Hopscotch Music Festival

This was my first time coming to Hopscotch and I'd just purchased tickets for the Friday night headliner, Jenny Lewis. I was pleased at the plentiful bathroom situation, and the fact that so many Hopscotch workers picked up trash between acts- it was a very nice touch. The City Plaza venue was clean and pleasant.

My only complaint: There was an obnoxious video screen cycling through the same set of advertisements during Orville Peck's act, but thankfully they turned it off by the time Jenny Lewis took the stage. I guess they were sponsors of the festival but it was awful.

In general, Hopscotch seems like a great festival. There were lots of different venues and some of the acts were even free! Downtown Raleigh is a great location that easily accommodates the crowds and offers plenty of parking spread out throughout the city.

Wow, what a blast Hopscotch was this year! I had no clue what I was getting myself into but talk about an impressive showing for Raleigh and the Triangle! Got a 3-day wristband and over the course of the long weekend got to see great indy acts like Lower Dens, King Mez, Driveby Truckers, Flaming Lips and Yelawolf. Talk about a range of music styles and energy, each venue was pretty well set up for the crowds and security was decent without being a hassle. There was plenty of beer stands, crowds were enthusiastic but not obnoxious, a winner all around!

Toss in the great weather and you really should not miss out on Hopscotch if you enjoy live music. Next year though, VIP wristband! Once a venue reaches capacity it's one out, one in. Loved to see how Raleigh is getting all growed up on both the music and food fronts. Raleigh rocked it out last month, thanks to Hopscotch...

This was my first year attending Hopscotch and I got lucky that a friend had won a few passes for this 3 day festival and decided to let me join in on the fun! This festival is one of the most unique and cool events that Raleigh has to offer. It not only brings a huge crowd out day after day, night after night, but you also get to experience different venues from all over town. On my 3 day adventure I scoped out, Memorial Auditorium, Kings, Pour House, Tir Na Nog, Deep South, City Plaza and many more. I got to see some local bands that I love as well as acts from all over the country that I've been wanting to see.

I started out Hopscotch Thursday night expecting the streets of Raleigh to be packed, but it was actually somewhat of a quiet night for all the events going on. As the weekend progressed so did the crowds; Friday and Saturday nights were jammed full of Hopscotch fans.

The day parties this year were great as well, what better way to get a feel for the festival if you have never been. And of course by the next year you will be buying tickets since you won't want to miss out. Tons of locals and visitors drinking, listening to amazing music, and dancing the night away what else could you want. Did I mention beer? There were plenty of local beer sponsors around serving up some tasty drafts.

Will I be back at Hopscotch next year? Hell yeah!

Hopscotch is now one of the best music festivals in the nation. 140+ bands over three days. Day parties starting at noon from Thursday - Sunday. Hopscotch Design was added in 2014, which makes Hopscotch almost a week-long event.

The biggest complaint I hear about Hopscotch is "I don't know any of the bands". If that's the reason why you're not going, then you're missing the entire point. Hopscotch is about exposing you to new music, whether you like hip-hop, metal, country, folk, indie rock, electronic, or noise. You'll see local bands and national/international bands. If you're not feeling a particular set, you can often go to a bar two doors down and see a different band.

Get a VIP 3-day wristband when they go on sale and rent a hotel downtown if you need to. Every year since they started the festival in 2010 has been great. The 2nd Hopscotch in 2011 will probably go down as the best all-time with The Flaming Lips on the main stage, but 2015 came in a close second for me with some of the best underground hip-hop and DJs.

Although I went to the free events, I enjoyed myself greatly! Next year I plan on buying tickets and going to as many shows as I can.

Friday night, my cousin got married in the Sir Walter Raleigh Ballroom and it was hilarious because they started the vows RIGHT when the first evening show started. My cousin's husband said as he was saying "I do" he was looking outside at everyone jammin out! GREAT NIGHT ALL AROUND!

I don't even know where to start in reviewing an event like this. It was a bit overwhelming with the ridiculous amount of great music to choose from, but that's what made it so great. There was a little something for everyone from ambient electronic to metal.

It was nice how the venues had a particular genre theme each night so if you didn't feel like hopping all over downtown you could stay in one place and hear 3-4 bands you'd probably like.

All in all it was a great time. Can't wait for next year's festival!

who knew that for 3 days and nights, downtown raleigh could be transported and feel like a "real" city with real music options and a real scene. heck, there were more bikes shackled to trees and posts in downtown raleigh than in all of williamsburg(brooklyn)! i was cautiously awaiting and ever so earnestly hoping against encountering a cheese factor and it simply never happened. attendees were respectful, fun and drinking plenty of the great beers available in abundance. good for the independent. good for the great showcase of local talent. good for raleigh. i was beaming with pride (for the oak city) when, for the first time ever here, i encountered packs of other cyclists who were also "commuting" back home at 3am after the last shows had ended. what a great initial run for this event. let's hope it endures.

A little over one week out from the completion of Hopscotch and still suffering from a bit of withdrawal. It's tough to put this festival into words, but suffice it to say that it was quite the experience and it's really hard to believe that this was only the second year of it's existence. Seriously, can you imagine how phenomenal this festival will be in a few years? A huge amount of praise has to go out to the Independent (and all the other organizers, backers, etc) and to the City of Raleigh for putting together an event spanning across so many venues and incorporating a huge amount of bands. This was a truly unique experience to check out great local and national bands in a variety of different locales. Raleigh was able to showcase some of their best clubs, restaurants, bars, concert venues, and even opera halls while fostering a sense of inclusion and of community all throughout. I am already looking forward to Hopscotch 2012!

What an amazing festival! Great music with a lot of options! We went all three nights and were so impressed with how timely the bands were and the organization behind it! We even took our 10 year old to his first concert to see St. Vincent (who totally rocked the house). Can't wait until next year!