Category: Blog

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Festival Coverage

WKNC & WXYC Hopscotch Day Party

This year we will be putting our rivalries aside and teaming up with UNCCH’s WXYC for a Hopscotch day party! This year’s day party will be occurring on Friday, Sept. 8 at Legends Nightclub in downtown Raleigh starting at 12pm.

For those who may be new to the festival or unfamiliar, day parties are free and open to the public concerts which occur every day before the festival and generally start at noon.

They are the perfect opportunity for those who don’t have a ticket to see some music and participate in the Hopscotch festivities or for those who do have tickets to get their pre-game on and see additional artists not featured on the official lineup.

If you decide to go out to day parties, ours is one not to miss. Legends, which is located at the corner of W Hargett St and Harrington st is a great place to escape the hustle and bustle of the rest of downtown with its large outdoor bar, generous seating in its lounge, and large stage it’s the perfect venue and hang out space. In addition this party is put on by college radio stations so naturally the artists chosen to play will be amazing, but for those who would like to know more here’s a brief description of what to expect:

Oxidant: Raleigh based powerviolence/hardcore. The perfect early set to get your blood pumping for the day. https://oxidant.bandcamp.com/

Chucha: https://soundcloud.com/chu_laura Electronic project of Laura Munoz. Her music can be noizey, dancey, and make you the feel like floating through space any way it will impress you.

Jock Gang:  Experimental/artful indy rock music from Atlanta Georgia

https://jock-gang.bandcamp.com/album/cool

Ami Dang: Baltimore based electronic music project sets itself apart with heavy eastern music influences, raga melodies laced with electro-pop.  

https://soundcloud.com/ami-dang

Das Drip: Brand new Raleigh hardcore.

The Muslims: Durham based politically charged punk music. Queer and muslim band members use the power of musical activism to fight racial profiling in the age of Trump.  https://youtu.be/wrz2Euscpzc

The schedule will be as follows:

12:00 – Oxidant
1:00 – Chucha
2:00 – Jock Gang
3:00 – Ami Dang
4:00 – Das Drip
5:00 – The Muslims

Come out enjoy some music and maybe meet some of your favorite radio DJs!

Categories
Non-Music News

Pack is Life 1: Packapalooza and Fantasy Football

Ben Denton and John Hinton discuss Packapalooza, Russell Wilson, NCSU football preview, college athlete rights, their fantasy football picks, and much more in the first ever episode of Pack is Life, a new sports podcast on 88.1 WKNC!

Listen to Episode 1 here.

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Weekly Charts

WKNC 88.1 FM Radio 200/Indie Rock Charts 8/29/17

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1 STRANGE RELATIONS – Editorial You – Tiny Engines
2 DOWNTOWN BOYS – Cost of Living – Sub Pop
3 SEE THROUGH DRESSES – Horse of the Other World – Tiny Engines
4 BABY IN VAIN – More Nothing – Partisan
5 WIDOWSPEAK – Expect the Best – Captured Tracks
6 WAXAHATCHEE – Out In the Storm – Merge
7 BIG THIEF – Capacity – Saddle Creek
8 TRAILER TRASH TRACYS – Althaea – Double Six
9 DASHER – Sodium – Jagjaguwar
10 INSTITUTE – Subordination – Sacred Bones
11 FRANKIE ROSE – Cage Tropical – Slumberland
12 THE DISTRICTS – Popular Manipulations – Fat Possum
13 SEXTILE – Albeit Living – Felte
14 GIRL RAY – Earl Grey – Moshi Moshi
15 A GIANT DOG – Toy – Merge
16 EXHIBITION – Last Dance (EP) – Cult
17 HONEY JOY – Honey Joy – Infinity Cat
18 SARAH JAFFE – Bad Baby – Kirtland
19 JEN CLOHER – Jen Cloher – Milk!/Marathon Artists
20 KEVIN MORBY – City Music – Dead Oceans
21 NAOMI PUNK – Yellow – Captured Tracks
22 SO MANY WIZARDS – Heavy Visions – Lolipop
23 BRIANA MARELA – Call It Love – Jagjaguwar
24 PALM – Shadow Expert (EP) – Carpark
25 BIRDS – Everything All At Once – Greenway
26 VALLEY QUEEN – Destroyer (EP) – Self-Released 
27 PEARL EARL – Pearl Earl – Dreamy Life
28 THE DRUMS – Abysmal Thoughts – Anti-
29 US AND US ONLY – Full Flower – Topshelf
30 EMA – Exile In the Outer Ring – City Slang

TOP ADDS
1 WALTER ETC. – Gloom Cruise – Lame-O
2 CAROLINE SAYS – 50,000,000 Elvis Fans Can’t Be Wrong – Western Vinyl
3 TURNOVER – Good Nature – Run For Cover
4 DREAM WIFE – Fire [EP] – Lucky Number
5 THE PREATURES – Girlhood – Harvest
6 LIARS – TFCF – Mute
7 ANGELO DE AUGUSTINE – Swim Inside The Moon – Asthmatic Kitty
8 THE WAR ON DRUGS – A Deeper Understanding – Atlantic

Categories
Miscellaneous

Hopscotch: How to Prepare

Ah, the sun’s blaring heat has begun to retreat indicating the decline of the Summer season. More importantly is that August is closing up to give way for September: the month of Hopscotch. 

Yes reader, you do have reason to feel a sense of urgency as this year’s Hopscotch is but two weekends away! That means you only have this coming weekend to prepare yourself. Allow me to bestow my knowledge from past Hopscotch experience on how to get the most out of your experience. I will break down these sacred preparations into a list of steps that go in chronological order.

  1. Ensure a wristband for yourself by either purchasing a ticket at http://hopscotchmusicfest.com/tickets/ OR volunteering for a ticket through http://hopscotchmusicfest.com/info/volunteer/
  2. Print out the schedule located at http://hopscotchmusicfest.com/schedule/
  3. Highlight all of the acts you are interested in (accept that you probably will not be able to see every show you highlight)
  4. Print out the Hopscotch map (http://hopscotchmusicfest.com/info/map/) and determine the most efficient way to get to all of the shows you highlighted
  5. Wear comfortable shoes and clothes (you will be walking/running from venue to venue)
  6. Pack a water bottle  
  7. Sleep as much as you can

Following these steps are crucial to ensure that you make it to Hopscotch and can confidently go between venues without having to waste precious time trying to google directions or pass out from dehydration/sleep deprivation/bad footwear choice. These tickets ain’t cheap and these bands are following a strict schedule. You have a lot to lose from being under-prepared and your Hopscotch experience is entirely in your hands. Prepare diligently and have an awesome time at Hopscotch this year!

-Farah Hamouda

Categories
Miscellaneous

Hopscotch: A Retrospective

The Hopscotch music festival first began taking over downtown Raleigh for a weekend in September 2010. Despite living in Raleigh at the time, I was not in attendance, nor did I know about the festival. This can easily be chalked up to the very severe divide between North Raleigh and the area encapsulating Downtown Raleigh and the NC State campus. As someone who grew up in North Raleigh, these really are two truly different worlds. However, I was also 14 at the time of the inaugural festival and I really probably didn’t know who Panda Bear or Megafaun were. I was much more inclined to the bands that played Warped Tour.  

Looking back over the lineups in my very early 20s is quite the weird treat as one can see just how ahead of the curve Hopscotch was in many instances and also just how much the festival and Downtown Raleigh have changed. From the inaugural year, we see Future Islands headlining the Berkeley Cafe, which is weird to think about in general. First, the Berkeley Cafe is place that still operates as a dining establishment, but not a live music venue. Secondly, this band headlined one of the smaller places in all of the venues in 2010 and in seven years time are now headlining City Plaza as the triumphant local heroes. This will be a theme throughout the festival’s history. Next on the docket are some of the venues used for performances such as the Busy Bee, Tir Na Nog, and Five Star, which WKNC had an event at the latter to my surprise. Now the festival has greatly expanded, featuring some very unique and large venues such as CAM and the basement of the Raleigh Convention Center.

2011 came and was still another year I didn’t know about, but the festival seems to be getting a bit bigger year by year with The Flaming Lips headlining and a great undercard of some now huge names like Oneohtrix Point Never and Toro y Moi residing fairly low in the lineup to where now they’d be near the top of most lineups.

2012 is an absolutely insane lineup and arguably one of the best well rounded lineups in the festival’s history. The top of the lineup sees a 90’s music fan’s dream with the Jesus and Mary Chain, Yo La Tengo, and Built to Spill, but it also has wide appeal for everyone else. The metal selection for 2012 is top notch featuring Sunn 0))), and from what I have heard, they played Raleigh Memorial Auditorium, which I just can’t even imagine. From there they invited local stalwarts Corrosion of Conformity and Valient Thorr to rock Raleigh’s face off. Let’s not forget Nails near the middle of the lineup, who would easily be near the top half of the lineup in 2017. This lineup even had some of the best hip-hop of the moment with Danny Brown and Death Grips.

2013 was the first year Hopscotch came into my world. I wouldn’t necessarily say the festival as a whole, but mainly I just remember seeing Earl Sweatshirt on Lincoln Theatre’s website and really wanting to go, but not knowing what Hopscotch was. Towards the bottom of this line-up, one might see a once-small band called Sylvan Esso, funny in retrospect considering they played the Hopscotch main stage

to a huge audience this past year. This festival is a breaking ground for so many artists in the North Carolina region and for bands at large. Just look at 2010 with Best Coast, Washed Out and the War on Drugs all just playing Tir na Nog. A great little spot back in the day, but super small. The good people behind Hopscotch really do know how to book bands on the rise better than most festivals out there.

2014 may be the most infamous year of Hopscotch, mainly because of a certain artist named Sun Kil Moon calling the audience at Lincoln Theatre a bunch of hillbillies, or something along those lines. Aside from this rather obnoxious incident, featured another well rounded year for the festival with the likes of mega indie star St. Vincent taking on City Plaza, legendary punk band Death playing a very rare show, and De La Soul bringing their fresh, upbeat blend of 90s hip-hop nostalgia to the City Plaza on a Thursday night for the first time. This year can also lay claim to being one of the danciest line-ups in the festival’s history with the likes of Jamie XX, Lunice and the Range.  

2015 was a pivotal year for me as it was the first year I really knew about the festival in its fullest and thus my first year in attendance and it was a great time. There really is nothing like running from one venue to another to catch a set in the middle of September. This festival really does a great job of curating artists that very few other festivals would even touch. Raleigh saw the likes of Dwight Yoakam and X in one night along with industrial metal pioneers Godflesh. Then there are the artists on the brink of success such as Goldlink who you can’t escape right now.

2015 was my first year, but definitely not my last. I knew I had to return in 2016, especially with the festival’s best lineup in its entire history. Well that is at least in my opinion. How could this not be the best year with the likes of Vince Staples, Anderson .Paak, and Young Thug in one night! Let’s not forget Converge, rising indie/funk act Sneaks, and apparently a wall of death at Twin Peaks (at least that’s what I have heard). This was a year to not forget and 2017 is shaping up to be quite the grand year. I can’t wait to reflect on this years iteration in seven years and see what local is headlining or indie act is at the top of the world. If I was a betting man, I would definitely throw out some predictions, but I’m not that smart!

Stay tuned for more coverage from WKNC and we will see y’all at Wristband City this year!

-Jamie Halla, General Manager

Categories
Miscellaneous

Best Venues To Camp Out for Hip-Hop During Hopscotch

Many seasoned Hopscotch-goers, festival attendees and planning-freaks in general may anticipate seeing all of their favorite acts in this year’s Hopscotch line-up. Luckily, all this takes is hours of research, plenty of running around in the hot sun, and if you’re blessed enough to be unfamiliar with downtown Raleigh, you can burn through tons of GPS data usage trying to find your next spot.

What’s the point of all this sarcasm?

Some people just wanna camp out at a venue and chill there for the whole damn day.

Perhaps even specifically those who LOVE Hip-Hop.

If you’re one of these people, here’s the best venue each day of Hopscotch for your lethargic, Hip-Hop needs:

Thursday, September 7th: Lincoln Theatre

Hip-Hop fans rejoice, for the first day of Hopscotch has an amazing line-up to kick things off, found at none other than Lincoln Theatre. Local emcee/producer/figurehead in NC Hip-Hop P.A.T. Junior will be getting the party started at 9:30pm. He’s known for both amazing production and lyricism, and is sure to kick off a vibe you won’t want to miss. Following P.A.T. is an artist who’s always done it dope, but even more so recently due to “North Cack”-fame, Durham’s own G Yamazawa. Take this from the Underground Director of WKNC: this guy puts on a show. Come witness the flow. BARS.

Then, Oddisee and Good Compny hits the stage. This is a great example of Hip-Hop meets live-band (think The Roots). It’ll touch your soul, man. Finally, riding the wave of success from her July 2016 tape Telefone, Chicago’s own Noname will be closing the night out, which is icing on the cake to a great first night of Hip-Hop at Hopscotch.

For those who haven’t been before, Lincoln Theatre will be a cool spot. It’s certainly one of the larger venues in Raleigh and has a wide variety of seating to view the act, both standing and seating. It’s got a hipster-type ambience, and plenty of good beer specials. Additionally, there are quite a few restaurants within walking distance of the venue, for those who will be have dinner before they pick their venue for the night.

This is the spot for Hip-hop on Thursday!!

Friday, September 8th: Red Hat Amphitheater

It’s no secret who is hosting the biggest names this year. Red Hat Amphitheater is the venue that will give you the most Hip-Hop on Friday. When I say the most, I mean the most. The night opens with Busdriver, an underground-rap hero hailing from Los Angeles, at 5:20. He’s a seasoned artist, so he’s gonna bring the juice. Keeping the night going is NC’s own Rapsody, who’s accolades include a huge amount of work with NC-producer 9th Wonder, landing the only feature on Kendrick Lamar’s Grammy-winning To Pimp a Butterfly, and recently being signed to Jay-Z’s Roc Nation. Yeah, you probably wouldn’t wanna miss that. And of course, the grande finale of the night: Run the Jewels. It has been said that they put on some of the best live performances ever. Like, ever.

Red Hat Amphitheater is a staple in Raleigh live music, known for housing some of the biggest acts that come to the 919. Their parking is ultra-convenient, so for those who may stress about that like me, this is your relief. AND for local beer lover, they feature brews from Lone Rider, Carolina Brewery and many others. With all types of seating that has great views of the stage, this is your best bet on Friday to catch all kinds of Hip-Hop vibes.

Saturday, September 9th: City Plaza

City Plaza’s got the good stuff on Saturday. Kicking off the night is Electronic-Rock/Indie Rock band Body Games, who’ve got many LP’s to pull from and an amazing live set. They’ve also got ties to Hip-Hop through their dope collaboration with WELL$ (perhaps we’ll get a surprise performance of their track “WMN”?). This will be a great transition into ILOVEMAKONNEN, who’s infectious super-hit “Tuesday” track from 2014 is a staple in any college-party playlist. Keeping the Atlanta-vibes going, the biggest act of the night is legendary emcee Big Boi. With a handful of hits from his Outkast days and a handful of hits from his solo records, Big Boi never disappoints live. Don’t miss!

Raleigh’s City Plaza is right in the heart of the city, which will be a unique outdoor spot for the performances on Saturday. This will be a great way to experience music in Hopscotch differently than other, indoor venues downtown. So let the outdoor city life spice up your Hopscotch weekend experience! 

Side note: Not to disregard everything I’ve said above, but it is important to note that Solange is performing at Red Hat Amphitheater on Saturday at 9 o’clock, just in case Solange is must-see for you as it is many others. Good luck choosing between the 2 amazing line-ups at each venue…. ah the struggles of festival planning! 

Sunday, September 10th: Red Hat Amphitheater

After 3 days of heavy festivities all through downtown Raleigh, Red Hat Amphitheater is the only venue hosting any sort of major music activities for Hopscotch. Come on out to the venue to see a line-up of amazing Indie music, including Cloud Nothings, Mount Moriah and Angel Olsen. Close out the festival with an awesome Sunday of music!

Thank you to all Hopscotch-goers and enjoy Hopscotch 2017!

Categories
Weekly Charts

WKNC 88.1 FM Radio 200/Indie Rock Charts 8/22/17

1 DOWNTOWN BOYS – Cost Of Living – Sub Pop
2 STRANGE RELATIONS – Editorial You – Tiny Engines
3 SEE THROUGH DRESSES – Horse of the Other World – Tiny Engines
4 RATBOYS – GN – Topshelf
5 THE DISTRICTS – Popular Manipulations – Fat Possum
6 BRIANA MARELA – Call It Love – Jagjaguwar
7 AVEY TARE – Eucalyptus – Domino
8 ALDOUS HARDING – Party – 4AD
9 PALM – Shadow Expert [EP] – Carpark
10 LAND OF TALK – Life After Youth – Saddle Creek
11 WAXAHATCHEE – Out in the Storm – Merge
12 JEN CLOHER – Jen Cloher – Milk!/Marathon Artists
13 NAOMI PUNK – Yellow – Captured Tracks
14 EMA – Exile In The Outer Ring – City Slang
15 GIRL RAY – Earl Grey – Moshi Moshi
16 FRANKIE ROSE – Cage Tropical – Slumberland
17 HONEY JOY – Honey Joy – Infinity Cat
18 SOCCER MOMMY – Collection – Fat Possum
19 JAPANESE BREAKFAST – Soft Sounds From Another Planet – Dead Oceans
20 GROWL – Won’t You – Austin Town Hall
21 KEVIN MORBY – City Music – Dead Oceans
22 DASHER – Sodium – Jagjaguwar
23 KATIE VON SCHLEICHER – Shitty Hits – Ba Da Bing
24 CHAIN AND THE GANG – Best of Crime Rock – In the Red
25 LILY AND HORN HORSE – Next To Me – Ramp Local
26 VALLEY QUEEN – Destroyer [EP] – Self-Released
27 REDUCTION PLAN – Somewhere – Maladjusted
28 SEXTILE – Albeit Living – Felte
29 UMM – Double Worshipper – Majestic Litter
30 THIS IS THE KIT – Moonshine Freeze – Rough Trade

ADDS
1 WIDOWSPEAK – Expect The Best – Captured Tracks
2 SOAR – Dark/Gold – Father/Daughter
3 BIRDS – Everything All At Once Greenway
4 A GIANT DOG – Toy – Merge
5 BABY IN VAIN – More Nothing – Partisan
6 SO MANY WIZARDS – Heavy Vision – Lolipop
7 HIGH FUNCTIONING FLESH – Culture Cut – Dais

Categories
Festival Coverage

A Cheapskate’s Guide to Hopscotch

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If you are anything like me, there is a good chance you will be balling on a budget during Hopscotch. Here is the ultimate guide to getting your pennies worth at the festival! 

TICKETS

The cheapest ticket option is to buy a general admission ticket ASAP. I highly suggest signing up for Hopscotch’s emails too, so you can know when tickets first go on sale and so that you can get an early bird special. The first early bird special is $125, the second is $149, and the third is $175. Unfortunately, all of those have sold out, so you can either buy a general admission wristband for $199 or buy a day wristband. Thursday’s wristband costs $85, Friday and Saturday’s cost $99, and Sunday’s cost $45. Who needs a VIP wristband anyway? You’ll be too busy running around downtown Raleigh trying to find the next act to enjoy the perks of an expensive VIP wristband.

SLEEPING ARRANGEMENTS

Hopscotch has partnered with the Sheraton in downtown Raleigh to provide discounted housing during Hopscotch. The Sheraton overlooks the City Plaza, so if you’re not feeling the crowds, you could easily go back to your room and open your window to listen to the bands playing below you! Cheaper housing options would be to stay at a friend’s house in Raleigh or stay in an Airbnb. Airbnb has a deal similar to Uber; if you refer a friend, you and the friend get $40 off any Airbnb! Grab a friend and stay at a hip, trendy place in downtown for a low cost and a convenient location.

PARKING
Parking prices, especially during Hopscotch, tend to be a bit outrageous downtown. To avoid high parking costs, you can take the completely free, open to the public, Wolfprowl bus if you are staying near NC State. You can even park your car around NC State (we have free parking after 5pm!) and take the Wolfprowl from there! The Wolfprowl runs Friday and Saturday nights during the fall and spring semesters from 10pm-3am. It is a continuous loop with service approximately every 35 mins. You could also take a Lyft. Use WKNC’s Lyft code, WKNC50, to get a free $50 in rides. If you are up to the challenge, you could also walk or bike downtown. There are plenty of bike racks downtown, and it could actually be super convenient to have a bike with you to get from venue to venue quicker. I saw a lot of people doing this last year and thought the idea was brilliant.

FOOD
Honestly, the best option is to eat before you come. Carb-load on all your favorite foods to fuel up for the night, and get at least a little protein so you can maintain your stamina. If you get hungry during the night, you can always buy a snack or something small to tide you over. Purchasing little snacks is going to be a lot cheaper than a full meal in busy downtown. At the end of the night, there may even be some free food on Hillsborough Street; last year it was pizza.

There you have it, I hope these tips and tricks make your Hopscotch experience as cost-efficient as possible, and remove a little financial worry so you can have the time of your life rocking to some incredible artists!

Categories
Music News and Interviews

WKNC Upcoming Giveaways!

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Tune into WKNC this week for a chance to win tickets for some great shows! Tonight during our Underground hours, there will be a Kid Cudi giveaway for his Oct. 11 show at the Red Hat Amphitheater in Raleigh. Also this week, we will be giving away tickets to see Sextile at the Pinhook in Durham on Aug. 30. And finally, we have just received some giveaway tickets to see Bon Iver at the Durham Performing Arts Center on Nov.13! Those will be given out over the next couple of weeks, so keep that radio dial turned to 88.1!

Categories
Non-Music News

Oak City Move 18: Carolina Jubilee

Sara sits down with Zach from the Carolina Jubilee.

Listen to Episode 18 Here.