Get ready for some awkward conversations with your friends that end when someone angrily storms off to get more beer after saying, “No, no, it’s no big deal, I’m definitely not mad that we’re going to miss Grouper because you want to see some trendy garage rock band,” because Hopscotch has announced its 2013 lineup. Taking place in Raleigh, North Carolina from September 5 through September 7 and featuring almost 175 artists in 15 different venues, Hopscotch has a wide enough array of artists for anyone to get in a situation where they’re pissed at their friends for having such lame taste. Look forward to bickering over the costs and benefits of trying to get in front for artists like Big Boi, Sleep, Spiritualized, Foot Village, The Breeders playing Last Splash, Wolf Eyes, Pharmakon, Holly Herndon, John Cale, and countless others! You can check out the full list on the Hopscotch website.
In addition to more artists in one place than any one human could ever reasonably hope to see in a single weekend, there’s also going to be the big bonus threat of famed Japanese noise musician Merzbow lurking just out of your line of sight. The festival’s planners have reportedly already released Merzbow into the North Carolina countryside. He will spend the next several months stalking woodland creatures and hiding in caves, gathering his strength so that when he emerges in early September, he will be in peak physical condition to perform his duties as the festival’s “improviser in residence.” As the improviser in residence, in addition to his own solo set, Merzbow will wander around the festival collaborating both with artists and (probably) people standing in line at food trucks, which sounds awesome and terrifying. Awesome because I’ve always kinda wanted to hear what a Merzbow/Waxahatchee collab would sound like, and terrifying because absent any specific legal language, there’s really nothing to stop Merzbow from deciding that “improviser in residence” actually means “dude who runs around pranking everyone with shaving cream all weekend.”
• Hopscotch Music Festival: http://hopscotchmusicfest.com