1 SULPHUR AEON Gateway To The Antisphere- Van 2 DARK SERMON The Oracle- eOne 3 DECAPITATED Blood Montra- Nuclear Blast 4 VEKTOR Terminal Redux- Earache 5 INSOMNIUM Since The Day It All Came Down- Candlelight 6 AVANTASIA Ghostlights- Nuclear Blast 7 OVERKILL Years Of Decay 8 MISERY SIGNALS Luminary 9 BLUT AUS NORD Axis 10 TO THE WIND Block Out The Sun And Sleep
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1 TESSERACT Errai [EP] 2 SLAVES ON DOPE Horse- ILS 3 TESTAMENT “Brotherhood Of The Snake” [Single] 4 SOLUTION .45 Nightmares In The Waking State: Part 1- AFM 5 INQUISITION Bloodshed Across The Empyrean Altar Beyond The Celestial Zenith- Season of Mist
It’s official, Hopscotch is upon us, and 2016’s lineup is so lit that you’ll be talking about it until next festival season. However, most of the venues wrap up at around 12:30am, which leaves you with about an hour-and-a-half of prime party time in the Oak City. There are plenty of places to keep the party poppin’, but check out these spots to make sure that you really end the night right.
Level Up Kitchen & Barcadium
126 S. Salisbury St.
Prices: $$$
Yes, there is another bigger barcade in Raleigh at Boxcar, but everyone from the age of 21 to 35 knows about it and goes to it. Therefore it’s always packed, and sometimes isn’t even fun. Enter, Level Up Kitchen & Barcadium which is right off Fayetteville Street, in prime bar hopping territory. They’ve got all the classic standup arcade games from your childhood, and seldom do you have to do battle with drunken frat boys to play. On top of that, they have a bangin’ menu and a great selection of craft beers. Boxcar has a crappy food cart outside, with chicken shwarma that tastes like dysentery, not what you need after a night of raging to dope music. Need a lil break from games? Downstairs from Level Up is a taco bar by the same owners, that serves up fresh and delicious creations folded into tortillas, and one of the best damned margaritas in the Triangle.
This place is all class, and is the perfect spot to just unwind at the end of the night. If you’ve had enough of the screaming crowds of Hopscotch, and want to duck into a spot for a nice quiet drink, Fox’s is your unparalleled destination. This is one of Ashley Christensen’s creations, so you know the drink list is on point. They specialize in craft cocktails made by real and competent bartenders. Your wait time for a drink will be a little longer than your average meat market bar, but what you get at the end of the wait is a real treat. If you’re a Long Island Ice Tea enthusiast, you won’t get this place, so don’t bother; but if you can appreciate a perfect Woodford Manhattan with burnt orange, stirred and served up, this is where you need to be.
Ruby Deluxe is great if you’re looking for a cool dive bar. There’s a rumor that it’s a gay bar (which it’s not), so it keeps the obnoxious frat boys at their end of Fayetteville St. at Capital City Tavern. If Hopscotch got you feeling like you need to dance the rest of the night away, hit up this spot. The DJs who work here are prime, and are some of Raleigh’s most respected, including DJ Luxe Posh, WKNC alum DJ Sami Automatic, and Kooley High’s DJ Ill Digitz. Drinks are inexpensive as well. Cheap drinks? Good music? Nuff said.
****Bonus Brunch Spot****
Beasley’s Chicken & Honey
237 S. Wilmignton St.
Prices: $$$
More like Chicken & Money. Bruh…. This place kills. That girl Ashley Christensen goes in on this place! They serve brunch on Saturday and Sunday, and if Hopscotch mornings have you feeling like a mere mortal in the face of alcohol’s side effects, Beasley’s will get you back to flexing like Yeezus on some “I Am a God,” sh**! It should be mandatory to order their chicken & waffles, and their pimento mac & cheese seriously makes you want to smack someone it’s so good. Wash it down with an old school glass bottle RC Cola or Nehi orange soda, or even a mimosa, and get back out there to tackle Hopscotch.
Thankfully, despite NC’s HB2, many Raleigh businesses and buildings are offering gender neutral restrooms. This is especially useful to know where to find these throughout downtown during Hopscotch. Everyone should be comfortable at Hopscotch!!!
The Raleigh Convention Center has four gender neutral restrooms. This is where Wristband City is located, as well as Flatstock and Recordscotch
Several venues will be offering gender neutral restrooms, and this list is not all inclusive but include:
Red Hat Amphitheater
Deep South
Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts (Fletcher Opera Theater)
*Pour House Music Hall stated they do not have designated gender neutral restrooms, however patrons are welcome to use whichever restroom they feel comfortable using.
Several restaurants and bars in downtown also offer gender neutral restrooms, however to use them you of course have to be eating there. They are:
Beasley’s Chicken + Honey
Bridge Club
Chuck’s
Death & Taxes
Fox Liquor Bar
Joule
Pool’s
*This isn’t by all means a full list, just the businesses that were willing to answer their phones or emails. I will try to post an updated article after Hopscotch Night 1 with other venues I’ll visit.
Believe it or not, there *is* a more correct way to write about music. Recently, the world of music journalism has experienced a push in the right direct to write about music more inclusively. Here is a quick, non-exhaustive list of a few do’s and don’ts on how to cover festivals, concerts, and artist profiles without alienating your audience or smearing the artist:
DON’T say “girl band” This should be an easy one. Just because a band is comprised of all women, one woman, two women, three women, or however many women, they are not a “girl band.” They are a band. If you feel the compulsion to use the term “girl band,” ask yourself, “Would I call a band of all men a Man Band?” No, you wouldn’t. Because that sounds dumb. Some people believe it to be progressive to highlight that a band is made up of all women or even has one single woman in it. Just simply writing about them (in a non-tokenizing way) gives them the exposure they otherwise wouldn’t have in a heavily patriarchal industry. Basically, don’t tokenize the identities of artists, whether they be women, non-binary individuals, or any form of gender non-conformity.
DON’T use the word “queer” unless it is an explicit self-identifier Not all people who aren’t heterosexual identify as queer. “Queer” is a term that has a long, notorious history of being a pejorative phrase, especially towards trans-feminine individuals. However, some people have taken upon reclaiming the phrase to describe their sexuality and gender identity. And that’s fine! That’s awesome! But, if you’re writing about an artist that has made their sexual or gender identity known to the public, do NOT immediately use the word “queer.” If at all possible, reach out to the artist to learn what terms they are comfortable being identified as. If the artist is apart of the LGBTQ+ community, they are not immediately queer. Only use the terms you know they are comfortable with.
DO write about non-male artists and artists of color As mentioned before, highlighting artists who are often alienated from specific music scenes can do a lot to overturn racist, transphobic, and sexist ideologies that permeate in the industry. Make it a priority to write about non-white, non-male artists. This is not to say to tokenize these individuals, or make only a surface-level, symbolic effort to include these individuals. DON’T develop a savior complex through your writing. This is not “the least you can do” to combat discrimination, and I wouldn’t even call this activism. It’s just important to give people of color and non-men in music their recognition in an industry that has turned against them. Art, in all its forms, is used and experienced by all types of people, and coverage of these artists who wouldn’t normally have this recognition is necessary. A person’s race, ethnicity, or gender does not speak for them entirely, though it is a large part of their self-expression and identity. Step outside of your “comfort zone” and give 4 piece bands made of white dudes a break for awhile. There’s so much more out there.
DO use your words I don’t know how many times I’ve seen electronic artists described as “synthy” or non-commercial (indie) rock bands described as “dreamy.” It can get pretty monotonous, not to mention annoying, pretty fast. This is absolutely just me being nit-picky, but there are many more adjectives out there to describe a band’s sound than the above.
Other no no’s (because I am an asshole): lo-fi: The fact that an artist does not have high quality recordings does not indicate in any way what they would sound like. This does not help me at all. Wavves’ King of the Beach and Neutral Milk Hotel’s In The Aeroplane Over The Sea don’t sound anything alike, but both albums have a lower quality of recording. Calling an act “lo-fi” is fine, but please add a few more genre-indicative phrases along with it. bedroom pop: A lot of people make music in their bedrooms!!! Maybe I just hate this description because it’s been mercilessly thrown at every indie artist with a Bandcamp without regard to their sound. Please only use this term if the music is actually poppy and lo-fi. Otherwise there is literally no reason to use either “bedroom” or “pop” in your description. beep-boops: This definitely comes with less serious music journalism. Like, I definitely wouldn’t see this word in a Pitchfork write up (I pray I wouldn’t, at least). But if you’re doing a pretty informal write-up about an electronic artist and feel the need to describe a sound they make as “beeps” and “boops,” I implore you not to. I always found this phrasing pretty reductionist (and annoying, but that’s not the reason I don’t think you should use it. I’m annoying too).
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!
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.
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, localRoss 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
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!
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!
