Raleigh’s own music and design festival returns to the downtown area Thursday with an explosion of visual, auditory and educational artistry that has kept its roots in North Carolina since its inception.

Hopscotch Music Festival, now in its seventh iteration, will host 120 bands at 12 different venues downtown ranging from the main stage on Raleigh City Plaza to some more intimate venues for a three-day event from Thursday to Saturday.

Hopscotch began in 2010 when Greg Lowenhagen, an advertising executive for the Independent Weekly who had lived in Chicago and Austin, both with their own music festivals, decided he wanted to start the tradition in Raleigh.

Hopscotch boasts one of the most musically diverse lineups of any festival in the country that is able to focus heavily on local acts as well. At the top of the ticket are Erykah Badu, Beach House, Young Thug and Gary Clark Jr.

There are many local music groups performing at the event, including Sylvan Esso from Durham and Sneakers from Chapel Hill.

The Hopscotch Design Festival will take center stage during the day on Thursday and Friday. Forty-two speakers from the professionally creative community will give TEDtalk-style presentations on various design concepts, five groups and individual designers, including big names like IBM Watson, will hold workshops with day-parties filling in the gaps.

There will be some street closings during the festival including Fayetteville Street between Davie Street and Lenoir Street from 6 p.m. Wednesday until noon on Sunday and a closing of Commerce Place between Martin Street and Davie Street from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.