Category: Festival Coverage
Previews, reviews and coverage from music festivals like Hopscotch and Moogfest
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Hopscotch artist map
With 170 artists scheduled to play the Hopscotch Music Festival, have you ever wondered where they all come from? Performers represent nine countries, 26 states and the District of Columbia. We decided to put that in perspective with a world map of Hopscotch performers, based on their hometowns listed on the Hopscotch website. Those with multiple cities are listed in each location and the dots do not represent the exact location of each band (we’re not that creepy). Sorry for the ad, but we didn’t want to pay to have it removed.
WKNC, along with our friends at WUAG and WXYC, is kicking Hopscotch Music Festival off right on Thursday with a free day party at Tir Na Nog featuring College Radio Showcase. There will be four bands and all sorts of fun from noon to five pm!
The lineup is as follows:
12:30: Ameriglow
1:30: The Human Eyes
2:30: Once and Future Kings
3:30: Solar Halos
For more information, check out the event page!
On Thursday, September 5th, the first day of Hopscotch, Raleigh’s Diggup Tapes, Asheville’s Apothecary, and Greensboro’s Bitheart Studios are taking over King’s and Neptune’s for a blowout featuring acts pulled from all corners of North Carolina. The schedule is as follows:
KINGS BARCADE:
Moss of Aura (4:30 pm)
Oulipo (3:30 pm)
The Bronzed Chorus (2:30 pm)
Zack Mexico (1:00 pm)
Neptune’s Parlor:
Casual Curious (6:00 pm)
Savage Knights (5:00 pm)
Alligator Indian (4:00 pm)
Heralding (3:00 pm)
The event is free thanks to Lone Rider Beer, whose locally-crafted microbrews will be on tap, and Nice Price Books. For more information, you can check out the event page here.
WKNC is sponsoring Rock N’ Roll Pizza Party, a Hopscotch Music Festival Day Party presented by Naked Gods that promises to be one of the best of this year’s festival. The day party will take place from noon to 5 pm at Slim’s Downtown on Thursday, September 5th. This day party features some of the best local acts as well as free pizza from Mellow Mushroom. The schedule is as follows:
12:00 – Gray Young
Raleigh’s Gray Young creates huge driving instrumental rock. His breed of anthemic rock rivals that of some of the best post rock bands on the scene. His crescendos and grandiose builds fill every corner of the venue as he fully immerses the entire crowd into his world.
1:00 – The Critters
This Asheville quartet delivers their infectious breed of psych pop-rock with an imperfect perfection that will be sure to have you dancing along.
2:00 – Invisible Hand
Born in Charlottesville, VA this creative band combines acid rock with power pop guitar hooks. Their newest effort Lies, Lies, Lies is an impressive album that is due out soon.
3:00 – Naked Gods
Psychedelic pop rockers from Boone leave every audience instant fans of their band. Their perfected, high energy performance is always a worthwhile sight to see. They promise a stellar set including some new additions from their as of yet untitled album that they are currently working on.
4:00 – Lonnie Walker
Raleigh’s Lonnie Walker has been a WKNC favorite since their release of These Old Times in 2009. Their intelligent breed of indie rock with a hint of post country embodies the city of Raleigh for me. The fast-paced nature of the songs and the energy of their live performance will round out this day party perfectly.
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Hopscotch Must-See: WOOL
This is a personal artist spotlight on WOOL by Toast for Hopscotch.
While I find WOOL’s sound a little less animalistic than their proclamation, there is none the less a good case of the swampy-womps riddling their music. Headed by local fella, Troy Brian Hancock, this band came on the scene in 2011 and in January of 2012 released their latest album, “Bulletin Air” and apparently another on the way in the spring. Bright guitars by Zack Oden really launch the experience, backed by bassist/keyboardist Johnny Hobbs and drummer Raymond Finn. The album has a definitively optimistic but not too sunny sound, like moseying around with no real place to be on the first day of fall. It’s sway side to side, bob your head stuff, perfect for an easy night out without all the fuss and jump you may find at other shows. You may actually get through the set without someone spilling a beverage on or near you, which in my mind, is a feat in itself.
Favorite Track: “Bulletin Air” on Bulletin Air
Berkeley Cafe, Friday September 6th, 9PM
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Hopscotch Must-See: Swearin’
This is a personal artist spotlight on Swearin’ by Alternate Reality.
If I’m being completely honest, Swearin’ is the band that I am most excited about seeing at Hopscotch mostly because I’m going to unleash the pop-punk inside of me that hasn’t been around since I was in 8th grade listening to bands that wish they were as good as Swearin’.
It’s no surprise that their most recent self titled album is so excellent. Allison Crutchfield, the co-founder of the band along with her bandmate Kyle Gilbride, was a part of a 90s pop-punk band PS Elliot with her twin sister Katie Crutchfield, also known as Waxahatchee. This band was a cult favorite however they disbanded in 2011 and this allowed both sisters to pursue their own projects.
Swearin’ has the same punk sensibilities as PS Elliot with a lot more fuzz and excellent guitar hooks that make moshing and head banging almost irresistible. Between these fast paced punk songs, Allison and Kyle slow and sad lo-fi songs that fit perfectly with the pace of the album. In general, this album brings all the best nostalgia of pop-punk in the early 2000s but revitalizes and rethinks punk in a way that doesn’t make you feel like you’re back in 2003. It allows for seriousness and fun, making this album come together perfectly.
Favorite Track: “Here to Hear” on Swearin’
Playing: Friday, September 6 at 10:30 at The Pour House Music Hall.
This is a personal artist spotlight on Overmountain Men by DJ Salinger for Hopscotch.
It’s hard to pick a place to start when beginning to talk about Overmountain Men. The band members’ thick North Carolina roots coupled with the fact that David Childers is a lyrical genius only give a glimpse into the many reasons why Overmountain Men is a musical gem. To top it off, Bob Crawford of the Avett Brothers played such a huge role in the formation of the band—(which is enough proof to show just how talented this band really is). Wherever you start, each little bullet point on the list has a long story behind it. To simplify it down a bit, Overmountain Men is a great, foot-stomping folk band from the Charlotte area of North Carolina headed primarily by the extremely talented David Childers. Childers seems to be a very down-to-earth, proper representation of a true North Carolina man that (thankfully for us) never sat his guitar down for too long. The talent and inspiring lyrics that Childers puts forth was what caused a stirring in Bob Crawford to start the collaboration that became Overmountain Men. However, Bob is not the only Avett Brother to take a liking to Childers; the entire Avett Brothers band has covered and performed Childers “Prettiest Thing” online and in concert.
For one man to have such a big influence on a popular modern folk band speaks thousands of words for itself. You better bet that I will be in the audience for their set at Hopscotch this year with my head nodding and my heart pounding.
Favorite Track: “Some Place Along The River” on “Glorious Day”
Playing: Saturday, September 7th between 10 – 11pm at Tir Na Nog
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Hopscotch Must-Sees: Torres
This is a personal artist spotlight on Torres by The Walrus.
Hopscotch is the festival that it is because of its uniquely diverse and maddeningly obscure lineup of artists; it is truly a music critic’s festival. Each year, I find myself discovering artists who may easily have slipped under my radar were it not for their introduction to me through the festival. Often times, it is simply because I stumbled into their show, or I tagged along with a friend, or I was just trying to fit a show in between two others. Regardless, there is always an artist who shines amongst the masses with a wonderful breakthrough performance and it is what I have begun to search for each year. After much deliberation, my personal prediction for the dark horse of this year’s Hopscotch is Nashville-based Torres.
With her self-titled debut album, Mackenzie Scott exhibits a raw, gritty sound reminiscent of early PJ Harvey. Her voice evokes a sense of urgency that, when accompanied by her beautifully dark lyrics, elevates her songs to such a high level of significance. It is the significance of someone mustering all of their willpower to speak, to sing out, and to rid themselves of the emotionally draining fears that haunt their mind. Tracks such as “Mother Earth, Father God” follow you, gripping your mind with the haunting intensity that an artist can so rarely produce.
What makes Torres all the more mesmerizing is that it is Scott’s first album and she is only 22 years old. It is the promise of even more that has latched me to her music and her wonderfully sincere songwriting. For all of this, I will not be missing Torres during their Saturday night performance at Deep South.
Favorite Tracks: “Mother Earth, Father God” / “Jealousy and I”
Playing: Deep South, Saturday 11:00 PM – 12:00 AM