Starting today, thousands of people will descend on downtown Raleigh for the third incarnation of the “Hopscotch Music Festival”: http://hopscotchmusicfest.com/, happening this weekend.
The lineups have consistently been strong, but there’s one strength to the festival that, to some, isn’t so obvious: Day parties.
Music that runs all day is nothing new on the festival scene, but the way Hopscotch handles it — it’s brilliant. In addition to the ticketed event, the festival offers a bevy of free daytime shows.
There are more than 160 bands playing during the day from Thursday to Saturday — sometimes multiple sets — in addition to the 175 or so acts playing the main event.
Most of the day party bands aren’t even playing the festival proper, so you get almost a completely new bunch of options for entertainment. And after the festival officially ends, there’s yet another party on Sunday at Slim’s.
The parties are free and open to the public, so not scoring a wristband doesn’t mean you can’t have any Hopscotch fun. And by the time you read this, the day party train is probably already pulling away from the station: The first act plays today at noon.
If day parties were a restaurant, it would be an all-you-can-eat buffet — but think swanky cruise ship more than Golden Corral. Like Hopscotch itself, offerings include garage rock, hip-hop, indie pop and Americana. There’s even one dedicated to heavy metal karaoke.
Day parties bring more to the table than a few extra hours of entertainment. For out-of-town guests, the parties give a pretty comprehensive look at the musical talent North Carolina has to offer: Of all the daytime bands, more than half of them hail from North Carolina.
Locals, too, can get a look at North Carolina’s great musical offerings that they had no idea about before. Beyond the bands, it’s a chance to explore some of the many other facets of the world of Triangle music.
Area labels Churchkey Records, Three Lobed Recordings, Trekky Records, DiggUp Tapes and Grip Tapes are all partaking in the partying, as are organizations like PineCone, a council to promote folk art and music.
For the die-hards, the day parties can offer relief to an overpacked nighttime schedule. Passing up Hiss Golden Messenger at Fletcher Opera Theater Friday night in favor of one of the 26 other bands playing at the same time?
No worries, you’ll have three other opportunities to catch a set over the weekend. The same can be said for acts like Roman Candle, William Tyler and Matthew E. White.
At the same time, trying to figure out what you want to see during the day can be another nightmare, and it’s easy to run yourself ragged before the main attraction even begins.
Last year, I missed The Dodos’ early evening set at City Plaza because I was lying on the bench seat of my car, trying to recuperate from six hours of hurrying around downtown Raleigh in the afternoon heat.
My only complaint about this setup is that there are almost too many daytime options. It’s a terrible problem to have. There’s simply too much worth seeing. I’ve said that having a time turner from the Harry Potter universe — a device that allows one to repeat certain blocks of time — would solve all of my show-going quandaries.
I would love to post up at Mecca on Saturday afternoon to watch Megafaun and pals play. But in that same block of time, Airstrip at Kings, and Justin Robinson and the Mary Annettes plays at the Hibernian. So many options, so little time.
There really is something for everyone at this year’s round of day parties, and no matter where you end up, you’re almost guaranteed to see something good.
The daytime festivities may be a little overwhelming, but the reward of great music far outweighs the effort you’ll put in to get it. Are you ready for it?
Contact the desk editor at diversions@dailytarheel.com.
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