With the the end of each summer, Hopscotch always creeps up on us. If you haven’t secured your ticket yet be sure to act fast as they are selling out quick this year. Here is some pricing info:
General Admission: $165
1 Red Hat Amphitheater show – Sept. 9
3 Outdoor City Plaza Shows – Sept. 8-10 (Fayetteville Street downtown)
All Club Shows – Sept. 8-10
VIP: $225
1 Red Hat Amphitheater show – Sept. 9
3 Outdoor City Plaza Shows – Sept. 8-10 (Fayetteville Street downtown)
All Club Shows – Sept. 8-10
Opening Night VIP party – Sept. 8
Priority Access to Club Shows
Thursday Day Pass: $85
Thursday club shows
Thursday City Plaza show
Friday Day Pass: $95
Friday club shows
Friday City Plaza show
Friday Red Hat Amphitheater show
Saturday Day Pass: $85
Saturday club shows
Saturday City Plaza show
You can purchase tickets at: http://hopscotchmusicfest.com/tickets/
There is also a chance to win a 3-day pass! Steep In will be doing a giveaway which ends next Tuesday the 23rd. All you have to do is follow the Twitter page and retweet the giveaway tweet: https://twitter.com/steep_in
Another year, another Hopscotch! Each September, downtown Raleigh becomes the center of music in the state of North Carolina as over 100 plus artists convene in the city’s many music venues to perform for an ever-growing number of music fans. Hopscotch easily features one of the most diverse line-ups in the North American festival circuit as it plays host to some of the biggest indie bands, rap stars, even country, and most definitely the heavier side of music. Hopscotch has really outdone itself this year featuring some of the biggest artists in every category as Beach House will take the City Plaza stage, Young Thug will bring his unique brand of hip-hop to Raleigh Memorial Auditorium and Erykah Badu will bring her soulful voice to Red Hat. While I am more than excited for all of these acts, Hopscotch, without a doubt needs to be commended for their excellent curation of bands that play a heavier band. Following will be a brief spotlight on some of the bands that excite me most.
Tribulation
This Swedish blackened death metal band will be taking the Kings’ stage on Saturday night as the clock strikes midnight and are for sure not a band to miss for fans of heavy music as their music strikes the perfect balance between brutally heavy, but maintaining a strong sense of melody. The band is sure to enter the stage with incense, creating a pleasant smelling environment, but don’t let this fool you as they are heavy and will be decked out in corpse paint. Their latest album, Children of the Night, was a huge success and brought many new fans to band, including myself. The album can be heard here.
Cobalt
This band is a pretty big deal as it features only two members, Erik Wunder and the newest member, Charlie Fell (of Lord Mantis fame), who was recently added in 2016 right before the release of their monumental album Slow Forever. Cobalt very rarely plays show and has only toured the United States once in 2013, so think of this as a pretty big treat for Raleigh. Cobalt plays a brand of smorgasbord metal that features a little bit of influence from everywhere in the metal world including black metal, death metal, even a little bit of hardcore, and definitely strong doses of avant-garde tendencies. The band will be taking the Pour House stage at 11:30 on Friday night. Their most recent album, Slow Forever, can be found here.
Bad Friends
Not everything heavy has to be metal and this here local band, hailing from Durham, is definitely not metal as they lean much more towards the screamo genre associated with bands like Circle Takes the Square or another North Carolina band Weak Wrists. Expect hallowing guitars with piercing screams from this queer screamo/hardcore band as they take the Lincoln Theatre stage at 8:30 Saturday night, opening for the larger than life metal band, Baroness. Their most recent release can be found here.
Converge
There’s really not a whole lot new I can say about this band. They’re arguably the biggest heavy band to be gracing this festival’s lineup as they have been kicking it since 1990 and boy, are they heavy. When I first heard Jane Doe back as a young teenage, my mind was blown at how heavy this band was. Their sound is pummeling, it’s abrasive, and most importantly it’s destructive. Lincoln Theatre should be nothing short of a warzone when they take the stage Thursday night at 12:30. This is a not miss set for anybody who considers their self a fan of heavy music as they are definite pioneers of the genre in recent years. Some of their music can be found here.
It’s that time of year again. I would say WKNC is getting stoked for Hopscotch Music Festival’s seventh year, but honestly, we’ve been excited about Hopscotch 7 since the last acts of Hopscotch 6 left the stage. But now that the event is less than a month away, the anticipation is almost tangible.
Each year, Hopscotch brings a wide variety of artists to Raleigh from all over the state, country, and world. As has become a bit of a tradition for me, I’ve created a map of where the artists are from. Check out which artists are representing our incredible local scene, as well as where each of the national touring acts call home. And don’t forget to zoom out and scope for the artists from across the ocean!
If finding a decent place to park in downtown Raleigh scares you, the stress increases exponentially during large events such as Hopscotch. This guide is meant to help you find parking before setting out to explore the music festival.
Free Parking!!!!!!!!
Free parking is extremely hard to come by now that the City of Raleigh has eliminated free parking after 7pm and on weekends. However, these are a few spots that seem to still offer that deal.
Green Square Parking Deck, 120 W Edenton St, Raleigh, NC 27603, (919) 807-2408
Rates are $2 per hour, but after 5pm rates aren’t charged. The gates to this deck raise from the hours of 6:30pm-5am and are free to park in, no charge.
On-Street Metered Parking
If you’re lucky enough to get a parking spot right on the street, after 5pm it’s completely free. These spots are a little harder to get a hold of, however if you’re willing to walk a few blocks, try parking along Salisbury Street near the Raleigh Police Station. Even during events that area seems to have quite a few on street parking spots available. If you want to get a spot closer to all the action, consider coming in around 4:30pm and paying a mere $0.50 to park a little earlier. With your extra free time go grab a bite to eat!
Cheap Parking
Maybe you don’t get to the free parking in time, maybe you don’t mind spending a few $$$ just to avoid the stress of trying to find the nearly mythical free parking in downtown Raleigh. Here are some of the cheapest options we could find.
Salisbury Lot, 400 S Salisbury St
$3 per space; evening rate
City Market Parking Lot, 228 E Martin St, Raleigh , NC 27601
$5 Nightly and weekend rate, beginning at 5pm on weekdays and 24 hours on weekends.
Wild Cards
These are locations that I’ve personally used in the past without being charged. Keep in mind I used these after 7pm, and I’m unsure if they still offer free parking after 7pm or on weekends. Rates may also vary since this is a large event; the owners of the garages might decide to capitalize on the parking demand during Hopscotch. However, if they’re on your way into downtown, might as well check them out.
Red Hat Parking Garage
I’m not sure the name of this garage, but it’s attached to the Red Hat Tower. The entrance is right off of South Blount Street, just a little bit past East Davie Street. Historically I’ve parked here and never had to pay, but keep in mind the parking company that oversees it might charge a special event rate.
Moore Square Parking Deck
Conveniently located by Beasley’s, Chuck’s, Slim’s, and the bus station, this parking deck isn’t too far of a walk from the City Plaza stage either. I haven’t visited this deck since Raleigh got rid of free parking after hours. Last year I parked here the Thursday night of Hopscotch and didn’t get charged.
If you can’t find these deals, most places charge $7 event parking. If you’re being asked to pay more than $7, head somewhere else! There’s plenty of places that don’t charge $10-$15. Good Luck and Happy Hopscotching!
Bonnaroo has come and passed this year, but for those of you who didn’t go, or even those of you that did, I’ve compiled my two cents on the best of the best out of each genre of artist that performed this year.
Let’s start with electronic, my expectations were set pretty high with RL Grime, and he definitely delivered. His show was unreal, playing old stuff, new stuff, hard stuff, some intermediary softer stuff, all with a perfectly programmed light show which was mindblowingly perfect. Although I may be biased because I absolutely love some festival trap. Griz was also amazing, despite his mid-day set.
As for the more alternative-tinged pop shows, my personal favorite had to be Halsey, who is just a great performer with catchy and well written songs. She had a huge crowd, and involved them often, interacting with them frequently, and giving it her all during the performance. A close second was Two Door Cinema club, who also killed their performance.
As for rap, you probably won’t expect my pick, but it was Chance the Rapper. This guy wasn’t even billed on the lineup, but he showed up to multiple shows as well as doing his own thing on Sunday at the Silent Disco. If I wasn’t kinda cheating by picking him, I would definitely go with J Cole, because his set was constant fire the entire time, I had to leave close to the end of it, but I could hear him as well as the crowd from anywhere in the campgrounds.
Also here’s a quick list of honorable mentions, who weren’t the best of the best, but were still certainly great performances:
BORNS
Cashmere Cat
CHVRCHES
Ellie Goulding
Third Eye Blind
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
Snoop Dog
Keep an eye out for posts by my co-host Will, who was also covering the festival, I think he’ll be posting some awesome pictures we took at the festival soon!
I was lucky enough to attend
several panels, or “conversations” as they were called at the festival when I
went to Moogfest. They were all very inspiring; the speakers really knew their
topics and I enjoyed learning about topics I otherwise would never have read
about. One of the panels I attended on Friday was about reggae-dub music and
its cultural significance. I decided to go to this panel because I have always
enjoyed reggae-dub music and its offshoots; I grew up on Bob Marley, the
Police, and Sublime. Since I did not know too much about this musical style, it
seemed to be the perfect panel to see.
The
conversation was headed by four influential dub musicians and producers,
Laurent “Tippy” Alfred, Lister Hewan-Lowe, Ras Kush, and the Mad Professor.
Alfred is a producer and audio engineer, who hails from St. Croix. He co-owns I
Grade Records, which he launched in 2001. Hewan-Lowe was born in Jamaica in the
1950’s. Throughout the 1970’s he worked for Island Records, before launching
his own label, Clappers, in the 1980’s. Ras Kush is a producer for the record
company Black Redemption Label. The Mad Professor was a very interesting
character. He told the audience that he got into electronics as child by
wondering how his radio, one of the few electronic devices in his house hold,
worked. When his mother left, he deconstructed the radio, to his mother’s
dismay. Even though he was in trouble when his mother returned, he was inspired
to go to the library and read more. By the time he was 10, he had already built
amps and radios. Today, he is one second generation dub’s biggest producers.
So
here’s a little history of dub music. Dub is a subgenre of reggae that evolved
in the 1960’s. It is different than original reggae music because it is made
through remixing, editing, and manipulating existing tracks and songs. One
aspect of dub music that the panelists emphasized over and over was “sound
system culture”. It became relevant in the 1950’s in the ghettos of Kingston,
where the inhabitants would throw parties in the streets, playing music from
turntables. As Hewan-Lowe said during the talk, “dub gave a voice to the
voiceless.” The original DJs of these parties played rhythm and blues, but as
time progressed, they began to create their own music with its own local sound.
Soon, DJs became more popular than live musicians. Dub music has always had a
do-it-yourself nature. Improvisation and original sound are incredibly
important. Dub began to gain popularity outside of the Caribbean in the 1970’s,
when Jamaican immigrants moved to England. Jamaican immigrants also brought
their music to New York City, where their influence would forever change the
hip-hop scene. These immigrants brought the idea of remixing the beat to
hip-hip, which revolutionized the industry. Unfortunately, as dub helped create
budding genres like hip-hop and EDM, it lost its original qualities. The
spontaneous sound system culture was lost to DJ culture, a similar offshoot in
the U.S. that favored preorder sets over spur of the moments, feeling the music
kind of sets.
I
really learned a great deal from this panel. The four men who spoke at the
panel were incredibly inspiring. I would suggest googling them for a more full
biography. In addition, I would check out the movie Rockers. During the panel, we were shown clips from the film
because it gave a visual representation of what sound system culture looked
like 40-50 years ago. To finish off my post, I would like to share a few quotes
from the panelists that I jotted down.
“You might only have a bucket, but you can make it into a
drum”- Alfred on the DIY nature of dub music.
“Everyday items can become revolutionized. European,
Japanese instruments can be revolutionized in the hands of the right
musicians”- Alfred
“I am not from Jamaica, I am from planet Earth.”- Hewan-Lowe
Written by Co-Public Affairs Director, Marissa Jerden
Moogfest was already a full week ago, but I feel like I was running around Durham yesterday. As exhausting as it was, part of the fun of Moogfest was the mad dash of finding new and exciting activities. Grown up life prevented me from going to as many panels as I wanted to, but I was pumped to get over to GZA’s talk with Duke’s Dr. Mark Anthony Neal. If you listen to GZA’s music you can tell why he’s nicknamed “The Genius,” but as someone from a similar background, it was refreshing to listen to insights from an an intelligent Black man from the hood who made it in hip hop without being strictly about money, drugs, and guns.
Surprisingly enough for me, I didn’t just want to stay in my hip hop bubble (it’s easy to do as the Hip Hop Music Director), so I checked out some things that I didn’t exactly plan on doing. Having never played a Moog synth, going to the Modular Marketplace and trying out some of the toys, as well as watching how they’re made was extra cool. Afterhours DJ Marcel the Lion and I spent hours in there creating and wishing we had some way to record our work!
Additionally, as somewhat of an outsider to electronic music, I found it fun to see how fans interact with their favorite artists. The Reggae Soundsystem Party at Bull McCabe’s was probably my favorite stop off of my expected path. Mad Professor spun some super dope dub music. The house-style drum patterns, mixed with the good vibes of reggae, brought me back to the Bronx for a couple hours, minus the dancing… Sorry Durham, y’all cant dance to reggae like we do in the BX!
What I found most interesting about all of the new music I tried out was how audiences interact with their favorite artists. Audiences ranged from tame (at Health’s set), to hyped (Grimes and Odesza), to flat our weird (The Orb and DJ Harvey). The weirdest seeming to congregate at The Armory which cranked out DJ after DJ all weekend with a non-stop dance party. But weird is a good thing, especially when artists like The Orb have been mastering it for years, amassing a following of people ranging from younger than me to my mom’s age.
So you survived day 1 of Moogfest 2016?! So did we and we can’t be more ecstatic for Day, which is sure to bring as many joyous experiences as day 1.
Today is arguably the most chock filled day with cool programs throughout the duration of the day and then when evening hits, artist after artist of immense talent will be taking the stages of many of Durham’s top venues.
Be sure to start your morning out right with a good breakfast at many of the local Durham eateries, such as Dame’s Chicken and Waffles, because what’s a better way to start out any day than chicken and waffles. After filling your belly, you should probably check out the Neil Harbisson led panel “The Future of Our Species”, a discussion in which Harbisson, a government recognized cyborg, explores questions pertaining to how the human species can mold with technology. This event takes place at 10 AM in the Carolina Theater, Cinema 1.
Going on all weekend, is Realiti- Inside the Music of Grimes, an installation that allows for fans to remix Grimes’ track “Realiti” throughout the weekend. This event will be held at the DCC Plaza, room 301.
At 1:00 PM, in Cinema 1 of the Carolina Theater, be sure to check out the live recording of the Song Exploder Podcast with festival headliner ODESZA. Here the audience can watch ODEZSA take apart their song bit by bit for host, Hrishikesh Hirway.
As part of the Afrofuturism program, Wu-Tang Clan co-founder GZA and Duke professor Mark Anthony Neal will be giving a talk in the Fletcher Hall of the Carolina Theater at 4:30 PM. The talk, entitled “Time Travelling with Hip-Hop” focuses on Hip-hop’s role in challenging our ideas of the future.
After this speech be sure to find yourself another good Durham meal at either Bull City Burger or Toast for a good quick bite.
Once the delightful supper is over, it’ll be time to get your evening started out with some good music. Local hip-hop artist Professor Toon will be taking the Motorco Music Hall stage at 7:00 PM and he’s definitely not an act to miss after his stellar Double Barrel Benefit show this past February. Stick around afterwards for another NC hip-hop mainstay, Well$, who is sure to keep the energy going with an electrifying set. Might as well stick around for experimental Atlanta hip-hop artist Daye Jack at 8:30, but then make your way over to the Motorco Park stage to see festival highlight Grimes, taking the stage at 8:50. Afterwards is another festival highlight in ODESZA, the electronic act who is sure to make the Motorco Park stage one big dance affair. If hip-hop is more your thing, just stay in Motorco all night as Denzel Curry will perform at 9:15, bringing his hard-hitting street anthems to Durham. Then Lunice, half of Hudson Mohawke, will bring just as dance-y of a set as ODEZSA outside, preparing your ears for the Canadian hip-hop artist Tory Lanez who performs at 11:45 in the Motorco Hall. Last, but definitely not least, is the hip-hop legend GZA, who will be performing his most intimate set of the weekend (as the other one will be held outside at the Motorco Park Stage, Saturday night) in the 430 cap venue. For fans of hip-hop, this is a can’t miss.
No matter what your schedule, Moogfest is sure to be quite the splendid time. Safe travels to all and have a great time!
-Jamie Halla, Social Media Director (aka English Soccer)
