Top 5 moments from the 2024 Hopscotch Music Festival

Despite a lineup that appeared to be the most impressive since its 2019 edition, Hopscotch Music Festival 2024 wound up being somewhat of a snoozefest for this team.

With the bulk of the weekend’s hip-hop questionably relegated to Thursday afternoon/evening in Moore Square, right before our festival availability began, we were left with a surplus of “polite Americana” acts specializing in reserved tempos and instrumentation that barely differed from one band to the next. And when there was energy, minimal musicianship accompanied it — as was the case with JPEGMafia’s confounding, loud, and recording-reliant performance on opening night at Moore Square.

However, next-day Instagram videos throughout the fest revealed the likes of Zorn frontman Eric Teofilak being carted to the stage in a coffin, and Chiffon bringing its infectious dance pop sounds to the people — so, that’s on us for not seeking out the edgier acts at smaller clubs during the day parties and late at night. But in our defense, Hopscotch has conditioned us to expect a range of styles and tempos on the two main stages — a variety that was sorely lacking until the festival’s final day.

Amidst the inconsistency, a handful of memorable moments emerged that didn’t quite fill our proverbial cups, but left us hopeful for 2025 and committed to putting in more advance research to encourage a better overall experience.

Hanna Ljungholm (Photo by Edwin Arnaudin)

Hanna Ljungholm crowd-works with a teen

Lincoln Theater’s decision to not provide seating for its Sept. 5 slate of comedy was…a choice, and kept most of the standing attendees from venturing close to the stage, despite performers pleading for them to come on down. Those who boldly stepped forward were met with comic commentary, none funnier than when the Austin-based stand-up exclaimed, “Oh my god! Is that a child?” to which the young man said, “Well, technically.”

The subsequent check with his parents that they were OK with raunchy subject matter (both gave an enthusiasic thumbs up) and the youth revealing himself to be a mere 13 years old showcased Ljungholm’s quick-witted improvisational gifts, and ranked up with her best prepared material.

The Jesus Lizard (Photo by Rodney Boles)

David Yow flirts with handcuffs

By far the festival’s most raw, authentic, and energetic mainstage performance, The Jesus Lizard filled Moore Square with thundering guitar, bass, drums, and vocals during the park’s final Hopscotch set on Sept. 7.

After boasting of reaching new levels of intoxication, the frontman momentarily turned his attention from singing to pure showmanship as his jeans were suddenly unbuttoned, partially unzipped, and Lil’ David was nearly shaken out for all to see. Though no public indecency laws were ultimately broken, the sense that Raleigh’s Finest could be lurking in the shadows, ready to pounce on an exposed rock star only added to the electric atmosphere.

St. Vincent (Photo by Rodney Boles)

St. Vincent delivers the goods

The festival’s top headliner closed out City Plaza’s slate on Sept. 7 with a wall of electro-rock sound that showcased Annie Clark’s gifts as a musician and entertainer. Combining top-notch vocals and guitar solos with confident crowd interaction, the magnetic frontwoman proved why she deserved top billing song after song — particularly on earworm “Los Ageless,” whose passionate rendition will not be soon forgotten.

MJ Lenderman and Karly Hartzman (Photo by Bryan Regan)

MJ Lenderman ascends

The entire weekend felt like an indie rock coronation for the man we Ashevillians know simply as Jake, and he and his crew made the most of it.

Kicking things off with an expected but still very much welcome cameo on Song of the Year frontrunner “Right Back to It” that temporarily enlivened Waxahatchee’s mannered set Thursday at City Plaza, Lenderman and his band The Wind returned to that stage the following night with a set conveniently timed with the release day of his critically acclaimed (Pitchfork Best New Music!), widely covered (The New Yorker! Rolling Stone!) album Manning Fireworks. He then partook in a curated Wednesday & MJ Lenderman day party the next afternoon at Kings (including a rare duo set with him and bandmate Karly Hartzman), all capped off a little over an hour later with Wednesday’s ferocious performance at Moore Square.

The embarrassment of musical riches yielded numerous highlights, none more celebratory than The Wind’s epic take on his best song thus far, “Taste Just Like it Costs,” featuring such giddy sights as Hartzman bouncing around like a hip-hop hype man and the extended Wednesday family stepping out to headbang in rhythm with the electric repeated chorus.

Crowning musical royalty has rarely felt so rewarding.

Wednesday (Photo by Bryan Regan)

Karly Hartzman holds court

Energizing as it was to witness Lenderman’s ubiquity, there was something special and a little nostalgic (and sad) about seeing him with Wednesday in the penultimate Sept. 7 slot at Moore Square.

Throughout the festival, some nervous tension kept creeping in as we and other informed fans processed the semi-recent breakup of Hartzman and Lenderman, wondering what emotions they were experiencing performing together in Wednesday, his band, and the Saturday day party duo show. No longer in East Asheville, she’s apparently set to stay in Greensboro with him likely relocating to Durham, and despite positive messages on Wednesday’s Instagram account, news of the band’s next album already in the can, and a Third Man Records duo show on the books a few weeks later, the future of Wednesday felt decidedly murky.

And yet each of the exes’ shared performances conveyed nothing but camaraderie and mutual respect, especially Wednesday’s big finale. Swaying in a black strapless dress while ripping on her signature sequined guitar, Hartzman exuded rock star charisma, spiking her alt-country vocals with road-tested panache as the band’s Rat Saw God touring cycle officially came to an end. And the combination of Lenderman, Xandy Chelmis (lap steel guitar), Alan Miller (drums), and Ethan Baechtold (bass) matched her commitment with complementary instrumentation of the highest caliber.

Vocally impressed/horrified by attendees crowdsurfing during the emotionally raw “Bull Believer,” Hartzman let loose the song’s concluding cathartic screams of “Finish him!!!” with something resembling genuine finality — for the end of a chapter that she noted literally changed the band’s life, and almost certainly for the end of various other things along the way.

As they exited the stage, the words “Wednesday just saved Hopscotch” were texted to a few friends. It might have been the truest thought we had all weekend.

(MJ Lenderman photo by Rodney Bowles)