After covering the two previous Hopscotch Music Festivals, and mapping out the blog’s schedule for attending this year’s festival, I can safely say that the biggest reoccurring theme, outside hangovers and sleep deprivation, seems to be CME, or continuing musical education for the non-acronym inclined. See, what you guys may not realize is the festival is actually the bittersweet end to a process that starts months earlier, and is the culmination of hours spent combing through hundreds of Bandcamp and Soundcloud pages, looking for those needle-in-the-haystack type bands that may be unknown in September, but beeping massive come this time next year (see our previous coverage of Best Coast, Toro y Moi, and Washed Out.)
This year has turned out to be the most exciting lineup yet – after an ill-advised moment of disappointment when the initial lineup came out, we now have been officially schooled. After learning the awesome, but under-the-radar, bands that comprise this year’s lineup, we will not pass judgment before doing our homework in advance again. Pinky swear.
See the path we recommend you take below – and get ready for our tweets, Facebook posts, and a full wrap up of each day after we drag ourselves out of bed at the crack of noon the next day.
Thursday, September 6th
9:00 - Lilac Shadows @ Berkeley Cafe
9:30 - Airstrip @ Kings Barcade
10:00 - Deerhoof @ Memorial Auditorium
11:00 - Lizzy Ross Band @ Deep South
11:30 - Matthew E. White @ Fletcher Opera House
12:00 - Delicate Steve @ White Collar Crime
12:30 - Exitmusic @ Kings Barcade
Friday, September 7th
5:45 - Zammuto @ City Plaza
6:55 - Built to Spill @ City Plaza
8:30 - MAKE @ Kings Barcade
8:45 - The Jesus And Mary Chain @ City Plaza
9:00 - The Future Kings of Nowhere @ Tir Na Nog
10:30 - Wowser Bowser @ CAM Raleigh
11:00 - Azure Ray @ Longview Center
11:30 - Zola Jesus @ Lincoln Theatre
12:00 - Sister Crayon @ White Collar Crime
12:30 - Dan Deacon @ Pour House
Saturday, September 8th
5:45 - Shirlette & The Dynamite Brothers @ City Plaza
6:55 - Escort @ City Plaza
8:30 - The Roots @ City Plaza
9:30 - Shark Quest @ Kings Barcade
10:00 - The Band In Heaven @ Tir Na Nog
10:30 - Nerves Junior @ Kings Barcade
11:00 - Secret Cities @ Longview Center
11:30 - Danny Brown @ CAM Raleigh
12:00 - Class Actress @ The Hive
12:30 - Wye Oak @ Lincoln Theatre