DJ Whatsherface and DJ Sparrow sat down with Greg Lowenhagen, director, and Nathan Price, talent coordinator for HOPSCOTCH MUSIC FESTIVAL 2016 to talk all things Hopscotch!
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Category: Blog
Being queer, Christian, and southern in a time where North Carolina’s controversial and discriminatory legislation has the musical community in a bind over the state, Julien Baker serves as a role model to fellow musicians and the queer community. Having grown up in Memphis, Tennessee with Christianity Baker has accepted her identity and continues to call the south her home. In an interview with Pitchfork she expressed her beliefs that the south has redeeming qualities and that those who are accepting and diverse have the responsibility to fight to fix the reputation of an oppressive hateful south.
Baker’s debut “Sprained Ankle” which came out last year has her nationally recognized. Through the album indy-folk singer songwriter digs into the deepest stretches of emotion with raw heart clenching songs of despair, faith, heart break, and hope. The title track “sprained ankle” takes listeners through her struggles of depression as she confesses “Wish I could write songs about anything other than death.” As her gorgeous vocals and picked guitars collides into soft strings and harmonizing vocals. Baker confronts her Christian faith in the track “Rejoyce” one of the most powerful tracks on the album. Beautiful acoustic guitar picks up as Julian raises her vocals proclaiming, “I think there’s a god and he hears either way when I rejoice and complain,” you can feel her connection to her faith and can’t help but feel uplifted at the same time in despair. The album closes with “go home” where haunting piano, distant strings, and Julian’s powerful clean vocals tell a tale of moving beyond heartbreak as she belches “ I’m tired of washing my hands God, I wanna go home.” The album will suck you in and take you on a ride of emotion, definitely one for sitting down, listening through and taking in with every inch of your soul. The album was recorded at Space bomb studio in Richmond, VA the same place Natalie Prass’s self-titled album and can be listened to here.
–DJ Whatsherface
Hopscotch Music Festival starts tomorrow, September 8 and will continue through until September 10. Some of our DJs took the initiative and designed their (ideal or realistic) schedule of performers they want to see. With so many artists packed into three days, we figured a sample of our schedules would come in handy with building your own!
PLUS, local Ross Grady put together this neat Google Calendar of every Hopscotch performance to help you sort out your schedule in a perhaps more efficient way. Check it out here!
Whatsherface
“Blue are my second choices–so many conflicts!”
DJ sPaRr0vV
Double Duchess
DJ Iron Mic
The Fuzz
angel by shaggy
“My scanner/printer sucks! but please see Inga Copeland at Neptune’s!”
Cruise One
Case Sensitive
wolfware
“Sorry it’s so badly done.” (It’s okay, wolfware)
1 SNEAKS Gymnastics- Merge
2 HAPPY DIVING Electric Soul Unity- Topshelf
3 FIELD MOUSE Episodic- Topshelf
4 DEATH VALLEY GIRLS Glow In The Dark- Burger
5 LUNCH DUCHESS My Mom Says I Have A Rich Inner Life
6 TOLD SLANT Going By Double- Double Whammy
7 ANGEL OLSEN My Woman- Jagjaguwar
8 WEAVES Weaves- Kanine
9 JERRY PAPER Toon Time Raw!- Bayonet
10 JULIE RUIN Hit Reset- Hardly Art
11 HOCKEY DAD Boronia- Kanine
12 MALE GAZE King Leer- Castle Face
13 FOXTAILS BRIGADE Foxtails Brigade
14 ELEMENTALS I’m Not Real, I’m Not Here
15 CERISE Smoke Screen Dreams- Psychic Cats
16 MOURN Ha, Ha, He.- Captured Tracks
17 GLOBELAMP The Orange Glow- Wichita
18 ESME PATTERSON We Were Wild- Grand Jury
19 MITSKI Puberty 2- Dead Oceans
20 SNEEZE ATTACK Fever
21 AND THE KIDS Friends Share Lovers- Signature Sounds
22 ADIA VICTORIA Beyond The Bloodhounds- Canvasback
23 LEYYA Spanish Disco
24 JULIAWHY? Wheel- EXXE
25 DIARRHEA PLANET Turn To Gold- Infinity Cat
26 NICK MONACO Half Naked- Soul Clap
27 FAWNN Ultimate Oceans- Quite Scientific
28 EMILY WELLS Promise- Thesis And Instinct
29 SLOW CLUB One Day All Of This Won’t Matter Anymore- Moshi Moshi
30 MILD HIGH CLUB Skiptracing- Stones Throw
(source: https://folkontheroad.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/andrew-bird2.jpg)
Folks, this year during Hopscotch you’re in for a real treat. Andrew (gosh-dang) Bird is graciously making his presence in the Memorial Auditorium on Saturday at 11pm.
Mr. Bird is ridiculously talented, having been formally trained in Violin starting at the age of FOUR but not limited to the violin as he is an expert vocalist, whistler, and guitarist. He unsurprisingly has a long discography, with his first album dropping in ‘96 and his most recent album “Are You Serious” came out last April 2016. His music is best described as being intricate, deeply emotional with piercing vocals and dreamy whistling. Make sure to catch him when he makes an appearance this Saturday. In the meantime, check out his most recent Tiny Desk Concert linked below!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGAzPtwUJJU
-DJ sPaRr0vV
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The Hopscotch Variety Post
Y’all, it’s almost here and I haven’t even highlighted my schedule yet! I’m not really sure what I’m doing with my life, but it’s definitely not in the right place if I haven’t highlighted my schedule. Well on the bright side, I know the main artists I’m most excited for, Vince Staples and Young Thug, who both conveniently just released excellent pieces of music. Vince Staples with his EP Prima Donna, which also came with a nice accompanying video and then Young Thug released an album or mixtape (not really sure) entitled JEFFREY. This album may or may not feature the artwork of the year with Young Thug dressed in a very beautiful ensemble, take a peek below.
Both of these artists are sure to bring an immense amount of energy to their respective stage, with Vince Staples taking the City Plaza stage 7 PM Saturday, before local favorite’s Sylvan Esso, sure to make a double feature of a great time. Then Young Thug will bring his eccentric personality and outlandish, but delectably catchy music to Raleigh Memorial Auditorium Friday night at 10:30. Both of these artists play Raleigh very rarely and are a definite must see as when else will you be able to say you saw Young Thug at a venue typically reserved for plays or Vince Staples light up Fayetteville Street.
Possible Things to Look Out for at Hopscotch
Music festivals are often times of great joy, and even surprise appearances and announcements, such as Chance the Rapper appearing everywhere at Bonnaroo or Travis Scott announcing the release of his new merch collection featuring toilet paper, socks, and much more the other day at Made in America. While these are some of the hugest festivals in the world, Hopscotch has not gone without its fair share of press. Just look a few years back at that one infamous performance from a folk musician.
Hopefully this year brings us some amazing moments from the many artists playing. If I was a betting man, which I’m not, I would definitely put my money on a surprise appearance from Andre 3000. He is a short trip up from Atlanta and has quite a few connections to the artists playing, mainly Erykah Badu and Vince Staples.Andre 3000 is featured on Erykah Badu’s recent song “Hello” and the two also have a child together. In addition to this, Andre 3000′s verse from OutKast song “ATLiens” is sampled on Vince Staple’s standout track “War Ready” from his recent EP, Prima Donna. While this is unlikely, it could be possible that Andre 3000 makes an appearance with someone who looks up to him, Vince Staples, or with his friend Erykah Badu. I’ll be crossing my fingers we get to hear Andre 3000′s out of this world flow at least once!
Taking the City Plaza Stage Friday night, Anderson Paak and the Free Nationals will bring us their smooth R&B/hip-hop crossover before Beach House takes the stage. Rumor has it, Domo Genesis is a member of the Free Nationals, so look forward to a collab performance for their excellent song “Dapper” off of Domo Genesis’ recent album Genesis. There’s also a slight chance the singer/rapper, Paak, could renew his slight beef with fellow XXL Class of 2016 Freshmen Lil Yachty. The two recently exchanged a few words via Twitter over Lil Yachty’s comments in regards to not listening to Biggie or 2Pac. While I’m not a big fan of hip-hop beef, it would be pretty crazy if Anderson Paak released a diss track to the world on Hopscotch’s stage.
Whatever may happen this Hopscotch weekend, we’ll be there to cover it and report first before Pitchfork gets the scoop! So happy Hopscotchin’ everyone and see some great bands!
-wolfware
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We’re having a day party!
Join WKNC and our friends at @wxyc, Wolftrax Music Group and Team Clermont for a Hopscotch Music Festival Day Party!
Come out to Legends this Friday during Hopscotch weekend to see a variety of amazing local artists! Doors open at noon, with music starting around 12:30 p.m.
Set times are approximate and are subject to change:
12:30 p.m. – XTALS
1:10 p.m. – Pie Face Girls
1:40 p.m. – no smoking
2:40 p.m. – P.A.T. Junior w/ Oak City Slums
AGES 16+ // FREE ADMISSION // BAR OPEN TO THOSE 21+
RSVP to our Facebook event page!
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First order of business: pick up your goddamn wristband from Wristband City.
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Have some semblance of a plan! Figure out where the venues are in relation to each other and which bands, old and new, you want to catch. Luckily for you, there’s Hopscotch app where you can select the artists you’re dying to see, and the calendar feature organizes your selections in order by date and time. Additionally, you can read artist bios and listen to a few of their tracks, and – SCORE – you can sync it to your Google Calendar! Personally, I’m a fan of printing the schedule and circling my “must see” artists in red ink. Your less efficient third option is just wingin’ it.
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Don’t waste your own time! Whether it’s the music or the crowd or the venue that you’re not vibing with, remember that you can leave. Don’t expect the next song to be better. If you don’t like a set after two songs, do yourself a favor and dip. Test your luck at the next closest venue, because the weekend is too short and there are too many artists for you to not enjoy yourself every minute.
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Wear comfortable shoes! Minimize the time you spend walking (briskly) between venues and maximize your Hopscotch utility by wearing sneakers. Imagine this: It’s Friday, September 9th. You’re old-school moshing to “American Girls and French Kisses” at the CAM. It’s 10:50 PM, and Young Thug is taking the stage at Memorial Auditorium at 11. Unless you have a time-turner you are not going to be able to see both sets in their entirety. I’m not telling you how to live your life – but if you bust out a light jog down S Martin Street you’ll miss less of Beach Slang and see more of Young Thug, so consider the opportunity costs. Are you making this trek in flip flops? No, you’re wearing close-toed kicks like a responsible adult. If looking cute is a priority… good luck with that, I guess. And yes, this is your mother speaking.
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Catch some Pokemon. Obligatory. DON’T run into people on the street, ignore your friends, or strain your neck. DO set up a lure if you’re at the Pour House staking out prime real estate for Rainbow Kitten Surprise. You will hatch so many eggs and see so much of wild and wonderful Raleighwood.
More info on Wristband City
Hopscotch Schedule (.pdf)
–Case Sensitive
1 ISAIAH RASHAD “Free Lunch” [Single]
2 LIZZO Big Grrrl Small World- Self-Released
3 DJ KHALED Major Keys
4 C. SHREVE THE PROFESSOR Twenty Sixteens
5 QNC “At The Same Time” [Single]- Ill Adrenaline
6 LIL WAYNE No Ceilings 2
7 COZZ “Knock The Hustle (Remix)” [Single]
8 SKYBLEW The Royal Blew Reverie
9 KING MAGNETIC “Status” [Single]
10 PROFESSOR TOON Take Notes- Cardigan
1 LUNCH DUCHESS My Mom Says I Have A Rich Inner Life
2 DEATH VALLEY GIRLS Glow In The Dark- Burger
3 FIELD MOUSE Episodic- Topshelf
4 JULIE RUIN Hit Reset- Hardly Art
5 HAPPY DIVING Electric Soul Unity- Topshelf
6 SNEEZE ATTACK Fever
7 MITSKI Puberty 2- Dead Oceans
8 WEAVES Weaves- Kanine
9 JERRY PAPER Toon Time Raw!- Bayonet
10 BIG THIEF Masterpiece- Saddle Creek
11 MALE GAZE King Leer- Castle Face
12 ADIA VICTORIA Beyond The Bloodhounds- Canvasback
13 HOCKEY DAD Boronia- Kanine
14 OF MONTREAL Innocence Reaches- Polyvinyl
15 AMBER ARCADES Fading Lines- Heavenly-Pias
16 ANGRY ANGLES Angry Angles- Goner
17 DEAD GAZE Easy Travels- Ernest Jenning
18 CREATIVE ADULT Fear Of Life- Run For Cover
19 AT/ALL Sun Dogs- Self-Released
20 SLOW CLUB One Day All Of This Won’t Matter Anymore- Moshi Moshi
21 EMILY WELLS Promise Thesis- And Instinct
22 SWIVS Gringo Landfill- Self-Released
23 GLOBELAMP The Orange Glow- Wichita
24 KATIE DEY Flood Network- Joy Void
25 KLANGSTOFF We Are Your Receiver [EP]- Mind Of A Genius
26 JAYMAY To Tell The Truth- Self-Released
27 EROS AND THE ESCHATON Weight Of Matter- Bar None
28 HIGH WAISTED On Ludlow- Self-Released
29 THEE OH SEES A Weird Exits- Castle Face
30 HOOPS Hoops [EP]- Fat Possum
Top Adds
1 SNEAKS Gymnastics- Danger
2 ANGEL OLSEN MY WOMAN- Jagjaguwar
3 CASS MCCOMBS Mangy Love- Anti
4 MEGAFAUNA Welcome Home- Self-Released
5 VINYL WILLIAMS Brunei- Company