Fans of Hopscotch Music Festival have anxiously waited for this upcoming weekend for a year now. The Raleigh based music festival has prepared for its fourth installment since last year’s festival ended, and with each subsequent year the hype builds higher for the festival. 

With 60,000 fans attending the festival since its inception, Hopscotch was touted as one of the most promising festivals in the country—high praise for an event that draws over a quarter of its roster from the North Carolina music scene.

As a matter of fact, Hopscotch’s local focus is one of the big draws for the festival. While the organizers kept it local for the first year out of necessity, most of their praise came from the incredible spotlight that the event provided for North Carolina artists. Since its inception the festival has showcased a wide variety of local acts at some of the most exciting venues throughout downtown Raleigh. 

Local hip-hop, electronica, indie, folk and metal been displayed throughout the past three years at venues ranging from the intimate Berkeley Café to the gorgeous Memorial Auditorium.

Hopscotch spans throughout downtown Raleigh and takes place throughout 15 different venues during three days. The festival frequently draws comparisons to events like South By Southwest, a week-long event held in Austin, Tex. that’s known for its marathon style of scheduling. Much like its southwestern counterpart, Hopscotch begins with free day parties that begin at noon and festival-goers “hop” from venue to venue until the evening’s festivities kick-off.

This year artists like Big Boi, Spiritualized, The Breeders and Local Natives were slated to headline, but when the festival’s marquee act Big Boi had to cancel fans began to wonder how Hopscotch would recover. Instead of floundering over the loss of such a high-profile headliner, the festival brought in two exciting dance acts to replace the southern hip-hop icon. A-Trak and Holy Ghost! bring an invigorating blend of electronic music to City Plaza, the festival’s designated venue for their headliners. Streets are closed down and downtown Raleigh suddenly feels like a densely packed community of like-minded festival attendees that become encapsulated in music of all varieties.

Hopscotch prides itself in its diversity, acts like Japan’s noise-rock legend Merzbow will perform blocks away from acclaimed bluegrass acts like Chatham County Line while indie-rock bands like The Rosebuds are filling Memorial Auditorium and covering Sade’s 1992 album, Love Deluxe.

Special sets like The Rosebuds’ can be found all throughout the festival. Local favorites Mount Moriah will perform their entire discography at Fletcher Opera Hall on Friday, the same venue where The Mountain Goats performed a set of piano-based metal covers last year. 

Hopscotch breeds a collaborative environment and encourages artists to work together to create something new and beautiful. Case in point, Sylvan Esso. Sylvan Esso is one of this year’s most promising acts that ironically enough made their debut at last year’s Hopscotch as a surprise collaboration. The duo features Nick Sanborn of Megafaun and Amelia Meath of Mountain Man, had it not been for Hopscotch these two 

Hopscotch provides a tightly packed community concert-goers can immerse themselves in. Thousands flock from all over the country to be captured in this snapshot of the North Carolina music scene. Local artists perform alongside those with international acclaim, melding together into one beautiful amalgamation of acts.

This year’s festival kicks off tonight and tickets are still on-sale at a variety of levels. Three-day passes cost $125 while 1-day passed cost $65. Alternatively, tickets for City Plaza shows only are available for $40.