As promised, here is the preliminary band list for the fourth annual Hopscotch Music Festival, happening Sept. 5-7 in various nightspots throughout downtown Raleigh. Consider this a work in progress, in which there will be some comings and goings from the list over the next four months. But this should be the bulk of the acts who perform come September. I'm particularly intrigued by the two full-album shows boldfaced below.

Big Boi
Spiritualized
The Breeders play "Last Splash"
Local Natives
John Cale
Sleep
Earl Sweatshirt
Low
Future Islands
Action Bronson
Matthew Dear
Oblivians
The Rosebuds play Sade’s "Love Deluxe"
Califone
Merzbow
Chatham County Line
Mikal Cronin
Pere Ubu
Marnie Stern
Pig Destroyer
Ryan Hemsworth
Pissed Jeans
Matmos
Grouper
American Aquarium
Waxahatchee
XXYYXX
Charlemagne Palestine
Wolf Eyes
Mount Moriah
Angel Olsen
Purling Hiss
Holly Herndon
WOLD
Richard Youngs
Torres
Night Beds
Houses
Big Black Delta
Jonathan Kane’s February
Gorguts
Amor de Días
Foot Village
Doug Paisley
Kopecky Family Band
ASG
Lapalux
Riton
Ken Vandermark & Tim Daisy Duo
Lonnie Holley
Nightlands
Pelt
Charalambides
Evoken
Inter Arma
Ashrae Fax
The Backsliders
Ex-Cops
Helado Negro
Fat Tony
Slavic Soul Party!
SUUNS
High Wolf
Ex-Cult
Endless Boogie
Magik Markers
Lady Lamb The Beekeeper
David Grubbs
Swearin’
Shannon Whitworth
Pharmakon
Dauwd
Cy Dune
Jeanne Jolly
Majical Cloudz
Golden Void
Malcolm Holcombe
Rose Windows
Leech
Daniel Bachman
Deleted Scenes
Overmountain Men
Alpoko Don
Whatever Brains
Dan Friel
UBT
OXYxMORON
Double Negative
Spacin’
Survival
Expo 70
Broken Prayer
Cian Nugent
Diali Cissokho & Kaira Ba
High Highs
Gross Ghost
The Lollipops
Kingsbury Manx
Toddlers
Protomartyr
Loincloth
Arborea
Water Liars
Libraness
Zen Frisbee
Cesar Comanche
Coke Bust
Speedy Ortiz
IIyas Ahmed
Mike Shiflet
Alexander Turnquist
Ahleuchatistas
Villages
The Everymen
Sylvan Esso
Katharine Whalen
Jamaican Queens
Last Year’s Men
Dub Addis
Ryan Gustafson’s The Dead Tongues
Shirlette Ammons T4GB
The Dreebs
Plume Giant
Airstrip
Ironing Board Sam
Nathan Bowles
Schooner
Terry Anderson and the Olympic Ass-Kickin Team
The Shilohs
Solar Halos
Beloved Binge
Regina Hexaphone
Bitter Resolve
Drug Yacht
Richard Bacchus & the Luckiest Girls
Morning Brigade
Prypat
High Aura’d
Horse Lords
Turf War
Human Eyes
Old Quarter
South Carolina Broadcasters
Maple Stave
Melissa Swingle
DJ Paypal
Wichita Falls
Boyzone
Casual Curious
Ama Divers
BodyGames
Estrangers
Noise Trauma
Black Zinfandel
Twilighter
Waumiss
Co.
Midnight Plus One
Spooky Woods
Wool
Eros and the Eschaton
Late Bloomer
Saints Apollo

Volume four of the Hopscotch Music Festival is coming in September, and the bulk of this year's lineup won't be announced for a couple of months. But organizers have already put one name out there, Velvet Underground co-founder John Cale. Tune back in along about late April for the rest of the lineup.

Day One Photo Gallery

I'll guarantee you something, the two most relieved people in Raleigh, North Carolina, Thursday evening were Hopscotch co-directors Greg Lowenhagen and Grayson Currin -- who dodged a major weather bullet when that day's epic downpour coincided with the day the festival didn't have a big outdoor show. Fingers crossed their good-weather mojo lasts through the weekend, and they get fair (or at least dry) skies the next two nights.

Meantime, night one of Hopscotch III was a fine time. Durham's Wood Ear played a solid set of measured twang rock, far more rocking than the group sounds on-record. Tom Maxwell was fun as ever, especially the cautionary "Jacob Marley." And Charlie Parr's driving, droning country blues sounded like a product of deepest Appalachia (except he's from Duluth, Minn.).

But the unchallenged high point of the first night was Matthew E. White from the Richmond jazz combo Fight the Big Bull, fronting a 30-piece band to recreate his new album "Big Inner." No, that number is not a typo. White himself made it 31 people onstage, an ensemble that included eight string players, an eight-piece horn section and a seven-voice choir. This was something they'll probably never have the means to do again, and it was spectacular. Equal parts soul revue and Phil Spector-ish Wall of Sound, the music was a sinuous and overpowering groove reminescent of some of David Byrne's eclectic explorations.

Early on, Currin scurried out to bring water to the musicians, ducking down so as not to appear obtrusive. Now that is a full-service festival co-director.

Hopscotch continues Friday and Saturday, with day parties around town, Jesus and Mary Chain on City Plaza Friday, The Roots on Saturday (with an after-party to follow at Six Forks Pub) and a total of 175 acts in 15 venues around downtown. For preview coverage, see this story in Friday's paper. And we'll see you around and about.

With an election coming up this fall and North Carolina shaping up as a key battleground state, we're going to be in for a long stretch of overheated political debate -- some of which will probably involve accusations that the News & Observer is just a mouthpiece for liberal propaganda. It's not for me to say whether or not that's true. But it seems worth reminding one and all that a long, long time ago, the N&O was seen as a far different kind of mouthpiece.

For example, below is something a friend just pointed out and which I somehow missed until now: a 2008 album cover by the hip-hop band The Roots, paired with the 1898 cartoon it was based on. And this particular cartoon, an unbelievable bit of race-baiting called "The Vampire That Hovers Over North Carolina," was drawn by one Norman E. Jennette and published in the N&O on Sept. 27, 1898.

This September, as it happens, The Roots will be in Raleigh to play Hopscotch. Think they might have something to say about this?
 

(Thanks, Eddie.)

The lineup won't be unveiled until April, but wristbands for next September's 2012 Hopscotch Music Festival go on sale this week. And yes, shelling out now represents a leap of faith. Based on past history, however, it should turn out fine.

Prices are $110 for the all-show wristband and $165 for the VIP edition. If you bought wristbands for either of the first two Hopscotches, you can get in on a pre-sale that starts at 10 a.m. Wednesday. Otherwise, the "official" on-sale starts Thursday. There's also a free "Hopscotch Ticket Party" show Thursday night at Tir Na Nog, a bill featuring The Toddlers, Music Tapes and others.

Scope out details here.

Toward the end of Superchunk's Saturday evening Hopscotch set, Mac McCaughan stopped singing during "Digging For Something" and started talking. He said that Superchunk had never played Raleigh much over the years, but he'd come to a lot of shows here -- mostly at clubs that no longer exist, including the Brewery and Fallout Shelter. And as he looked out over the throngs in front of the City Plaza stage, McCaughan opined that it was mighty cool to have some punk rock happening outdoors in downtown Raleigh.

I'll say. From all appearances, Hopscotch's second edition could not have gone better. The weather was great, the vibes better (everyone seemed to be on their best behavior, on both sides of the stage) and the programming first-rate. South By Southwest is the gold standard for festivals like this, but I would say I saw more bands I really liked at Hopscotch than at South By Southwest this year.

Superchunk was a highlight, opening for Flaming Lips with an hour-long set that seamlessly integrated songs from the current album "Majesty Shredding" with older songs going back two decades. So were the Lips, with a psychedelic spectacle that turned City Plaza into the world's freakiest high-tech rumpus room. And earlier Saturday, I saw fine performances by Hammer No More the Fingers, Shirlette & the Dynamite Brothers and Youth Lagoon at a day party outside the Lincoln Theatre. I would have seen more, but I was beat after the Lips and called it an early night.

So after a highly successful year two, now comes the tricky part for Hopscotch's management: How do they manage growth in a way that makes the festival better, improving on (or at least keeping) the good things about the experience? Word of mouth about this year will be overwhelmingly positive, which means a lot more people descending on Raleigh for next year's event. That certainly has its upside, because growing the festival will allow Hopscotch to get better. But unchecked growth can also render a festival a gridlocked, unmanageable mess, something that South By Southwest seems perilously close to becoming.

We'll see. But for now, all that needs saying is: Well done.

It is the nature of events like the Hopscotch Music Festival to either grow to oversized proportions, or wither and die. If Hopscotch's organizers could somehow bottle it and keep the festival right at this year's size indefinitely, that would be a very fine thing because it's really been perfect so far. The clubs have been crowded, but mostly not too crowded, with a great energy at shows around town and out on the street. Hopscotch has brought together a wonderful sense of critical mass -- the feeling that there's not only a lot of people on the town to hear music, but the right people. Bumping into folks I've not seen for a while has been half the fun.

My Hopscotch Friday began with a panel discussion on Simple Words: The Power of Narrative Songs. If you go to that link, you'll see that there were some heavy folks on that panel. So I mostly stayed quiet; said a few things here and there, but I mostly enjoyed having a seat next to Patterson Hood and listening to him hold forth. Everyone had great things to say, even though Stuart McLamb and Heather McEntire took some coaxing. I especially enjoyed hearing John Vanderslice (who has rocketed to a spot near the top of my personal singer-songwriter pantheon, between this panel and his terrific show later Friday night); and it was a special treat to hear a few songs by James Jackson Toth of Wooden Wand; I left there humming "The DNR Waltz."

Hopscotch could not have asked for more perfect weather, and it was a great scene out on City Plaza Friday evening with Drive-By Truckers and Guided By Voices. The Truckers were their usual magnificent behemoth of gothic rock grandeur, with an unusual aspect: This was the first time I've ever seen Patterson Hood onstage without a guitar in his hands. He recently took a fall and cut his left hand, which required 15 stitches. So he began the set standing at the microphone singing "The Fourth Night of My Drinking," playing air guitar. Trooper that he is, however, Hood called for a guitar after that song and gamely soldiered on.

Friday night was billed as the last-ever Guided By Voices show, which no one seems to believe. Let's just say they've said goodbye before. Superchunk drummer Jon Wurster came onstage to introduce the band, declaring that he would eat a fish sandwich for every beer the band drank onstage (it would have been a few) and noting that because this was a festival show, it would be a short set of "only" 71 songs. They actually blazed through 29 songs in a bit more than an hour, and it was ragged boozy fun. Somehow I doubt we've seen the last of them.

Then it was on to a night of club-hopping between the Berkeley Cafe (the aforementioned Vanderslice), Fletcher Opera Hall (the world's loudest, oddest, skronkiest recital with Swans) and Lincoln Theatre (Foreign Exchange with your ubur-cool host, Phonte Coleman). I was up way too late and awoke way too early; but it looks like another perfect day brewing out there, with daytime music and Flaming Lips/Superchunk tonight. I'll see you out there.

This weekend is the second annual Hopscotch Music Festival, with tons of shows all over downtown Raleigh -- including Drive-By Truckers tonight with Guided By Voices, a show previewed here. Truckers guitarist Patterson Hood will also be on a panel discussion called Simple Words: The Power of Narrative Songs, happening from 3 to 5 p.m. today at the Raleigh City Museum and featuring a number of other folks (including me, though I plan to listen a lot more than I talk). Come on by.

Meantime, night one of Hopscotch was mighty fine, with big crowds and fine performances all over. I mostly just drifted around the downtown district popping into clubs to sample the festival's lineup a few songs at a time. I managed to see eight bands over the course of the evening, ranging from fantastic (our hometown heroes The Love Language) to super-fun (Brooklyn's Dinosaur Feathers) to super-baffling (New York's Cold Cave, who appeared to be bucking for a guest spot on "Sprockets"). Here's the night-one photo gallery.

Two more nights of rock beckon, although you'll need a wristband to club-hop and those sold out long ago. Also sold-out are advance tickets for Saturday's Flaming Lips show at City Plaza, but there should be some walk-up tickets available at the gate. And if you don't have either of those, your best bet might be to partake of the various day parties -- which have the added advantage of being free.

I'll see you around and about.

Wristbands go on sale at 10 a.m. Wednesday for the second edition of the Hopscotch Music Festival, which happens Sept. 8-10, and the list of who all will be playing is below. Of particular note, the big outdoor shows on City Plaza this year are Flaming Lips on Sept. 9, and Guided By Voices/Drive-By Truckers on Sept. 10. Club schedules should be out sometime in June. Like last year, everything is within walking distance in downtown Raleigh.

Wristbands are priced at $65, $105 and $160. For details, check here.

Flaming Lips, Guided By Voices, Drive-By Truckers, Superchunk, The Dodos, Swans, Yelawolf, Japandroids, Black Lips, J Mascis, Earth, Twin Shadow, The Love Language, Cold Cave, The Foreign Exchange, Krallice, The Necks, Toro Y Moi, Rhys Chatham G3, The Budos Band, Lost in the Trees, Weekend, Future Islands, Little Scream, Kort, John Vanderslice, Liturgy, Disappears, Lower Dens, Beans, Julianna Barwick, Xiu Xiu, Royal Bangs, Braids, Bombadil, Oneohtrix Point Never, Beach Fossils, Annuals, Lonnie Walker, JEFF the Brotherhood, Light Pines, Bird Peterson, Barn Owl, Royal Baths, Ford & Lopatin, The Old Ceremony, Generationals, Cheyenne Marie Maze, Woodsman, Dinosaur Feathers, All Tiny Creatures, Frontier Ruckus, Apex Manor, Bandway, Fight the Big Bull, Reading Rainbow, Wooden Wand, Des Ark, Grandchildren, Man/Miracle, Horseback, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, The Body, Prurient, Frank Fairfield, Flight, Gauntlet Hair, William Tyler, Duane Pitre Sextet, Jennyanykind, Chip Robinson, Tyvek, Dawn Golden and Rosy Cross, Andrew Cedermark, Mandolin Orange, Spider Bags, Mount Eerie, Last Year's Men, PC Worship, Jon Lindsay, Richard Bishop, Super Vacations, Onward Soldiers, Empress Hotel, Steve Gunn, Dustin Wong, Whatever Brains, David Daniell, Mount Moriah, Organos, King Mez, Apple Juice Kid, Thien, Jesse Sparhawk & Eric Carbonara, Invisible Hand, Carlitta Durand, Old Bricks, Black Twig Pickers, Dylan Gilbert, Tender Fruit, Twelve Thousand Armies, Filthybird, Yair Yona, Tomahawks, Caltrop, Wesley Wolfe, Family Dynamics, Heads on Sticks, Gross Ghost, Justin Robinson, Embarrassing Fruits, Yardwork, Soft Company, Cassis Orange, Wembley, Bustello, Le Weekend, Oulipo, Strugglers, Jack the Radio, The Moderate, Peter Lamb and the Wolves, Man Will Destroy Himself

You might want to block out Sept. 8-10 on your calendar, because there's going to be a bunch of bands -- a bunch of bands -- playing in Raleigh that you'll probably want to hear. That's the weekend of the second edition of the Hopscotch Music Festival, the particulars of which will be announced on April 20.

For now, I can tell you that they'll sell 3,300 wristbands this year, up from 2,500 last year; they'll go on sale the day of the big announcement, April 20, and cost from $65 to $160; the addition of Fletcher Opera Hall and White Collar Crime will bring the total up to 12 venues throughout downtown Raleigh; and of the 135 acts on the schedule, less than a dozen are repeats from last year.