscotch is about, and let’s look at what really matters.
Shoes.
That’s right, that’s all that matters this Hopscotching season. What the artists are wearing, what the audience is wearing, even what the sound technicians have going on.
Let’s take a look at the different artists and their shoe of choice (or lack of) of Hopscotch 2015.
Lilac Shadows members sport a pair of dirty brown boots and some dad-core New Balances (all the rage in the indie-rock scene).
Mitski is caught with a pair of sleek black shoes, much like Puma brand but are highly unidentifiable.
And the bassist from Leapling dazzles the crowd with her sparkling vans.
Jenny Hval chose a minimal look, opting for a simple pair of jazz shoes and other members went completely barefoot.
A classic pair of white sneakers (keds or vans?) worn by Keath Mead.
River Whyless brought some of the Asheville mountains with them when three of their four members wore a variation of the hiking boot.
And finally, a blurry horrible look at what I wore to Hopscotch. Some would say, “WHAT ARE THOSE??????” I’m very surprised I survived Hopscotch wearing these.
-DJ Duchess
Must Be The Holy Ghost – Kings Barcade
Skyblew – Lincoln Theater
Escher – Pour House
SMLH – Tir na nOg
Nots – CAM Raleigh
Chaz French – Lincoln Theater
Zeena Parkins – Fletcher Opera Theatere
Father – Lincoln Theater
LE1F – Kings Barcade
Obey City – Neptune’s
Clang Quartet – The Hive
Pile – Tir na nOg
Old Man Gloom – Pour House
Pusha T – Lincoln Theater
