After a two-year hiatus thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, Hopscotch Music Festival is back. The late-summer festival is a treat for every NC-based music fan, typically featuring a lineup of local artists and a couple big names. Although things look a little different this year — namely, Hopscotch is requiring vaccinations or a negative COVID test within 72 hours of entry — the downtown Raleigh-based festival is a great place to see up-and-coming artists and enjoy live music again, finally.
The lineup may be a little smaller this year than in years past, but the featured talent is as unique and brilliant as it ever was. On Thursday night alone, eight artists will take the stage across the festival’s two venues: Moore Square and City Plaza. Patois Counselors will be Hopscotch’s debut after two years of radio silence, and the night will end with art pop queen Caroline Polachek.
Hippo Campus, arguably the biggest artist slated to make an appearance at Hopscotch, performs in City Plaza on Thursday night at 7:45 p.m. Known for their hits “Buttercup” and “Bambi,” Hippo Campus has taken the indie-pop world by storm in recent years. Their latest release, “Good Dog, Bad Dream,” has received mixed reviews from critics, but they’ll be sure to perform some of their top hits in Raleigh and take their listeners right back to 2017.
Later on Thursday, Caroline Polachek takes the City Plaza stage to perform the last set of the night. Polachek is no stranger to the music scene — she’s been involved in the industry for years, co-founding the band Chairlift in 2005. Despite breaking up in 2017, Polachek has worked with Blood Orange and Charli XCX during her solo career and has experienced moderate success with hits “So Hot You’re Hurting My Feelings” and “Door.”
Asheville-based Wednesday will also be performing on Thursday evening, taking the Moore Square stage at 5:15 p.m. Although not as well-known as the likes of Hippo Campus and Polachek, Wednesday has entered the ‘90s nostalgia music scene with extremely relatable music about the highs and lows of small-town suburbia.
Friday afternoon and evening bring another eight acts to Moore Square and City Plaza, with genres ranging from psychedelic rock to country. Dr. Dog performs at 8:45 p.m. at Moore Square — in fact, the Philadelphia-based rock band will be performing at Hopscotch as part of their farewell tour. Expect plenty of die-hard Dr. Dog fans to be vying for a front-row spot to see one of their favorite bands perform together for the last time.
The Dead Tongues, a.k.a. singer-songwriter and musician Ryan Gustafon, also makes an appearance at Moore Square Friday night. Gustafon has performed at Hopscotch before, although this time he’ll be promoting his newest album, “Transfiguration Blues.” The bluegrass album takes the listener right to the ranges of North Carolina or elsewhere, and listeners will surely delight in his easy-listening tunes.
The last set of Friday night belongs to Flying Lotus, an LA-based record producer, DJ and rapper. Dabbling in mostly genres of electronic and hip-hop, Flying Lotus got his start via Adult Swim’s song submissions in the mid-2000s and founded the record label Brainfeeder. His latest release “Yasuke” received considerable praise from Pitchfork for an album that leads listeners to reevaluate the limits of electronic music.
Saturday, the final day of the festival, brings the largest lineup: 12 artists will perform across over nine hours. Leslie Robbin-Coker, better known by his stage name Lesthegenius, will be one of the first to perform. Robbin-Coker, who rose in popularity in December 2019 after his song “Raleighwood” featuring Sonny Miles and Jaxon Free made former President Barack Obama’s list of favorite tracks of 2019. Since then, Robbin-Coker has released a slew of singles centering around jazz-inspired rap and hip-hop.
Hannah Jagadu, an NYC-based artist who has recently jumped on the bedroom-pop scene, will perform in City Plaza at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday. Jagadu records and produces all of her music on her iPhone 7, but that doesn’t mean the music is low-quality in the least — her lovely sleeper hits are reminiscent of bigger indie names in the industry.
The ultimate act of the festival is slated to be Animal Collective, a performance that all attendees will surely not want to miss. The Baltimore-based experimental pop group has collected a cult indie following after creating weird and wacky tracks — most notably, their 2009 album “Merriweather Post Pavilion” is full of them.
Whether you’re going to Hopscotch for one act or to listen to a variety of new artists, you’re sure to see some impressive talent all the same. From psychedelic pop to hard rock to country and bluegrass, there will likely be something for everyone this weekend in downtown Raleigh.
