Photos by Jeff Reeves

If The Lollipops was Raleigh’s best kept secret, it wasn’t a secret for very long.

In May of this year, the first collection of songs from Ignatius “Iggy” Cosky, frontman for The Lollipops, hit online music store Bandcamp and began spreading like a wildfire.

A so-called EP, the 14-track “Pop Narcotics” quickly grabbed the attention of locally run DiggUp Tape, who re-sequenced the album for a re-release in August.

If it’s any indication of the fervor through which “Pop Narcotics” was distributed, an early version of the EP starts off with the track “Betty Skelton,” while the version offered on Iggy’s Bandcamp page kicks off with “Take This Knife,” and the DiggUp Tapes version of the album begins with “Black Tar Carpet Ride.”

Suffice it to say, “Pop Narcotics” spread before Iggy or the label could ever “officially” sequence the EP.

Less than a month later, he already had a new collection of songs ready for release in “Your Royal Masochist & The Love Crusades,” further carving his place in Triangle music lore.

Photos by Pat Shehan

Megafaun & Friends took over Martin Street for a day party, while Merge Records’ Versus took the stage at Lincoln Theatre for Hopscotch’s final night.

Joined on stage by guitarist William Tyler, The War on Drugs frontman Adam Granduciel and improvisational drummer Chris Corsano, Durham’s Megafaun headlined a day party that consumed Martin Street between Fayetteville and Wilmington.

Photos by Pat Shehan

Both headlining shows in the Progress Energy Center for Performing Arts during the second night of Hopscotch, Yo La Tengo and The Mountain Goats could not have played more different sets during the annuals set.

While Yo La Tengo was, well, simply Yo La Tengo during their set in Memorial Auditorium, The Mountain Goats offered a truly unique experience.

The Mountain Goats, joined by a three-man choir, played an all-metal covers set on a grand piano. The metal set was then followed by a set comprised of mostly “b-sides” and “rareities.”

Photos by Jeff Reeves

For several folks, Zola Jesus was the axis around which they scheduled their Hopscotch weekends. And when the diminutive-sized lo-fi, Goth rock singer took the stage at Lincoln Theatre, she commanded a presence — never letting up and far from disappointing.

Photographer Jeff Reeves shared his shots from that show.

Photos by Logan Sayles

Between the day parties, POSTERscotch, HOOPscotch, SHOPscotch, the Hepcat Bike Race, City Plaza shows, cultural talk and the club shows book ending each evening, the Hopscotch Music Festival packs three days full of more activities than any one person can possibly experience.

Photographer/videographer/record label owner/music curator/all-around awesome guy Logan Sayles shares his shots from the three-day fest that consumed Downtown Raleigh.

Photos by Logan Sayles

San Francisco-based Deerhoof took the stage at Memorial Auditorium clad in ruffled shirts during the Hopscotch Music Festival.

Photographer/videographer/record label owner/music curator/all-around awesome guy Logan Sayles shares his shots from the three-day fest that consumed Downtown Raleigh.

Photos by Logan Sayles

While the music is certainly the star of Hopscotch, the vibe and people the entire festival brings to the City is incomparable.

Photographer/videographer/record label owner/music curator/all-around awesome guy Logan Sayles shares his shots from the three-day fest that consumed Downtown Raleigh.

Photos by Jake Seaton
Review by Chris Cowperthwaite 

Saturday night, The Roots helped close out the 2012 Hopscotch Music Festival in style, playing a boisterous rain-delayed set on Fayetteville Street in downtown Raleigh.

The only other time I’ve had the opportunity to see them live was nearly 10 years ago, for a sweltering mid-day show in the middle of a field at the second Bonnaroo. The two situations couldn’t have been more different, but the results were the exact same: I walked away with a huge grin, and my throat was scratchy from roaring my approval alongside thousands of fans.

By eschewing turntables and playing all their own instruments, The Roots approach hip-hop differently than pretty much everyone else out there.

They are absolute masters of working the crowd: from the moment they take the stage until the moment they walk off, The Legendary Roots Crew’s number one goal is to entertain. Drummer Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson exudes energy from his perch overlooking the rest of the band, and it is always fun to watch sousaphone player Damon “Tuba Gooding Jr.” Bryson stalk back and forth across the stage.

The Roots charged out of the gate for their headlining set, starting off with a cover of the Beastie Boys’ classic “Paul Revere.” The famously-partisan Philadelphia natives did justice to some of New York City’s favorite sons by dedicating the song to the late Adam “MCA” Yauch.

From there, they launched into a rapid-fire set of Roots Crew classics mixed with a healthy dose of unexpected covers. My highlights included hits like “The Seed (2.0)” and “Thought at Work” off their critically acclaimed 2002 album Phrenology.

They delivered in typical Roots fashion, band members doing little choreographed dances while they played. For a hip-hop act, they even let guitar player “Captain” Kirk Douglas show off his chops with a blistering solo during a cover of GNR’s “Sweet Child O’ Mine.”

This band may be 25 years old, but its members attack their shows with a fresh enthusiasm that rubs off on everyone around them — and The Roots love getting the audience involved with calls and responses.

Emcee Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter asked the crowd over and over again, “Can you dig it?” The answer was always a resounding ‘yes.’

Photo & Review by Chris Cowperthwaite

You know that moment when you’re rocking so hard that you fall off your perch behind the drum kit? Wait, you don’t? Well, then you are obviously not Zack Mexico drummer Joey LaFountaine.

The Kill Devil Hills-based band opened night two of the Hopscotch Music Festival with a mix of psychedelic surf rock and punk at the Contemporary Art Museum in Raleigh.

Many of their songs start off with a laid back feel, guitars strumming familiar surf pop patterns; but they all eventually pivot to their own brand of up-tempo garage enthusiasm.

My personal highlight was “My Baby Has X-Ray Vision,” but really, the entire set was entertaining — from the random horse in the crowd to the parade of songs that had high-octane hints of the Pulp Fiction soundtrack.

Even the band’s outfits were worth mentioning — between LaFountain’s caveman motif and lead singer John Saturley’s shiny MC Hammer pants.

There were only two things to be disappointed with during their set. First, guitar player Matt Wentz was plagued with technical difficulties, spending much of the night fiddling with his pedals. Second, Saturley tried to throw his guitar into the CAM rafters several times during the last song (while LaFountaine was busy falling off his rock throne), but could never quite get it far enough.

I think we were all rooting for it to make it all the way across the beam and dangle from its cable, but alas, it kept falling just shy.

As the band was wrapping up their set at the Contemporary Art Museum, Zack Mexico drummer Joey LaFountaine rocks so hard that he falls off his drum throne.

Photo & Review by Chris Cowperthwaite

One of my favorite things about the Hopscotch Music Festival is that the best laid plans never seem to quite turn out the way you expect.

While I freely admit I hadn’t put in nearly as much pre-festival research for 2012 as I did for 2011, I did have a schedule that I intended to follow on night one. Needless to say, that didn’t last long.

As a matter of fact, I didn’t see a single band I originally intended to check out. But guess what — I had a great first night. Of course.

My friend, Justin, convinced me to tag along for the Matthew E. White: One Incantation Under God set at Fletcher Opera Theater, and it was hands down the highlight of the evening.

It isn’t often that you have a show with roughly 30 musicians that still has the feel of a solo act. White, dressed in a white suit (largely hidden by his long hair and epic beard) stood front and center with his guitar; he was backed by an orchestra complete with violins, horns and a chorus, along with a wide array of keys. The setup was beyond impressive, and it was incredibly fun to see one of the keyboard players occasionally jump up mid-song to serve as conductor for the strings.

The Fletcher Opera Theater is technically designed for people to sit and politely enjoy their concert, but keep in mind what I said about the best laid plans. Midway through “Steady Pace,” just the second song on the setlist, two people confidently marched to the front of the pit and started dancing. It snowballed from there, and I, for one, was thrilled.

Soon, there were about 30 people in a tight group gettin’ down to funky horn breakdowns and lofty string highlights.

Those build-ups would become the theme for the night. White & Co. had mellow strings start “Hot Toddies,” but those quickly gave way to a giant ambient psychedelic jam with powerful background vocals. “Big Love” had White’s mumbling through poignant lyrics, forcing you to listen intently — and then he would bring the backup singers to the forefront again.

After several of these “big” songs, White looked almost sheepish as he copped to bringing the tempo down at one point, saying: “This one’s slower. I apologize.” That didn’t last, though, as he immediately followed it up with “Gone Away” and its repetitive, increasingly-overpowering chorus and horns crashing like waves from the stage.

The final tidal wave of sound washed ashore with “Brazos,” the set closer that took the crowd back to church as the band built to a peak with White’s reassurance over and over that “Jesus Christ is your friend.” This one was where you could really see the rest of the band’s unbridled joy: trumpet players and violinists alike were bobbing their heads whenever their services weren’t needed, and there was plenty of grinning across stage at each other.

After a short encore break, the entire ensemble came back for the most rollicking song of the night, a cover of Joni Mitchell’s “Woodstock.” It had a loose, fun-loving feel — more like the famous Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young version (if only they had a 30-piece backing band, of course).

White made a special point to thank Hopscotch curator Grayson Currin for taking a chance on this project; he said Currin agreed to add them to the lineup before only a handful of people had even gotten a chance to listen to their album.

I think most people in Fletcher last night would agree he made the right call.

Photos & Review by Jake Seaton

If there was ever an absolute need for Hopscotch, it is now.

Between the Republican National Convention last week and the Democratic National Convention this week, Raleigh screamed for a break from the political monotony. And somewhat ironically — perhaps fate? — one of the bands to close out Hopscotch’s first night this year was a band called Liars.

But Liars wasn’t my first stop, rather it was right next door at Fletcher Opera Theatre for Matthew E. White and his 30-piece ensemble.

The Richmond-based big man is no stranger to Hopscotch. Last year his improvisatory ensemble Fight the Big Bull took the stage at the Pour House.

But this year White upped the ante with “One Incantation Under God,” a performance of his album Big Inner complete with 30 of his closest friends.

“In January, [Hopscotch curator] Grayson Currin reached out to me and proposed what may well be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: the resources and the platform for a true performance of Big Inner in its entirety — each song and its full instrumentation,” White explained.

Not only was the performance a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” it was also one of the most well-produced and awe-inspiring concerts I’ve experienced.

With orchestration by musical director Trey Pollard and choir direction by Phil Cook, each facet of the performance was finely tuned and expertly delivered. As elegantly delivered as the ballet that will grace that very stage next week.

“I aim to make music … with this gifted ensemble that is greater than anything I can make on my own,” White said. “We will certainly never all be in the same place again and this music may never again be performed like this.”

Next door, the scene was very different. What was Matthew E. White’s waltz was Liar’s mosh pit.

In the massive Memorial Auditorium, three men filled the room with a breed of post-punk I’d never experienced live.

Liars entranced the audience and probably shattered a few ear drums in the process. In fact, I had to back away from the stage because I literally thought my ears were bleeding.

This was not a fault, however, as it was an experience that best suited the trio. A controlled chaas, if you will.

Local label DiggUp Tapes has a big presence at this year’s Hopscotch, and they kicked off the annual festival in a big way with a day party at Kings.

Co-sponsored by Raleigh Denim and Nice Price Books, the DiggU Tapes Orientation In Space day party featured performance from Jenny Besetzt, Cassis Orange, Invisible Hand and The Human Eyes.

Between sets, The Lollipops’ Iggy Cosky, T0W3RS’ Derek Torres and Lonnie Walker’s Brian Corum each performed solo sets.

A relatively new band in the Triangle, The Human Eyes — featuring Thomas Costello (Mount Weather), Ryan Gustafson, Carter Gaj (Max Indian), James Wallace (Mount Moriah) and Tom Simpson (The Love Language) — headlined the show. The band released its debut album, “Guiding Eyes For The Blind,” May 1.

Following a bus crash in England involving the members of Baroness, the Savannah-based sludge metal four-piece has been forced to cancel its scheduled Hopscotch performance.

The band was involved in a “motor coach accident” on Aug. 14 in the Bath area of England. Its label, Relapse Records, said all of the band members and personnel on board the bus were treated for injuries.

According to BBC News, Baroness’s tour bus fell 30 feet from a bridge. Two of the people on board had to be freed from the bus by firefighters.

Among those injured, John Baizley suffered a broken left arm and left leg, Allen Blickle and Matt Maggioni each suffered fractured vertebrae, and Pete Adams was treated and released from the hospital not long after the accident.

The band wrote on Aug. 16, “Three of the five crew members who were on the bus have also been treated and released. One member is still undergoing testing. The driver of the bus remains in critical condition.”

Since then, all band members have been released from the hospital, but they said the remainder of their 2012 tour would have to be canceled while they recover.

In a statement, the Hopscotch organizers said, “We wish them all the best in their recoveries and look forward to trying to get them back to Raleigh in the future.” To fill the vacancy, Hopscotch will welcome Sacramento’s Trash Talk as the headliners at Lincoln Theater on Sept. 6.

Returning after a nearly five-year absence, Durham’s Wood Ear takes the Sessions at Studio B stage behind the release of their EP Steeple Vultures.

If you walk into a club and catch a performance from Some Army, you may experience a bit a déjà vu. But that’s because three of its members, including frontman Russell Baggett, play in another Triangle band — The Honored Guests.

The other half of Some Army? Well, they are the pieces that comprised what was Aminal, who called it quits in January.

While The Honored Guests is still its own band despite a lack of recent live shows or studio output, the band’s inactivity pushed Baggett to present a collection of songs to some familiar faces.

“It was sort of an accident,” Baggett explained. “Some of us used to play in a band called The Honored Guests — still do sometimes — and things just slowed down with that band. I had some songs, so I brought them to my friends and it turned into a band.”

Baggett added, “I thought some of these songs would be a quick follow-up to the last Honored Guests record and it just didn’t pan out that way.

“It was going to be me doing most of the stuff, but I can’t play the drums, I’m not very good at bass and I just figured getting some other folks to help do things I don’t do so well was going to make it better. That’s ultimately what we went with.”

The current makeup of the band sees Patrick O’Neill (The Honored Guests, JKutchma & the Five Fifths, Aminal) on keys, Cameron Weeks (Aminal, Turchi, Black Skies) on drums, Elysse Thebner (The Honored Guests, JKutchma & the Five Fifths) on guitar, Joe Caparo (Aminal, The Doleful Lions, The Stepgods)on bass, and Baggett on lead vocals and guitar.

However it’s difficult to pinpoint the exact instrumentation of Some Army as O’Neill and Thebner bounce between keys, guitar and hand percussion. And at times O’Neill will take over for Weeks on drums.

Still, Baggett insists the idea behind Some Army was to keep it simple.

“One of the things with Honored Guests was that we always tried to be ‘weird,’” Baggett laughed. “After finishing the last Honored Guests record, which took several years, I wanted to do some stuff that was simple to play because I think we had a hard time in that band sometimes pulling off all the bells and whistles and stuff.

“So the beginning of this was, ‘How do we make some songs that three of us can play?’”

Thebner, however, contests, “Your songs are not easy to play, either. They’re still weird.”

“Whatever,” Baggett responded.

Not long after the band began to take shape and find its identity, the Some Army released its debut 7-inch, a collection of three songs pressed on hand-cut vinyl. The release, Baggett says, will be followed with an EP later this summer.

“They are all kind of the same batch of songs,” Baggett said. “We started recording what we thought would be a record last August; so we did the drums for that and it’s been just going back and forth — taking a break from it and then coming back to it to finish it piece by piece. Which is why we put out the 7-inch because I personally really wanted to have something to put out there as soon as possible.

“The whole things started as a recording project, in some ways.”

As with the 7-inch, Baggett says Some Army plans to record the EP on their own, saving on what can often be pricey studio time.

“It’s more convenient, it’s free and [Honored Guests drummer] Andrew Kinghorn doesn’t mind us hanging out at that place,” Baggett said. “We want to save whatever money we would spend in a studio for pressing records.”

Every band strives to write and record a deeply personal album. At least, they should.

What else would be the point? After all, as cliché as it may sound, music speaks to the soul.

For Gross Ghost frontman Mike Dillon, music is therapy.

“You think you have it figured out, and so you pour your frustrations into music and that’s where most of [Brer Rabbit] came from — dealing with family stuff, dealing with where I was when I wrote the songs,” Dillon explained.

“[The songs] helped me out, and I hope people who listen to it get something from it as well. But if they don’t, I did. It makes me happy.”

Brer Rabbit, released March 16 through Grip Tapes, chronicles a time that saw Dillon’s father pass away and his mother move from North Carolina’s Outer Banks to the Triangle after falling ill and in need of aid.

Like any loving son, Dillon was quick to help his mother, sometimes having to make personal sacrifices to support her. Of course mothers are certainly no strangers to sacrifices, and Dillon recognized that.

Give one listen to the track “Leslie,” and you’ll immediately feel an intimate connection with Dillon’s plight in his chorus: “It’s like I’m watching you, but no one’s watching me.”

“I was dealing with a lot of stuff with my family — my father passed away and that was rough on me,” Dillon said. “I needed songwriting — I didn’t know I needed it — to help me out through the patch of dealing with that and then losing jobs and switching up apartments.”

That patch birthed a collection of 11 songs that have received wide praise for Gross Ghost. Go ahead and try to find a negative review for Brer Rabbit — they don’t exist. Rightfully so, the praise has also lead to the initial limited, vinyl pressing of the album to be a near sell out.

“We’ve had a lot of support from bands that we play with and friends; people have been really helpful about spreading the word about it,” Dillon pointed out. “Locally, regionally and statewide it has done what we wanted it to do.”

The real test, Dillon says, will be the album’s second pressing — “If people in an empty room in Nebraska like it.”

While Gross Ghost’s success can be attributed to Dillon’s honest, heartfelt lyrics, his band and the album’s masterful mixing are due equal credit as well. Since Dillon joined with bassist Tre Acklen in 2008, Gross Ghost has seen an evolution from an Animal Collective-like experimental noise duo playing with found objects, to a gritty indie rock trio, and ultimately a jangly pop four-piece.

“Basically to do the songs live we were starting to write, we needed extra members,” Dillon said. “Having extra hands, different pedals and things bring out the flourishes in the songs — the nuances we couldn’t accomplish as a duo or a three-piece.”

He added, “Songs back in the day were a different kind of attitude, a different kind of vibe. Where our heads are at now is where we are musically.”

To record the album, Gross Ghost took its songs to Track and Field Recording, where they set up shop with Nick Peterson.

“Half of the record is Tre and I recording on a four-track and then taking it over to Track and Field Studios, adding extra parts and mixing it with Nick Peterson,” Dillon said. “The other half was straight up recorded at Track and Field. We had such a good time working with Nick that we decided to do the whole project there.”

Meanwhile, Gross Ghost continues to grow and mature. When the band takes that stage at Pinhook in Durham on June 2, they will be a full quintet, welcoming T.J. Maiani back on drums while Christopher Hutcherson-Riddle moves to keys.

Considering Hopscotch‘s first year saw the now-annual festival bring Public Enemy, Panda Bear and Broken Social Scene to City Plaza in downtown Raleigh, there really wasn’t much doubt that — three years later — the ante would be upped.

“Each year, we think we’re producing an event people want to attend, but we never know until we release the lineup and gauge reaction,” Hopscotch founder and director Greg Lowenhagen said. “We’re grateful for the support and look forward to doing this as long as the bands and fans keep coming.”

In its third year, Hopscotch will bring 175 bands to 15 venues throughout downtown Raleigh Sept. 6-8. While some 165 of those bands will take the stage at 14 venues, all eyes are on City Plaza and who curator Grayson Currin has lined up for the festival-defining shows on Friday and Saturday.

On Sept. 7, indie rock stalwarts Built to Spill will join a reunited Jesus and Mary Chain on the main stage. Meanwhile, on Sept. 8, the massive, 17-piece disco band Escort will open for the ultimate hip-hop band, The Roots.

Of course Hopscotch just wouldn’t be “Hopscotch” without the numerous unique opportunities to see musicians stepping outside of their normal routines. In 2010, Megafaun presented an improv night at Kings; while in 2011, Rhys Chatham invited 11 musicians on stage to perform his 30-minute “Guitar Trio.”

This year is no different.

The Mountain Goats’ John Darnielle will play two sets at Fletcher Opera Theater, including a set of rarities on acoustic guitar and a covers set featuring heavy metal numbers played on piano.

Megafaun will again present a unique set. This time the trio will premiere a new work at Long View Center with German composer Arnold Dreyblatt.

Guitarist Ben Greenberg, who performs as Hubble, will offer the world premiere of a piece called “Lag.”

Drummer Chris Corsano (Björk, Jandek, Kim Gordon, Nels Cline) will jump in on bands’ sets throughout Hopscotch, making several performances “once-in-a-lifetime experiences.”

And Richmond songwriter Matthew E. White will give a one-time performance of his forthcoming record, complete with horns, strings and a full choir.

Also set to perform during the unforgettable — and no doubt exhausting — weekend are Bio Ritmo, Colin Stetson, Dan Deacon, Danny Brown, Deerhoof, Ducktails, J. Roddy Walston & the Business, Lambchop, Samantha Crain, Sunn O))), Wye Oak and Yo La Tengo. And naturally, dozens of Triangle-area musicians will take the various stages — including Birds of Avalon, Corrosion of Conformity, Gross Ghost, Heads on Sticks, Left Outlet, Mac McCaughan (Superchunk), Midtown Dickens, Pipe, Shark Quest, T0W3RS, The dB’s and Valient Thorr .

Pre-lineup VIP wristbands sold-out after their December release, however 200 more VIP wristbands are available for $165. Three-day All-Show wristbands are still available for $110, and a limited number of single-day passes and Single City Plaza tickets will be available in July.

COMPLETE LINEUP:

Airstrip, Altar of Plagues, Altos, Alvarius B, Amen Dunes, Arnold Dreyblatt & Megafaun, Balam Acab, Baroness, Big Troubles, Bill Orcutt, Bio Ritmo, Birds of Avalon, Black Skies, Boy Friend, Built to Spill, Burglar Fucker, Calico Haunts, Cantwell, Gomez & Jordan, Carlos Giffoni, Charlie Parr, Charles Latham, Cheater Slicks, Chelsea Crowell, Chris Corsano, Chris Forsyth & Koen Holtkamp, Chuck Johnson, Cities Aviv, Class Actress, CO LA, Colin Stetson, Corrosion of Conformity, Curtis Eller, Damien Jurado, Dan Deacon, Danny Brown, David Pajo/Papa M, Death Grips, Deerhoof, Delicate Steve, Doldrums, Donovan Quinn, Dope Body, Drique London, Duchess Says, Ducktails, Elephant Micah, Escort, EXITmusic, feltbattery, Field Report, Flesh Wounds, Flosstradamus, Free Electric State, Frustrations, G-Side, Glenn Jones, Grohg, Gross Ghost, Guardian Alien, Guinea Worms, Hacienda, Heads on Sticks, High Wolf, Hiss Golden Messenger, Holograms, Hubble (Lag World Premiere), Hume, Hundred Waters, ITAL, J. Roddy Walston & the Business, Jacaszek, Jackie Chain, Jane Jane Pollock, Jason Kutchma & the 5 Fifths, Jenny Besetzt, Joint D≠, Jon Mueller’s Death Blues, Julia Holter, Kenny Roby, Kevin Drumm, Lambchop, Lazy Janes, Laurel Halo, Left Outlet, Liars, Lilac Shadows, Lizzy Ross Band, Little Hollow, Mac McCaughan, Marc McGuire, MAKE, Matthew E. White: One Incantation Under God, Mark Holland, Midtown Dickens, Minor Stars, Mirel Wagner, My Best Fiend, Nails, Naked Gods, Nerves Junior, Nests, Nick Catchdubs, No BS Brass Band, Nobunny, Odonis Odonis, Oneida, Oren Ambarchi, Paint Fumes, Pallbearer, Phil Cook & His Feat, Pipe, Pop. 1280, Quiet Evenings, Roman Candle, Roomrunner, Samantha Crain, Savage Knights, Say Brother, Screaming Females, Secret Cities, Secret Mountains, Shark Quest, Shirlette & the Dynamite Brothers, Shovels & Rope, Silver Swans, Sinful Savage Tigers, Sister Crayon, Some Army, STAG, Starlings, TN, Strand of Oaks, Sunn O))), Sutekh Hexen, T0W3RS, Tomas Phillips & Craig Hilton, Tom Maxwell, Tenement, Thee Oh Sees, The Atlas Moth, the band in Heaven, The Beast, The Beat Report, The Bronzed Chorus, The dB’s, The Future Kings of Nowhere, The Hot at Nights, The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Mountain Goats, The Roots, The Spits, The Toddlers, Toon & The Real Laww, The Weather Station, Valient Thorr, Vattnet Viskar, Versus, Whatever Brains, White Hills, Withered, Wood Ear, Work Clothes, Wowser Bowser, Wye Oak, Wylie Hunter & the Cazadores, Yo La Tengo, Young and in the Way, Young Magic, Zack Mexico, Zammuto, Zeus, Zola Jesus

To re-live Hopscotch Festivals of past, click here.

When Durham’s Midtown Dickens take the stage at Cat’s Cradle for their record release show, the band who never thought they’d play their first live show will be headlining one of the Triangle’s most storied venues.

“I remember the idea of just playing music was the fun part, it was all about the playing and just figuring it out,” said Kym Register, one half of Dickens’ founding duo that includes Catherine Edgerton. “Then I remember being like, ‘Catherine, I really just want an Indy Pick. I just want them to pick us.’ They did and I still have that one.”

Seven years later, the band is not longer a duo, and is practicing three hours a week as a four piece and three more hours with only three of its members. Not to mention, the Midtown Dickens’ third full-length album, Home, was recently released through Trekky Records.

“We have new family members here who have greatly contributed to the compositions, and we’ve had many new life experiences — lots of travels,” Catherine said humbly of the band’s growth and extensive touring.

With Home, Kym and Catherine, for the first time, opened the songwriting process to the whole band — soliciting input from Will Hackney and Jonathan Henderson. The process, however, also meant the pair had to let go of the reins they had held so tightly since 2005.

“Musically we’ve all worked on all of these songs,” Catherine explained. “Kym and I will sort of do the skeletal work and then bring it in and [Will and Jonathan] help make it a song.”

Kym added, “It’s been really great to let go of the idea that I need to write this complete thing and bring it in. Instead I feel really OK with being like, ‘Guys I’ve got this idea [and] it’s pretty done.’ But then it will change, it will morph from that moment to when it is put down on wax.”

That camaraderie brought into the songwriting extended even into the recording of the album when the four ventured to Monroe, N.C. to record with Scott Solter (Superchunk, Okkervil River).

“He has a home studio so we slept there, we made three meals there everyday, really just lived there in a few different sessions while we made the record,” Will described.

“That comfort of the studio really comes through because it was like we were at summer camp.”

Midtown Dickens will celebrate the release of Home April 7 at Cat’s Cradle along with Diali Cissokho & Kairaba. Kairaba is also celebrating the release of their album, Resonance, which was also recorded with Solter at his Baucom Road studio.

We’re less than a month out from the full lineup announcement, which means we’ll be receiving bits and pieces of information about what to expect at Hopscotch ’12.

Just last week, Hopscotch announced that doom metal pioneers Sunn O))) will play their first announced North American tour date since September 2010 when they take the stage at Memorial Auditorium on Sept. 8.

And Detroit-based underground emcee Danny Brown was announced to be performing at the annual music festival.

Just today, festival co-founder Greg Lowenhagen revealed that Chicago’s Flosstradamus will among those making the trek to Raleigh Sept. 6 through 8.

“Formed by DJs J2K (Josh Young) and Autobot (Curt Cameruci) in 2005, they’ve maintained relevancy for what seems like an eternity by deftly blending styles — mash-ups, house, juke, hardstyle, and recently, techno-fueled trap anthems — and abiding by one simple rule: Have fun,” Lowenhagen writes of Flosstradamus.

“From their fabled Wednesday night sets at Chicago’s Town Hall Pub to college campuses to Coachella, Flosstradamus create an atmosphere where people want to sweat.”

As for what else is on tap for Hopscotch, that remains a mystery until the floodgates open April 18, or until more names slip through the cracks.

Meanwhile, Hopscotch will host Real Estate, Twerps and Old Bricks at Lincoln Theatre this Friday, April 6 for a free show benefiting The Coalition to Protect All North Carolina Families, a movement focused on defeating Amendment One.

Also, on April 20, Hopscotch brings the living, breathing dance party that is Gang Gang Dance to the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences for the grand opening of the museum’s new wing. Again, that show is free.

Pre-lineup VIP wristbands are sold out, however 200 more VIP wristbands will be released at midnight on April 18 for $165. Three-day All-Show wristbands are still available for $110, and a limited number of single-day passes and Single City Plaza tickets will be on sale in July.

To re-live Hopscotch Festivals of past, click here.

Wylie Hunter & The Cazadores performs on Sessions at Studio B in support of their debut LP, Someone You Used To Know.

Behind the release of their sophomore full-length, Last Night of the Revels, Sinful Savage Tigers performs on Sessions at Studio B.

Yet another downtown hotspot has joined Hopscotch‘s growing list of participating venues.

The newly opened Contemporary Art Museum at the corner of Martin and Harrington Streets follows the Long View Center as the latest addition to the 3-day festival’s venue roster.

Tickets for Hopscotch 2012 go on sale Dec. 1 in various pricing structures.

Here’s a breakdown of the ticket and wristband options:

• $55-75 – Single day passes (on sale Aug. 1, 2012)
• $110 – Entry into all clubs plus both City Plaza shows
• $165 – VIP priority access to all shows

Unlike previous years, “due to a lack of interest” there will be no club-only wristband. And as a gift to previous ticket buyers, Hopscotch will offer pre-sales 24 hours in advance of the Dec. 1 on-sale.

The full lineup of 175 bands is expected to be announced April 20.

Entering its third year, Hopscotch has once again extended its limits, expanding its venue reach to 15 as well as bumping up the numbering of participating bands to 175.

When Hopscotch 2012 hits Downtown Raleigh Sept. 6, the festival will incorporate the use of The Long View Center, situated on the corner of Person and Hargett Streets.

Built in the late 1800s, the venue can seat 400 attendees, which should help alleviate some of the crowds that congregate around Moore Square Hopscotch weekend.

In addition to The Long View Center, Hopscotch will extend invitations to 175 bands — up from last year’s 135.

Tickets for Hopscotch 2012 go on sale Dec. 1 in various pricing structures.

Here’s a breakdown of the ticket and wristband options:

• $55-75 – Single day passes (on sale Aug. 1, 2012)
• $110 – Entry into all clubs plus both City Plaza shows
• $165 – VIP priority access to all shows

Unlike previous years, “due to a lack of interest” there will be no club-only wristband. And as a gift to previous ticket buyers, Hopscotch will offer pre-sales 24 hours in advance of the Dec. 1 on-sale.

The full lineup is expected to be announced April 20.

Behind the release of a 7-inch split with The Moaners, Jennyanykind performs on Sessions at Studio B.

We’re just a month removed from Hopscotch 2011, and planning is well underway for the third year of the massive music festival.

Only two weeks after the streets were swept clean of the confetti leftover from The Flaming Lips’ festival-headlining performance, Hopscotch organizers Greg Lowenhagen and Grayson Currin took to Twitter to announce the dates for Hopscotch III.

Here we are a month later and the duo has announced the on-sale date and package pricing for tickets. Tickets go on sale Dec. 1, a full four and a half months earlier than last year, in various pricing structures.

Here’s a breakdown of the ticket and wristband options:

• $55-75 – Single day passes (on sale Aug. 1, 2012)
• $110 – Entry into all clubs plus both City Plaza shows
• $165 – VIP priority access to all shows

Unlike previous years, “due to a lack of interest” there will be no club-only wristband. And as a gift to previous ticket buyers, Hopscotch will offer pre-sales 24 hours in advance of the Dec. 1 on-sale.

As previously mentioned, the Dec. 1 on-sale is four months earlier than last year, meaning early ticket buyers will have to have some faith in Greg and Grayson’s choice of bands for next summer’s event.

The full lineup is expected to be announced April 20, though I’m sure we’ll see a few names leak out before that date.

For the uninitiated, Hopscotch is a three-day music festival that takes over Downtown Raleigh the second weekend in September. Last year saw more than 135 bands — including festival headliners The Flaming Lips, Drive-by Truckers, The Dodos and Guided by Voices — span 13 stages.

And to relive Hopscotch 2011 — including photo galleries, reviews and interviews — visit the Music.MyNC Hopscotch page.

Photo by James Nix

Lilac Shadows performs on Sessions at Studio B.