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Festival Coverage

MORE HOPSCOTCH HOPSCOTCH HOPSCOTCH

DAY PARTIES:

WKNC is sponsoring two day parties:

-Tir Na Nog’s show featuring Cellar Seas, Veelee, Filthybird, Temperance League and A Rooster for the Masses (FREE noon-5pm Friday 9/10)

-The “Local Time” stage Sain front of the Raleigh Times featuring The Flute Flies, NAPS, The Loners, Maple Stave, Red Collar, Des Ark and The Old Ceremony. Our street team will be doing live broadcasts throughout the event. (FREE 11am-6pm Saturday 9/11)

FIVE STAR:
Thursday night at Five Star, WKNC Afterhours DJs (Hennessey, Jose Jose, Chocolate Rice and Brooklyn Airlift) will be spinning from 10:30at night until 2 in the mo’nin. Buy a club wristband, or risk it waiting in line, to attend.

STILL HAVE UNANSWERED HOPSCOTCH QUESTIONS?
Grayson Currin (festival curator) and Greg Lowenhagen (creative director) of the Independent Weekly will be this week’s VIP(s) on Eye on the Triangle tomorrow night at 7pm. Comment on this post if you have any specific (or general, I guess) questions to be answered straight from the big-wigs themselves.


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Festival Coverage Local Music

Local Beer Local Band Presents Hopscotch Day Party! FRIDAY Sept. 10

This Thursday night will be overrun with Hopscotch goers, therefore, WKNC and Tir Na nOg will be hosting our usual Local Beer Local Band Night on Friday, September 10 instead! New Raleigh and Aviator Brewing Company are also presenting.

There will be a total of FIVE, yes count ‘em five!, local acts this week: Cellar Seas, Veelee, Filthy Bird, Temperance League, and A Rooster for the Masses.  All of these bands are WKNC favorites. It will be a great way to kick off your Friday night. Music starts at 12 .pm.

I plan to have Cellar Seas and Veelee in the station on Thursday from 7-8 p.m. so be sure to tune in for that!

Cellar Seas

Cellar Seas is made up of some of my favorite Raleigh people (a bartender, a dj, and frontman to another great band, NAPS). Slow indie rock with just a twinge of country. Plus, these men are all devastatingly handsome.

Veelee

Veelee is my number one favorite duo within our already amazing local music scene. Ginger and Matthew have some sort of power over me when I see them play. I can’t stop smiling, and I want to dance but no one else is… so I don’t. If this happens to you on Friday, please dance, and I will join you! Veelee will also be playing at 10:30 p.m. at The Hive the same day.

Filthy Bird

I’m always a sucker for a band with female vocals. The folks at the Pinhook said, “These guys are kind of a cosmic Americana western eastern totem spirit animal.” They also have a new record coming out in October, so I’m sure you’re bound to get a sneak peak of what’s on it at this show.

Temperance League

Harder garage rock with a retro feel. Their former band you might remember, Bruce Hazel & Some Volunteers.

A Rooster for the Masses

This band is too good.  You might have caught them Friday the 3rd at the Cave; if not, catch them this Friday! Their album review by Grayson Currin in the Independent Weekly said, “the Rooster still sings truth to power over angular guitar lines and hi-hat pulses, whether riffing on the downtown void King’s Barcade left behind on ‘No Party Downtown’ (the band released Rojo there in 2006) or territorial tendencies on ‘Headwaters.’”  Well thankfully, Kings is back, A Rooster for the Masses is playing music, and everyone will be happy.

So don’t forget! Before you begin your Friday night Hopscotch adventures, head to the pub and check out all of these awesome bands. Plus, if you didn’t get a Hopscotch ticket (There are only about 15 all-inclusive passes left as I write this!) you can still come to this daytime event!  See you there, with a day-beer in hand!

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Festival Coverage

Hometapes to host Hopscotch day party

Excellent Portland record label Hometapes will host a day party, Hometapes Friend Island, during the Hopscotch Music Festival, adding to an already hefty lineup of free day shows. The party will go down Friday, September 10 from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at The Pour House and feature musical performances from Megafaun, Breathe Owl Breathe, All Tiny Creatures, Pattern Is Movement, Collections of Colonies of Bees, and Family Dynamics (a.k.a. Stars Like Fleas).

The Hopscotch Twitter announced that there will be a complete list of day parties, among other new info, added to the site soon.

And yes, WKNC, will be hosting a party, as well. More info real soon!

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Festival Coverage

MoogFest Coming To Asheville

You may not know who Robert Moog is, but if you’re even a casual fan of music, you should have heard of or know about the his Moog brand synthesizers. Aside from playing an instrumental role in the creation of electronic music, they’ve been used in every genre of music from prog-rock to hip-hop. AC Entertainment, the people behind Bonnaroo and the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, are bringing a new music festival to the deceased Moog’s hometown and the location of his company, Moog Inc.

MoogFest will take place Halloween weekend, October 29-31, in Asheville, North Carolina. A full line-up announcement and ticket info are coming on August 10, but they’ve already released the headliners and a few other names, and they’re pretty hefty. Massive Attack, MGMT, and Thievery Corporation will head up the festival, with other acts including Big Boi, Jónsi, and Caribou set to play. Tickets go on sale August 13. Stay tuned to the MoogFest website for more info!

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Festival Coverage

TrkFest 2010

Saturday, at the Piedmont Biofuel facility in Pittsboro, was the third annual TrkFest put on by Trekky Records.  TrkFest has quickly become one of the most important local music events in the area and a group of WKNC folk made it out in full force.  It was terribly hot and humid outside while the sun was out, but not one single person complained, and I believe everyone had a fantastic time.  I was lucky enough to sit next to Rich and Mimi McLaughlin of the Pneurotics, and we had a fine view of both stages.

We missed Vibrant Green and Ezekiel Graves but got there just as Yardwork started up, and those guys put on a fantastic set to start our day.

After a excruciatingly hot but fascinating tour of the entire Biofuel center, we caught the last half of Ryan Gustafson’s set.  I have seen Ryan about six times now, but this was only the second with a full band, and he was awesome, as usual.

We had to escape the heat, so we headed into the shade during the Butterflies set.

Veelee went on next.  Their sound has evolved so much in the past year while still keeping with their same general style.  One song that stuck out to me was a new track named “T’morrow;” that was the first in their set.

Mount Moriah went on next and, as usual, played an incredible set.  I cannot describe how much I love this band and how excited I am for their new album to come out.

Midtown Dickens played one of my favorite sets of the evening.  Megafaun came on for a couple of songs, and Kym and Catherine are always entertaining but even more so for this event.  Fun, outgoing, and fresh is the best way to describe them.

It has been awhile since I saw Embarrassing Fruits play, but with a new album in the works, theses guys were as tight as ever as expected.

Hammer No More The Fingers has never been anything but a pleasure to see.  They are one of the most technically sound and entertaining groups in the area.  For a couple of songs they brought up Drew Anagnost and Leah Gibson from Lost in the Trees on the cellos and Brad Cook of Megafaun jumped on bass.

Lost in the Trees literally blew the crowd away playing second to last.  I was surprised that they could cram onto the smaller of the two stages, but it ended up being truly magical.  I feel like every time I see them live they sound different, which is always refreshing.

Megafaun ended the show as they always do: reeling the crowd in with their unique charisma and then putting them into a manic frenzy with their exceptional live performance.  I took several videos of the group playing some brand new songs with a variety of different musicians, all off of their upcoming album, but the sound quality came out too poor to post them.  Needless to say, every time I see Megafaun play, they retake the top of my list of local bands.

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Festival Coverage

Local Beat Video Exclusive: Shakori Hills

Shakori Hills 2010 with 88.1 WKNC from Wolf TV on Vimeo.

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Last month, Shakori Hills GrassRoots Festival of Music and Dance was held on a 75 acre farmstead in Chatham County. Kate “Riff Raff” Rafferty, Tommy “Tommyboy” Anderson, and myself, Nicole “DJ Kligz” Kligerman, got the chance to drive to Shakori to see what it was all about. Well, to put it simply, we had the time of our lives. After setting up our official WKNC tent on Friday, Riff Raff, Tommyboy, and I ventured around the grounds to see what there was to do. Shakori supplied its guests with kid-friendly activities, workshops for musicians and dancers, arts and crafts, a healing arts area, several stages, a vast camping site, and a food area that included a delicious “Veggie Thing”. While at the festival, Wolf TV videographer Jane Moon joined us to capture footage of the festival for the first ever Local Beat Video Exclusive, which includes interviews with Bowerbirds, Midtown Dickens, and festival-goers. This video has been posted on Wolf TV’s site for quite a while and I thought it deserved a place here as well. Take a look!

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Festival Coverage

The Beast and Orquesta GarDel make sweet music in the WKNC studio

If you’ve been following along with us these past two Fridays, you’ll know that we’ve been participating in a small interview series featuring many of the talented acts at this spring’s Shakori Hills Grassroots Music Festival. Last week, DJ Mick and DJ Kligz sat down with Bowerbirds and the ever so comical Inflowential. On this particular Friday, I had the pleasure of interviewing two great local bands, The Beast and Orquesta GarDel.

As an avid local music lover, The Beast, of course, was no stranger to my earbuds. I last caught the band last at WKNC’s fall Fridays on the Lawn series where they opened for Kooley High. Obviously, I was going through a bit of a withdrawl, and with promises of on-air free-styling from Pierce Freelon, the Beast’s front-man, the interview was too hard to pass up. Orquesta GarDel was a newcomer to my music pallet. Based in strong Latino roots, GarDel plays classic and modern salsa music with a sound heavily influenced by the New York-Puerto Rico connection of the 1970s. Eric Hirsh, Beast’s keyboardist, is also a major part of GarDel, which has ultimately led to some interesting collaboration in the past. I won’t give away too much, but I experienced firsthand the powerful forces and talent when these two groups collide. Be sure to check out the whole interview including the free-style performance:

Part 1: The Beast. The Beast

Part 2: Orquesta GarDel.Orquesta GarDel.

Next Friday, tune in to DJ Kligz as she will be talking to The Honeycutters as they gear up for their performance at Shakori that weekend.

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Festival Coverage

Hopscotch impresarios on WKNC

Greg Lowenhagen and Grayson Currin of the Independent Weekly will be talking Hopscotch Festival with yours truly tomorrow morning at 11 a.m.

If you’ve been covering your eyes and ears for the last couple months, check out the festival’s site here.

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Festival Coverage

Inflowential Interview from Friday, 4/9

Inflowential stopped into the WKNC studio last Friday to talk about their upcoming show at Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival, their first LP (on the way…), an imminent move, and to thank everyone they’ve ever met.

DJ Kligz and I had a grand time chatting it up with them and spinning some of their music, so have a listen below.

Inflowential Interview

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Festival Coverage

Fridays on the Hills (Shakori Hills Grassroots Music Festival)

As most of you know, the spring edition of Shakori Hills Grassroots Music Festival (April 22nd-25th) is rapidly approaching. For those of you who don’t know about the festival, Shakori Hills is a four day experience, which exhibits various dance, art, and music. With over 50 bands performing on four stages,  we wanted to give you a taste of some of the talented acts of the festival. Due to various N.C. State baseball games interrupting the much beloved Local Beat during April, we’ve asked some of our favorite Shakori Hills musicians to join us in the WKNC studio earlier on Friday afternoons for the remainder of the month.

Take a look at who’s dropping in:

This Friday – April 9th, 2010

Inflowential (1-2pm w/ DJ Mick and DJ Kligz)

Bowerbirds (2-3pm w/ DJ Mick and DJ Kligz)

Friday – April 16th, 2010

The Beast and GarDel w/ Special K 2 to 3 p.m.

Friday – April 23rd, 2010

The Honeycutters (11am-12pm w/ DJ Kligz)

If Fridays weren’t already your favorite days of the week, then hopefully WKNC will change that with these great interviews. Be sure to tune in online or at 88.1FM. Also, check out our spring Fridays on the Lawn concert this Friday on Harris Field at N.C. State featuring local bands Aminal and Bright Young Things. The show is free and so are the t-shirts and pizza. Don’t you just love Fridays?