Hopscotch Announces Edward McKay Artist & Author Series

Just when you thought your Hopscotch weekend plans were already filled to the max with main stage shows, club shows, and day parties, the music festival has just announced that it will be sponsoring a series of afternoon discussions and readings alongside sponsors Edward McKay and Raleigh City Museum. The sessions will feature Grammy nominees and winners, bandleaders, and music critics, and will surely provide an interesting and stimulating alternate to the day parties that will be hosted around town.

During three late afternoon sessions on Sept. 9, 10 and 11, musicians like Andrew Whiteman of Broken Social Scene and Apostle of Hustle and hip-hop producer 9th Wonder will talk about music’s cultural and social impacts with critics and authors like Spin and Village Voice writer Christopher R. Weingarten and acclaimed author and Duke University professor Mark Anthony Neal. Other guests include Dolph Ramseur of Ramseur Records, Phil Cook of Megafaun and Charlie Smarts of Kooley High, with more panelists to be added as Hopscotch Music Festival approaches.

The panels and discussions are described below:

THURSDAY, SEPT. 9 (5–7 p.m.)
 North Carolina’s Musical Heritage: Past, Present and Future

From the old-time music and bluegrass that’s moved from the state’s mountains to the litany of jazz and soul icons that have called North Carolina home, this state has a tradition of fostering musical innovators. Several careful students of those lineages will gather to discuss the state’s musical past, how it’s being preserved, and why it has such an important influence on the music being made here now.

The speakers include Durham’s PHIL COOK of Megafaun, a band that blends folk sounds of the past with adventurous experimentation; Concord’s DOLPH RAMSEUR of Ramseur Records, who has helped turn both The Avett Brothers and Carolina Chocolate Drops into international emissaries for the sounds of North Carolina; Raleigh’s MARSHALL WYATT of Old Hat Records, a Grammy-nominated, Bob Dylan-approved label that collects historic recordings and curates them into rich compilations; and Chapel Hill’s AARON SMITHERS, who has traveled the state recording under-documented artists. Hopscotch Curator and Independent Weekly Music Editor GRAYSON CURRIN will moderate the discussion. Cook will also perform as his one-man band.

FRIDAY, SEPT. 10 (4–6 p.m.)
 Black Mountain College: Legacy and Inspiration

Andrew Whiteman writes, sings and plays guitar in the Canadian bands Broken Social Scene and Apostle of Hustle. Not long after Broken Social Scene confirmed their co-headlining Hopscotch set, Whiteman approached festival organizers about an event that would honor Black Mountain College, the influential interdisciplinary school that opened in western North Carolina in 1933. Whiteman will read his own poetry, as well as that of several Black Mountain acolytes, and discuss the school’s importance with a panel of local poets.

The speakers include Toronto’s ANDREW WHITEMAN, will read from his forthcoming book, Tourism; Durham’s KEN RUMBLE, an installation artist, musician and the author of Key Bridge; Durham’s MEG STEIN, an installation artist and musician working and playing in the 715 Washington art collective, along with Rumble; Durham’s CHRIS VITIELLO, a poet and artist and the author of Irresponsibility; and Raleigh’s CHRIS TONELLI, a professor at N.C. State University, the author of four chapbooks and the founder of the So and So Series. Pitchfork Media Critic and Paste Senior Contributing Editor BRIAN HOWE, an accomplished poet himself, will moderate the discussion. Rumble, Stein and Vitiello will also present a performance inspired by the Black Mountain College happenings of John Cage and Robert Rauschenberg at the start of the event.

SATURDAY, SEPT. 11 (4–6 p.m.)
 Hip-Hop Planet: Music and Its Work in the World

When people talk about the political importance and immediacy of hip-hop, perhaps no group gets mentioned more than Public Enemy, and perhaps no records more than their It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back and Fear of a Black Planet. With Public Enemy headlining Hopscotch Saturday night, we decided to talk about the social impact that hip-hop has historically had and if that role might be changing.

The speakers include Durham’s 9TH WONDER, the Little Brother cofounder and Grammy winner who has gone on to make music with Jay-Z, Destiny’s Child, David Banner and Murs; New York’s CHRISTOPHER R. WEINGARTEN, “the last rock critic standing” and a scribe for Village Voice, Spin, Rolling Stone and the author of a new book on Public Enemy; Durham’s MARK ANTHONY NEAL, a Professor of Black Popular Culture at Duke University and the author of several books on music and culture; and Raleigh’s CHARLIE SMARTS, a member of the exuberant, emerging hip-hop crew Kooley High. Hopscotch Director GREG LOWENHAGEN and Curator GRAYSON CURRIN will moderate the discussion. Weingarten will spin his tribute set to It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back before the discussion begins.

The series events are free, though seating may be limited at the Raleigh City Museum, and the festival is encouraging that interested parties arrive early to secure a spot. A limited number of wristbands for Hopscotch are still available at the festival website.

 

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