Diarrhea Planet- Slim’s
Guerrilla Toss- Slim’s
Axxa/Abraxas- Slim’s
Museum Mouth- Slim’s
Drag Sounds- Pour House Music Hall
Category: Blog
De La Soul – City Plaza
Wild Fur – Lincoln Theater
Drag Sounds – Pour House Music Hall
Strange Faces – Tir na Nog
Paperhaus – The Hive
The Tills – Pour House Music Hall
Saint Rich – Tir na Nog
Deniro Ferrar – Kennedy Theater
Lunice – Kennedy Theater
Categories
WKNC’s Hopscotch Schedule Picks
The chaos that is Hopscotch schedule-making is upon us! For those of you struggling more than most (because I assure you that we are all struggling), below you can see where our DJs took highlighter to paper to map out their idea of a “perfect” schedule.
Virginia Werewoolf:
Trillian:
DJ Digiorno:
Slaughterhome:
Magic Kaanch:
Meggs Benedict:
The Walrus:
Less than 24 hours, y’all.
Categories
The Hopscotch Twittersphere
The time is now, and the place is Raleigh, North Carolina. Hopscotch is upon us, and even at this time it doesn’t quite feel real.
So what have you done to prepare? Have you printed out the PDF of the schedule? Have you scribbled your personal itinerary on it? Have you made sense of the vast incomprehensible network of day parties? Did you remember that you aren’t allowed to have backpacks in City Plaza?
All of those hints will get you somewhere, but you’re going to be completely lost if you aren’t following the right Twitter accounts.
Keeping on your Twitter game can make or break your Hopscotch experience. If there’s rain, it will keep you up to date on whether or not outdoor shows are getting delayed. If an act cancels at the last minute, you’ll know about the replacement before anybody. If Danny Brown is taking selfies with fans at the Sheraton bar (true story), you’ll be prepared to fill your phone with some jpegs you’ll never forget.
So let us guide you through a small taste of the accounts to follow, to bring order to the chaos of Hopscotch.
@hopscotchfest – Obviously. The Hopscotch social media has been on point this year, teasing the acts to come and keeping a steady flow of content. Get this account on your timeline for news straight from the source.
@WKNC881 – Obviously we’re going to be covering the festival from every corner we can work our way to. We’ve got numerous, hardworking tweeters posting pics of the best day parties and
@NewRaleigh – Frequently updated and always informative, NewRaleigh is an excellent resource during Hopscotch. They’ve even been a guest on Carolina Grown in the past! Follow them to keep an eye out for Hopscotch news as it develops.
@currincy – One of the original brains responsible for Hopscotch. While he may be from this particular line of work, he’s probably going to be making lots of jokes. You don’t want to miss these jokes.
@Raleighbathroom – This account brings you the highest quality reviews of Raleigh bathrooms you can find anywhere on the internet. While that may be reason enough, the mysterious minds behind this account have gone all-out for Hopscotch in the past. They let you know which venues you want to take your pit stops at, as well as the ones where you may want to just hold it for a while. Accounts like these are the reason we should be thankful to live in the year 2014.
@Hopscotchpartyz – Probably the most fascinating of them all, Hopscotch Partyzzz is an enigma. The mysterious account appears to be no one, but makes fun of everyone. Their ruthless campaign to make jokes is about to kick into high gear once Hopscotch is full underway, and you probably don’t want to miss it.
This is clearly a tiny taste, but the multimedia climate we inhabit is in a constant state of flux and we must be aware. In other words, never stop keeping an eye out for the good tweets in unexpected places. You might be able to catch wind of a Merzbow day party in someone’s basement, or something like that.
There has always been a lot of mystery surrounding The Grapes. They certainly don’t go out of their way to advertise their presence in the music scene. When I first discovered them in the summer of 2012, I had to spend hours scouring the internet for information on this band. The most I could ever find besides their two (known) releases on their bandcamp page was a few music videos, and a live video from a performance at The Cave. The mysteriousness behind the music that I instantly fell in love with only added to their ultra-lofi/DIY image.
If you haven’t heard The Grapes before, I highly encourage you to check out their first two releases.. It was long thought that the band broke up for good in 2012, and having hardly any activity since a reunion show in the summer of 2013, it definitely solidified the rumor amongst their fans. However, the band quietly released a brand new album on September 1st, 2014.
With this latest album, featuring 11 brand new tracks, The Grapes take their music in a new direction. Instead of their usual two piece, nitty-gritty, loud and erratic lofi gold, this album is considerably slower, less noisy, and much more sophisticated musically. Lyrically, we follow the same well spoken (or sung) narrator as he lives his life in college, but still deals with all the same self-loathing and girl related issues he dealt with in high school. The Grapes always offer humor at the foreground of their lyrics, with dark emotional torment sitting right behind. This can be best found in tracks like “Teen Girl Song” and “Frat Boys”.
With the release of this album, the band also welcomes Chris Palmour to join the original members, Jeremy and Brett. I’m very excited to see where the band goes with the release of this album. I can only hope that it includes some shows this fall, but of course, they’ll probably be so secret I won’t even know about them.
Categories
While she may not be the most celebrated local artist in recent memory, Laura Reed may undoubtedly be one of the most successful. While she’s been recently calling Nashville her home, she recently returned to the Triangle and celebrated the release of her latest album The Awakening. But for the past three years, Reed has been working with a group of ridiculously well-known producers like Paul Worley (Dixie Chicks, Lady Antebellum) and Shannon Sanders (Robert Randolph, John Legend, India.Arie) who have helped translate her raw talent into a pristinely polished piece of music.
Bringing a soulful, blues-inspired take on the standard singer-songwriter antics, Laura Reed crafts an intensely passionate sound that feels as broad as it does personal. Throughout the hour Laura spoke at length about her songwriting process, the way working with producers can shape your musical output, and the reasoning for returning to your roots.
Laura performed two tracks from her latest record The Awakening, along with an older track called “Wanna Show You.” Listen to her full interview and performance.
Categories
Artist Profile: The Nervous Ticks (RVA)
The Nervous Ticks are one of the most inventive rock n’ roll bands you’ll find on this coast of the United States. Hailing from Richmond Virginia the three piece consists of guitarist and songwriter Chaz Tick, washtub drummer Kyle Flannagan and backup vocalist/mean maracas/bleep blooping keyboardist Liza Jane.
Originally the bedroom tape project of Chaz the three have created a live band so energetic its frightening–in the best way possible. After growing up in Virginia I had heard about the band a fair amount, seeing the name pop up on social media and fliers occasionally, but had never seen the band until their killer set at last year’s Phuzz Phest (the one of two that wasn’t in the middle of a skate park).
With the ever increasing popularity of the very fluid enigma that is “garage rock” due to quality record labels such as Burger Records and now well known artists such as Ty Segall it can feel like you’ve heard all the variation possible within the limits of the genre. The Nervous Ticks don’t conform to a formulaic approach, unusual rhythm tones and changes as well as interesting keyboard additions make for captivating tunes. Highly recommended.
Catch the Nervous Ticks at 11:00 p.m. at the Hive on Friday.
–Virginia Werewoolf
Categories
Where’s the (Day) Party At?
As Hopscotch draws closer so do all the awesome free day parties. This year there are over 40 official day parties (I counted 45 one time and 46 another so I have no idea how many there actually are).
With so much happening in such a small amount of time it can be a little intimidating trying to figure out which parties to hit. Lucky for you I sat down with my good friend google maps and plotted where the parties are each day and what the walking times are between venues!
WEDNESDAY
There are only three day parities on Wednesday, and they are all about a five minute walk from one another. This will make it super to chill at all of them!
- Lincolin Theatre: 126 E Cabarrus St, Raleigh, NC 27601
- Kings: 14 W Martin St, Raleigh, NC 27601
- The Pour House: 224 S Blount St, Raleigh, NC 27601
THURSDAY
The number of shows doubles on Thursday. Five of the shows are within a five minute walk from each other yet again. The outlier party is at school kids records which is a 55 minute walk from downtown… I would suggest using a car.
- The Hive: 225 S Wilmington St, Raleigh, NC 27601
- Kings: 14 W Martin St, Raleigh, NC 27601
- Pour House: 224 S Blount St, Raleigh, NC 27601
- Slim’s: 227 S Wilmington St, Raleigh, NC 27601
- School Kids: 2237 Avent Ferry Rd #101, Raleigh, NC 27606
- Tir na nog: 218 S Blount St, Raleigh, NC 27601
FRIDAY
The number of day parties ramps up again Friday. As far as I can tell there are two main routes to take on Friday. The first with a car will include 7 minutes of transit time. This route hits the WKNC party at nice price and will be a nice change of pace from all the other Raleigh venues in downtown.
- Raleigh Little Theatre: 301 Pogue Street, Raleigh, NC 27607-7267
- Nice Price Books: 3106 Hillsborough St, Raleigh, NC 27607
- Schoolkids Records: 2237 Avent Ferry Rd #101, Raleigh, NC 27606
The second route is a total of 19 minutes walking around downtown. Here’s the map!
- Deep South the Bar: 430 S Dawson St, Raleigh, NC 27601
- Crank Arm Brewing Company: 319 W Davie St, Raleigh, NC 27601
- CAM Raleigh: 409 W Martin St, Raleigh, NC 27603
- Kings: 14 W Martin St, Raleigh, NC 27601
- Neptune’s Parlour: 14 W Martin St, Raleigh, NC 27601
- The Hive: 225 S Wilmington St, Raleigh, NC 27601
- Slim’s: 227 S Wilmington St, Raleigh, NC 27601
- The Pour House Music Hall: 224 S Blount St, Raleigh, NC 27601
SATURDAY
Saturday features the most day parties. Not included in the map is the Schoolkids party.
- Prisma Video: 804 N West St, Raleigh, NC
- The Architect Bar & Social House: 108 ½ E Hargett St, Raleigh, NC 27601
- Deep South the Bar: 430 S Dawson St, Raleigh, NC 27601
- The Hive: 225 S Wilmington St, Raleigh, NC 27601
- Humble Pie: 317 S Harrington St, Raleigh, NC 27603
- Kings: 14 W Martin St, Raleigh, NC 27601
- Legends Nightclub: 330 W Hargett St, Raleigh, NC 27601
- Pearson street plaza lot
- The Pour House Music Hall: 224 S Blount St, Raleigh, NC 27601
- Slim’s: 227 S Wilmington St, Raleigh, NC 27601
- Tír na nÓg Irish Pub: 218 S Blount St, Raleigh, NC 27601
- Warehouse district
- Favetteville and Davie street
- Schoolkids Records: 2237 Avent Ferry Rd #101, Raleigh, NC 27606
SUNDAY
Two day parties are happening on Sunday and it’ll only take you 3 minutes to walk from one to the other.
- Slim’s: 227 S Wilmington St, Raleigh, NC 27601
- The Pour House Music Hall: 224 S Blount St, Raleigh, NC 27601
Categories
WKNC’s Hopscotch Schedule
You said you would listen to every band playing Hopscotch back in April when the lineup was released, but now the festival is a week away and you still have no idea what shows you’re hitting up. Not to worry though, WKNC has you covered!
Download our color coded schedule and key to determine what shows best suit your music taste. Although the bands are organized by genre, the key is designed to help you explore a wider range of music. An important part of Hopscotch is branching out from your typical music taste and discovering new artists that you may not have thought you would enjoy.
Each genre of music playing the festival (Electronic, Hip Hop, Experimental, Punk/Garage, Folk/Alt-Country, Metal, Indie/Rock) is divided up into two subgenres in our schedule, with three songs each that represent their overall style of music. Read the short description and listen to the three songs to determine if you would enjoy seeing shows from that specific list. We encourage you not to skip out on any of the genres you typically glance over because Hopscotch is known for drawing in the best of the best underground music. Once you’ve sampled them all, print out the schedule and start planning your route.
Good luck!
WKNC Hopscotch Schedule
WKNC Hopscotch Key
Thursday:
I’m ready to kick off Thursday evening with the grooves and rhythms of Professor Toon & the Real Laww and then De La Soul at City Plaza. I may duck out a bit early to catch some contemporary Americana sounds from Wild Fur at Lincoln Theater. Later, I’ll make my way to one of my favorite spots in Raleigh, Tir na nOg Irish pub, to see what quirky complexities Blanko Basnet has in store for the Hopscotch crowd. I’ll do my best to catch some of Marley Carroll’s electronic set at Kennedy Theater, then finish off my exhausting first night with the Vermonty free folk of MV & EE at the Hive.
Friday:
My Hopscotch night number two will be just as incredibly packed, starting with the stellar City Plaza line up of NC-natives Lonnie Walker, the ever-immaculate St. Vincent, and forever-rockin’ Spoon. This City Plaza line up is my most anticipated of the festival. From there, I’ll make my way to CAM Raleigh to see local music heroes GHOSTT BLLONDE.Next up is more of the complex rhythms I crave with Celestial Shore at Fletcher Opera Theater. Finally, I’ll make my way back to Tir na nOg to see Mapei, who is coming all the way from wonderful Sweden to rock Raleigh.
Saturday:
With any and all energy I have remaining, I’ll be back out in full force on Saturday night. I’m anticipating the later shows Saturday, but will still check out City Plaza for Valient Thorr, Death, and Mastodon. I am eager for sassy girl pop from See Gulls at Deep South Bar followed by cool folk from Weyes Blood and then fun jams from Ava Luna as I camp out at Tir na nOg for a while. Closing out a fantastic three days, I’ll be at CAM Raleigh for soothing electronic melodies from How to Dress Well and Jamie XX.
Note: In between all these shows, you’re sure to spot me on a bicycle of sorts, since the most fun distance between two points is a bike ride.
See you there, Hopscotch’ers!