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Ryan Gustafson and band play at The Pour House Sept. 10, 2010. Gustafson and more than 100 other artists were showcased at Raleigh's Hopscotch Music Festival. Photo by Josh Bielick
The Hopscotch Music Festival was the biggest coordinated music event in Raleigh’s history. With 130 bands and artists representing various genres performing at 10 different venues in downtown Raleigh, the three-day event celebrated local music talent as well as contributions from international stars.
As one of the fastest growing cities in the nation, Raleigh has recently transformed into a cultural center for music, food and nightlife.
The brainchild of Independent Weekly’s Greg Lowenhagen and Grayson Currin, Hopscotch Music Festival brought growth to Raleigh’s music and artistic scene.
A year ago Lowenhagen and Currin debated the possibilities of how to plan and execute such a music festival. Their main intention was to create a festival that paid tribute to local bands and to celebrate the promising music venues of Raleigh. The name Hopscotch came from their idea that people would hop from venue to venue.Moreover, they say Hopscotch won’t be a short-lived fling.
“I don’t want to look back and say, ‘Remember when we did Hopscotch Fest?'” Lowenhagen said. ”The goal is to keep this thing going.”
The nascent festival attracted crowds from various generations. Along with homegrown indie rock bands, Hopscotch recruited rap artists, alternative rock bands from all across the U.S. and some foreign artists from as far away as Sweden and Iceland.
The festival opened Thursday downtown at a collection of bars, nightclubs and public venues. Friday night, the festivities started early at 5:30 p.m. in City Plaza. The concert starred Raleigh band The Rosebuds, Canadian alternative band Broken Social Scene and Panda Bear, the lead singer of The Animal Collective. The show attracted a large student crowd eager to get its fill of indie music.
“Broken Social Scene was what I came for,” Samatha Walker, a junior in zoology, said.
Walker managed to get free tickets since she volunteered a minimum of seven hours for Hopscotch. ”It’s awesome to get in for free and I would definitely do it again,” she said.
Jay Patel, a junior in biological sciences, excited to see the Chapel Hill band The Love Language, said he’s been pleased with the growth of Raleigh’s culture.
“I like it that Raleigh has a great music scene and that we’re working on it even more now. It’s awesome to be a part of the first big music fest Raleigh’s had,” Patel said.
“It’s really great that bands that I listen to a lot come to Raleigh,” William Hinrichs, a sophomore in zoology, said. “I am most pumped about Panda Bear, Broken Social Scene and Love Language. I listened to their stuff countless times, imagining what they will be like live. This concert was better than what I dreamed.”
Local businesses saw Hopscotch as an opportunity to cater to the music crowd as well as increase profits. Various restaurants downtown kept their kitchens open past midnight and offered reduced price menus in light of Hopscotch.
However, restaurants and bars were not the only business looking to make a buck off of Hopscotch.
Erwann Domalain, a junior in biomedical engineering and employee of Raleigh Rickshaw, carted revelers around downtown during the festival.
“Business has been great. They’re a hip crowd and they’re a blast. Plenty of people are looking for rides and I have been able to watch some of the shows,” Domalain said. ”I’m absolutely getting a workout. I go after the heavyweights!”
Despite the threat of bad weather Saturday, a large crowd hit downtown Raleigh to attend the Hopscotch finale. The biggest act of the evening was Public Enemy, the hip-hop band that has been around since 1988 and is currently on its world tour.