Tiny City Plaza, Hopscotch Music Festival in 2011 photograph © Joe Scarborough
Ghostt Bllonde, Hopscotch Music Festival in 2014 photograph © James Willamor
Venue INFO Raleigh City Plaza 400 Block Fayetteville St, All Ages CAM Raleigh 409 W Martin St, Ages 18+ Deep South The Bar 430 S Dawson St, Ages 21+ Some Army, Hopscotch Music Festival in 2014 photograph © James Willamor
Fletcher Opera Theater 2 E South St, All Ages Kennedy Theater 2 E South St, All Ages
Kings Barcade Unlike most large scale 14 W Martin St, Ages 18+ festivals that erect a handful of stages in a vast park or field, Lincoln Theatre Hopscotch takes place within 126 E Cabbarus St, Ages 18+ the city’s existing infrastructure Neptune’s Parlour – its bars, theaters, and 14 W Martin St, Ages 18+ even a church. Our outdoor Pour House Music Hall The main stage in Raleigh City 224 S Blount St, Ages 18+ Plaza on Fayetteville Street Slim’s accommodates 6,000 attendees, 227 S Wilmington St, Ages 21+ not the 80,000 one has come to expect from a mega summer Tir na nOg party. The smaller capacity 218 S Blount St, Ages 18+ makes for a more intimate, Vintage 21 less congested affair – The 118 Person St, All Ages Rolling Stones will play a football stadium here, for instance. In City Plaza, you don’t need big video screens to see the bands, and in the club venues where most of Hopscotch happens, the shows are in a setting with fewer people and more immediacy. This city-wide footprint comes with an added community benefit: the hotels, restaurants and bars see a boost. After we sell tickets to fans, the majority of their money is not spent with us in a fenced-off pasture, but with other businesses throughout downtown for three days and nights. Moreover, much of the fun of Hopscotch comes from traversing the streets between venues, bumping into old friends and making new ones while bouncing from set to set around town. 100 | midtownmag.com
Hopscotch is one of very few festivals that attracts attendees from across the US and abroad, while still focusing on presenting local artists. We sold tickets to fans in 37 states last year, but 35% of our lineup was comprised of acts from North Carolina. The idea is to highlight Raleigh, the Triangle, and the state, while also drawing visiting artists from around the globe. In September, musicians from Australia, England, Canada, Sweden, Norway, Germany, and the rest of America will join those North Carolina acts on 12 stages. It is a tradition we hope to continue forever. In 2014, we added the Hopscotch Design Festival to the front end of our music weekend. In partnership with Raleigh-based firm New Kind, we now produce this two-day event to showcase the people who are designing the future – graphic designers, architects, tech pacesetters, urban planners, entrepreneurs, filmmakers, and more. The festival features 30 sessions, workshops, and a block party, and we hope it becomes a signature gathering for amateur and professional designers, as well as anyone interested in creativity and ingenuity. To my knowledge Hopscotch Design is the first event of its kind to spring from an established music festival, and considering how much music influences designers and makers, we think it’s a natural fit. To learn more about both Hopscotch Music Festival (September 10th-12th) and Hopscotch Design (September 9th-10th), please visit www.hopscotchmusicfest.com and www.hopscotchdesignfest.com.