At Hopscotch, Newcomer and Veteran Festivalgoers Alike See the Light

“We need something like this.”

That’s what a friend of mine from our mutual home of Columbia, South Carolina, said to me when I ran into him outside City Plaza during the third and final day of this year’s Hopscotch Music Festival in Raleigh, as the hypnotic slacker rock tones of Indigo De Souza reverberated through downtown.

“Not many places have something like this,” I replied.

Now in its 14th year and fourth iteration since taking a one-year COVID pause, Hopscotch has been ramping back up, a little more, with each passing year. After one year with just two outdoor main stages, it brought back a couple of club venues in 2022. It expanded to eight clubs in 2023 , beginning to reclaim the prismatic onslaught of sounds and spaces the festival reliably flexed in its 2010s heyday.

As I bounced around this weekend, there were many overwhelming performances, many compelling throughlines connecting the music I was hearing, many festival veterans and newcomers beaming in the face of transcendent experiences.

All of which left me with one conclusion: Hopscotch is so back.

This evaluation became more emphatic during a run of acts Saturday evening that rivals any night I’ve had in my 12 previous Hopscotch outings.

Durand Jones delivered jazz-rock with sizzle and swagger. Wednesday pushed Karly Hartzman’s folk-ish quietude and feral punk fervor to thrilling extremes, as the singer wryly observed that many 40-somethings were hanging on for the last part of the band’s set in Moore Square during indie rock perennials Guided By Voices’ set in City Plaza (“Don’t you guys have somewhere to be?” she quipped.)

On the flip side, Guided By Voices’ Robert Pollard joked about the City Plaza crowd’s youth, kicking off one tune by saying, “Here’s a song you might remember from the third grade,” as the band’s thunderous rock ‘n’ roll strutting rang out as true as ever. Post-hardcore icons The Jesus Lizard, about to release their first album in 26 years next week, sneered and veered with a youthful churlishness that belied the wrinkles on their faces, with singer David Yow singing much of the first song while being held aloft crowd-surfing.

St. Vincent was also in signature form during the night’s headlining set, colliding high-fashion pop and sharply angular garage rock, and amping up the impact with excellent stage production, as a barrage of engaging lighting and visuals accompanied her set.

INDY coverage of acts at this year’s Hopscotch

Heading out into the clubs, things went splendidly far afield. Dub pioneer Scientist set up at the sound booth in Lincoln Theatre, filling the room with sumptuous undulating vibes. Durham’s own Magic Tuber String Band stretched old-time into the ethereal sound of dreams in Nash Hall— set up in the round, the church venue is a beautiful and intimate space for experimental performances that further sets Hopscotch apart.

And ’70s Zambian legends WITCH jammed their intricately percolating Zamrock with undying enthusiasm, still fighting the good fight with unwavering conviction after all these years.

Not many festivals can match the dynamic array of high-level music I experienced Saturday night. And there were other memorable highlights.

Thursday’s Moore Square lineup let modern rap ring out triumphantly and scathingly through downtown Raleigh, as acts like Jooselord, Previous Industries and JPEGMafia made their mark on the main stage.

On Friday, my evening dissolved into a satisfying haze of jazzy jamming and trance-inducing experimental music thanks to the likes of BADBADNOTGOOD, Delver, Edsel Axle, Taper’s Choice, and Niecy Blues.

The festival overflowed with energy and ideas in a way it hasn’t yet this decade, and that spilled over into the day parties, long an essential part of the Hopscotch experience. This year, the day celebrations were everywhere, pushing out from the festival’s downtown core to activate a wonderful array of spaces including neighborhood bars and hotel patios.

And the festival’s perennial day parties remain in good form, Three Lobed Recordings/Smashed Plastic/WXDU Annual Ritual of Summoning and the Churchkey Records/The Layabout’s ¡Que Viva! bash brought welcome returns from longtime Triangle rockers and punks (Spider Bags, Pipe), while the Ritual of Summoning continued pushing the festival’s experimental boundaries.

Zooming out, I don’t, in my heart of hearts, feel Hopscotch has quite returned to the level of its 2010s prime. It still doesn’t delve as far as it once did into experimental and heavy music, particularly in the realms of metal and punk, and having settled into more of a routine as a stable business, it doesn’t have the chaotic energy that coursed through its early outings.

But I must also admit that part of what I’m longing for when I look back at those past Hopscotches is being in my 20s, racing around Raleigh, discovering sounds electrically new to me. I’m sure a few new 20-somethings had such a galvanizing experience this weekend.

How lucky are they to have such a festival to get them started. How lucky are we to have Hopscotch to keep returning to, year after year.

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