Hopscotch Music Festival 2024 Preview

Asheville-based bands are once again playing this year’s Hopscotch Music Festival, including some of the four-day event’s biggest stages. In addition to Indigo De Souza performing at City Plaza on Saturday, Sept. 7, there’s a good chance of a Jake Lenderman trifecta with MJ Lenderman and The Wind playing City Plaza on Friday, Sept. 6, Wednesday heading to Moore Square on Sept. 7, and a likely appearance during Waxahatchee’s headlining City Plaza set.on Thursday, Sept. 5.

(Lenderman and Wednesday frontwoman Karly Hartzman are also playing a duo set on Sept. 7 at Kings and Neptunes, part of the artists’ curated day party. But with the ticketed event open to non-festival attendees, you may have to camp out overnight to get in.)

Per Hopscotch tradition, when the huge, open-air slate is over each day, it’s time to head indoors and check out other talented groups from Buncombe County. Among them are Secret Shame (Sept. 5 at 10 p.m. at Wicked Witch) and Wagging (Sept. 6 at 10 p.m. at Neptunes), whose frontwomen Lena and Alison Antaramian were kind enough to share a few memories with Asheville Stages of Hopscotches past.

I went to Hopscotch for the first (and only) time in 2016. Some friends and I did backup dancing for Joel Herring, who was performing under the name Nervous Dupree. Our set was on a little stage in an alley at the hottest point of the day, and we were all wriggling around in black mesh fabric tubes, trying to look like giant worms. Good times.

That weekend we saw Vince Staples, which was really fun and rowdy, and later caught Big Freedia. I ended up getting on stage during Big Freedia (it was called for!) which is something I heard more about than remember. Biggest regret is not seeing Lavender Country that year. —Alison Antaramian (guitar/vocals/keyboard for Wagging)

Secret Shame (Photo by Terra Hilton)

The first time we played at Hopscotch in 2019, we played on the weekend at Neptunes but came early to stay for the whole fest — we were running around the city trying to catch everything we could. I remember us lying in the grass and watching the sky during James Blake. Then later we went to see Pharmacon at the Wicked Witch, and I was so exhausted I passed out on the bar couch. Wednesday played at a dive bar, Slims or Smalls or something like that, and they were great. —Lena (vocals for Secret Shame)

(Photo of Wagging by Erin Brethauer)