Hopscotch 2012 Day 3: Versus, Sunn O)))

All photos by Kevin Norris

New York indie rockers Versus took the stage at the Lincoln Theatre on Saturday night which was dominated by Merge acts (Mac McCaughan and Wye Oak were also on the bill). The band rocked through the first few songs of their set which sounded fantastic.

A little later over at Memorial Auditorium, smoke machines filled the dark venue well before drone metal band Sunn

Hopscotch 2012 Day 3: The Roots, Shirlette & The Dynamite Brothers

Photo by Kevin Norris

Weather was not a friend to the Hopscotch Music Festival on Saturday evening as a strong band of storms rolled through Raleigh forcing crowds to seek shelter in local businesses around City Plaza. The crowd patiently waited and even though Escort set's was canceled, once the rained passed, The Roots stormed the stage.

The band are a true powerhouse both musically and as

Hopscotch 2012 Day 3: Lambchop, Wye Oak

All photos by Kevin Norris

Fletcher Opera Theater is the perfect venue for the current Lampchop tour. The band wants to play as quiet as possible and the theater provided both the acoustics and expectations to make it work.

Early this year at Motorco, Lampchop tried a similar set that was marred by an incessant hum from on of the amps and a chatty crowd. In Fletcher the audio was perfect.

Hopscotch 2012 Day 3: NOBUNNY, Oren Ambarchi

The crowd at Raleigh’s Contemporary Art Museum (CAM) was damp and slightly confused. On stage was a man in a tattered bunny mask wearing nothing but a vest, leather chest strap and black briefs.

As NOBUNNY ripped through their first songs, there was laughter and lots of pointing. It seemed many folks at CAM didn’t know what they were getting into.

NOBUNNY’s lead singer danced around the stage

Hopscotch 2012 Day 3: Megafaun, The dB's, Mount Moriah

Photo by Kevin Norris

One of the most talked about day parties of Hopscotch 2012 was the big Megafaun and Friends party in front of Mecca on Martin Street.

Megafaun were joined by phenomenal guitarist William Tyler for most of the set which included "His Robes," "Heretofore," "Second Friend" and "Get Right." Towards the end of the set, the band were joined by Adam Granduciel of The War on

Hopscotch 2012 Day 2: The dB's

All photos by Kevin Norris

Venerable North Carolina pop rock band The dB's took  the stage at one of the Hopscotch Festival's new venues, Long View Center, late Friday night to play songs from their new album Falling Off the Sky as well as songs from their catalog.

The original four-piece band were accompanied by local singer-songwriter Brett Harris sounded fantastic on classics like "Love is

Hopscotch 2012 Day 2: The Weather Station, Hiss Golden Messenger

Photo by Michael Graham

The Fletcher Opera Theater was full of fantastic folks music on Friday night. Canadian singer-songwriter Tamara Lindeman, aka The Weather Station, and Hiss Golden Messenger featuring Brad and Phil Cook of Megafaun and guitarist William Tyler, stunned crowds with their sets.

Check out photos of The Weather Station and Hiss Golden Messenger below.



Photo by Michael

Hopscotch 2012 Day 2: The Mountain Goats

All photos by Michael Graham

Hopscotch day two ended with an epic two-hour set from The Mountain Goats in Fletcher Opera Theater.

John Darnielle opened with his much anticipated set of metal covers. He sat at the piano and was joined by a trio of backup singers.

Darnielle’s arrangements of Ozzy Osbourne, Gorguts, Nightwish, and more proved that there was beauty beneath the hard exterior of

Hopscotch 2012 Day 2: Naked Gods and Yo La Tengo

Photo by Kevin Norris

It was a good night for rock and roll in Raleigh and the comfortably full Tir Na Nog got some of the best.

Boone's Naked Gods owned the small stage in the Irish pub. Singer Seth Sullivan bashed his tambourine with fury in between verses. Guitarist Derek Wycoff bent his guitar every which away to get it to scream and howl.

While Naked Gods’ robust rock is angular at

Hopscotch 2012 Day 2: Built to Spill, Jesus and Mary Chain

Photo by Kevin Norris

The first main stage show at Hopscotch 2012 was a blast from the past. Hall of fame indie rockers Built to Spill and The Jesus and Mary Chain brought the audience back to the 90’s.

The crowd was packed up to the sound tents when I arrived during Built to Spill. The band’s classic slacker rock sounded good, but the crowd was in a lull. Other than lead singer Doug Martsch,

Hopscotch 2012 Day 2: The Love Language, Lonnie Walker, The Lollipops

All photos by Michael Graham

During the day on Friday, Hopscotch threw a big day party bash in front of the Contemporary Art Museum (CAM) in Raleigh headlined by The Love Language.

The band played a bunch of new material, presumably from their forthcoming album, as well as some classics with a new lineup that featured Ryan Gustafson on guitar, original drummer Tomas Simpson, and Mark Simonsen

Hopscotch 2012 Day 1: Airstrip, Lilac Shadows, Trash Talk

All photos by Kevin Norris

Early on in the first night of Hopscotch, the Berkeley Café was nearly full for the late local band conglomeration, Airstrip. Featuring members of Horseback and Veelee, the quartet features jangly melodies supported by drones and a rumbling rhythm section.



Both catchy and rocking, Airstrip seems poised to be another buzzed about local band.




Two blocks over, I

Hopscotch 2012 Day 1: Matthew E. White, Deerhoof, Liars

All photos by Kevin Norris

In just three years, Hopscotch has become one of the most respected music festivals in the country. One reason for this is the truly unique sets its organizers put together. The first night of Hopscotch 2012 was no exception.

In Fletcher Opera Theater, Matthew E. White and 30 other musicians (including the Triangle’s own Phil Cook) recreated White’s adventurous new

Hopscotch 2012 Day 1: J Roddy Walston & The Business at Tir Na Nog

Photos by Kevin Norris

Maryland rockers J Roddy Walston and the Business brought a little old school rock and roll to the first night of Hopscotch playing to a big, sweaty crowd at Tir Na Nog.

The band jammed away on their classic sounds and frontman Walston noted that the band were playing a bunch of new songs for the crowd who seemed to love every minute of it.  The band also encouraged the

Hopscotch 2012 Day 1: Lilac Shadows at Kings

All photos by Kevin Norris

Carrboro band Lilac Shadows kicked off the 2012 Hopscotch festivities at Kings Barcade. With the aid of some projected psychedelic visuals, the band sounded stellar.

Sam Logan's catchy, dream-like songs felt even more lush live than they do on record and the band were solid. The title track from the band's debut release, the Shallow Madness EP, was particularly

Hopscotch loses Exitmusic, adds four new performers

We knew a few days ago that there was still one blank spot on the Hopscotch schedule but that grew to two after Exitmusic cancelled their set. The good news is that the festival has added four new performers to the lineup which shakes up a few of the club schedules.

The last minute additions are Pictureplane, GDFX, The Psychic Paramount and a solo set by Six Organs of Admittance. All of these

Hopscotch loses a few bands, adds Trash Talk & William Tyler

Hopscotch is about a week away and as to be expected with an event boasting such a large lineup, there are a few last minute changes.

Three bands have recently cancelled their performances, Baroness, Ducktails and Mark McGuire. Two acts have joined the lineup, Trash Talk and William Tyler.

We've updated our PDF version of the schedule to reflect the changes. A replacement for Ducktails at

Hopscotch announces 2012 day parties

The details of the free day parties for the 2012 Hopscotch Music Festival were announced today. There are about 30 day parties in all, more than any previous year, featuring some of the area's biggest bands.

There will be five big official parties, two on Friday, September 7, and three on Saturday, September 8. Here's how those parties break down.

The The Love Language will headline a party at

Hopscotch announces 2012 schedule, speaker series lineup

The 2012 Hopscotch Music is less than two months away and everyone can now start planning their voyage through downtown Raleigh. The schedule is now available and viewable HERE and we also have our own version of the schedule available as a PDF HERE.

The festival also announced this year's Edward McKay Used Books & More Cultural Series which will featuring a bunch of great musicians and writers

Hopscotch announces four artist cancelations & three additions

Azure Ray

There is some bad and good news about the artist lineup for the 2012 Hopscotch Music Festival.

First, the bad news. Four performers, Death Grips, Duchess Says, Strand of Oaks and High Wolf, have cancelled their scheduled performances. The good news is that there are three fantastic new additions to the lineup. Azure Ray, Killer Mike and Baobab will now hit the festival in September.