Clark’s guitar doubled as a playful machine gun midway through her set.

By Chris Nafekh, Staff Writer

Published in print Sept. 10, 2014

This past weekend, folks from all over the continent gathered in support of North Carolina’s most prominent music festival. Hopscotch, celebrating five years of festivities, began Thursday afternoon and continued to Saturday night.

In past years, Hopscotch has presented headlining bands such as The Jesus and Mary Chain, Built to Spill and The Flaming Lips.  Although they have struggled with financing and sponsorship, the festival is persevering.  And this year, the city thrived on live music.

In the afternoons, the city was buzzing with activity.  The Hive, Cam Raleigh and other venues hosted several day parties before headlining acts. On the first day, Greensboro’s own Black Santa played for a WKNC 88.1 and WUAG 103.1 presents show, sharing a stage with Krill, Y’all, Palehound and Matt Kivel.  This show was one of several day parties across the city.

Down Hargett and Fayetteville streets, vendors lined the sidewalks selling local goods.    House of Swank sold t-shirts reflecting North Carolina culture.  Prints of the Raleigh skyline and mason jars, and sayings like “bless her heart” and “919 Y’ALL” showed state pride and support.

Candles, clothing, soaps and other crafts were sold by local vendors, including Bordeaux Lance Studios, selling hand-crafted semi-precious jewelry.  The smell of pressed leather and mahogany supported a nostalgic feel, like antique shops on a Sunday morning.  But the city was active, and the sounds of ‘80s rock and roll waved through town.

In the evenings, headlining acts performed at the City Plaza main stage.  Approaching the town center, people crowded around several red New Belgium beer tents.  The sounds of Van Morrison, The Rolling Stones and The Kinks could be heard from the speakers, preceding the main event.

Lonnie Walker performing at the City Plaza.

Friday night, after an hour of distinctive indie-rock by Lonnie Walker, the crowd gathered to see St. Vincent.

Introducing the tech-rock artist was the voice of Stephen Hawking, encouraging the audience to enjoy the show.  And when Annie Clark walked on stage, the crowd’s applause was unbreakable.  Performing hits such as “Cruel”, “Surgeon”, “Digital Witness” and “Cheerleader”, she proclaimed mid-set, “There are some things we all have in common… we are all here, which means not one of us has ever, never, given up hope.”

Her songs grew darker through the set, and the lights more ominous.  Gathering energy from the crowd, she bent low and let the front audience touch and strum her black guitar.  The show ended with waves of electronic energy bursting through the crowd and then, silence. Shining lights in blue and orange lit the faces of festival attendees and soon welcomed the melodic riffs and grungy vocals of globally-renowned rock outfit Spoon.

On Saturday night, featured artist Valient Thorr kicked off the night.  The distinct horn intro of 2001: A Space Odyssey played, and the bearded members of the rough metal band ran onstage, beers in hand.

They played powerful metal, and patronized their audience only a little.

“It’s hot too,” the frontman yelled. “Take your shirt off!” When the crowd did not respond, he shed his black button down so everyone could watch his belly jiggle. Death and Mastodon both played the main stage that night, paving the way for the late shows.

Each night from 9:00 onward, a myriad of different genres were played n various clubs and bars across the state capital.

Inside Cam Raleigh, Ghostt Bllonde and Gems played techno-pop rock, and Nguzunguzu finished with experimental dance music.  They played powerful beats, looping foreign melodies with exotic languages.

An old church in the central city, Vintage 21 welcomed rock fans into its wooden pews and red velvet cushions.  The antiquated stain glass shook vibrantly when Enemy Waves played duel saxophone rock fusion.  The threatening melodies and heavy sounds almost felt blasphemous inside the quaint cathedral.

From Lincoln Theater, several things could be heard Friday night, from the lively folk rock tunes of Sinners & Saints to the layers of music and melody being mixed by Mark McGuire.

Sun Kil Moon ended the night at Lincoln.  As he tried to quiet the crowd for his set, things became heated. “Everybody…” he announced. “All you fucking hillbillies… shut the fuck up.”  The inebriated crowd talked back and made light of the situation on their way out of the theater.

This year’s Hopscotch Festival was full of fantastic music played by an entire cast of characters, each of them talented musicians.  The music, local art representation, culture and atmosphere are some of many reasons to look forward for the future of North Carolina’s largest urban music festival.

Sophia Lucente contributed reporting to this article.