Kool Thing of the Week # 5: Hopscotch Music Festival

For the third consecutive year, downtown Raleigh is gearing up for the Hopscotch Music Festival, which kicks off this Thursday evening. Started in 2010 by the Independent Weekly, the 2012 edition of the event will be the largest yet, featuring  175 acts from a wide array of musical genres at 15 venues around Raleigh. The festival, as its name suggests, is all about hopping from one show to another, as the schedule features a veritable smorgasbord of offerings for your musical enjoyment. Festivalgoers have the chance to see some of the capital city’s finest venues, ranging from Raleigh Memorial Auditorium, to the Contemporary Art Museum, to local hangouts like Kings and Slim’s.  Headliners The Roots, The Jesus and Mary Chain, and Built to Spill will play at the City Plaza stage outdoors in the middle of Fayetteville Street. While the main festival runs during the evenings from Thursday to Saturday, day parties in the downtown area kick off around noon each day and will feature plenty of music, fellowship, and in some cases, food (score).  For the more intellectually-minded, visit one of the panels at the Edward McKay Used Books & More Cultural Series, which will take place at the Raleigh City Museum at 3pm each afternoon.

Having attended the previous two iterations of the festival, I can say without reservation that it’s a pretty awesome experience. Whether it was seeing Chapel Hill band Embarrassing Fruits play twice in one day or witnessing Guided By Voices tear it up on the City Plaza stage with the glistening Raleigh skyline behind me, Hopscotch has provided me with a boatload incredible memories in just two short years of existence. It’s a wonderful showcase for downtown Raleigh and all the exciting music that’s being made in the Triangle, yet it also provides a great opportunity to see talented acts from all over the world. Organizers have done a stand-up job in crafting the lineup so that, while choosing which bands to see is no easy task, the high quality of the options ensures that you really can’t go wrong no matter which course you decide on.

For more info, check out the Festival website: http://hopscotchmusicfest.com/

Oldies Corner 
In honor of Hopscotch, I thought I'd post a video from one of my favorite bands who will be performing at this year's Festival--the pride of Boise, Built to Spill. This here is a live version of the song "Stop the Show," which appeared on the near-perfect Perfect From Now On, an album released way back in 1997. I've seen Built to Spill live two or three times before, but I'm still really looking forward to seeing them again this Friday at City Plaza. So, rock out and enjoy.