Raleigh’s annual Hopscotch music festival is never short on music. In fact, there were so many acts it became difficult to choose between which ones to see, which is a good sign for the growing music festival.
The concert series had an eclectic mix of genres and artists to choose from, ranging from local artists to nationally renowned headliners Solange and Run the Jewels.
Overall the vibes were energetic and exhilarating, with countless performers to choose from in a short radius around Raleigh’s downtown area. Thursday night started off with a moderate amount of festival attendees, while Saturday night the downtown area was packed with people from all over the country rushing across the streets to see their favorite bands.
Solange was the headliner I was definitely the most psyched to see on Saturday night, and I am not lying when I say that talented artist brought me to tears. Her performance at the Red Hat Amphitheater absolutely served her excellence, and was amid a fiery red backdrop. She also had an all red color-coordinated band with backup vocalists and dancers Isadora Mendez and Franchelle Lucas, who supported Knowles’ performance with coordinated choreography the entire set.
She opened the set with “Rise” that introduced the audience into slow, smooth and relaxing jazz tones. Eventually she transitioned the audience into “Mad” and “Don't Touch My Hair,” which are both social statements from her perspective as a black woman. She also included her upbeat, funky song “Losing You” and introduced the song by telling everyone to let go and dance like they were in middle school.
Essentially Solange has my soul and heart in her hands with her truly cathartic experience of a concert and I’m #blessed to have been a part of it, even if I was just a sobbing concert-goer.
Kaytranada, the Montreal-based producer, performed on Saturday at 12:30 a.m. He also slayed with his hour-long DJ set and stayed true to his dance, electronic and rap style.
His set had the entire audience energetically dancing and jumping the entire set with coordinating intense psychedelic visuals. Kaytranada delivered his colorful two part song “Glowed Up” which was a creative and effective collaboration between him and Anderson.Paak., although .Paak was not in attendance.
Though Hopscotch didn't align with the typical definition of a music festival, like a Coachella experience, it still was able to serve a variety of music tastes and helped me to discover new genres.
