Eric Church, Willie Nelson, The Roots, Modest Mouse, Sheryl Crow & more playing new Raleigh festival

The Triangle is getting another big festival to add to the calendar along with the Hopscotch Music Festival, World of Bluegrass festivites, and Moogfest coming next year.

This fall the first American Roots Music & Arts Festival will come to Walnut Creek Amphitheater on October 17 and 18 featuring an eclectic lineup. Country superstar and North Carolina native Eric Church will headline both nights and the rest of the lineup includes Willie Nelson, The Roots, Modest Mouse, Sheryl Crow, Warren Haynes, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Grace Potter, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Chris Stapleton, Railroad Earth, Leftover Salmon and Greensky Bluegrass. More performers will be announced later.

Hopscotch 2012 Day 3: The Roots, Shirlette & The Dynamite Brothers

Photo by Kevin Norris

Weather was not a friend to the Hopscotch Music Festival on Saturday evening as a strong band of storms rolled through Raleigh forcing crowds to seek shelter in local businesses around City Plaza. The crowd patiently waited and even though Escort set's was canceled, once the rained passed, The Roots stormed the stage.

The band are a true powerhouse both musically and as entertainers. They rocked through a set including hits like "The Seed (2.0)," "How I Got Over" and "Here I Come," the theme song for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

The Hopsoctch 2012 lineup is here with The Roots, Jesus & Mary Chain, Built To Spill & many more

One of the most anticipated annual local music announcements is the Hopscotch Music Festival lineup, and today is the day where we get to share it with you.

This year's lineup includes a whopping 175 acts. Influential rock bands The Jesus and Mary Chain and Built To Spill will play the City Plaza stage on Friday, September 7 and hip-hop superstars The Roots will headline on Saturday, September 8 with dance group Escort opening.

Other performers include Dan Deacon, The dB's, Deerhoof, Field Report, Hiss Golden Messenger, J. Roddy Walston & The Business, Lambchop, Liars, Mac McCaughan, Roman Candle, Samantha Crain, Shark Quest, Shovels & Rope, Thee Oh See, Versus, Wye Oak, Yo La Tengo and Zola Jesus. Check out the full lineup below.

Dave Matthews Band unveils 2009 dates, Avetts, Roots and Old Crow to open

Dave Matthews Band fans will catch a little relief from the sweltering summer heat this year — the band is going back to playing late spring dates with stops in Raleigh and Charlotte.

The band will play Time Warner Cable Music Pavillion at Walnut Creek (whew! deep breath...) on Wed., April 22 followed by Charlotte's Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre on Friday, April 24.

Opening those dates, as well as a handful in Texas and the southwest are Carolina favorites The Avett Brothers. The Roots, Old Crow Medicine Show and Jason Mraz will open the rest of the dates announced so far.

Tickets to the two North Carolina shows will go on sale Friday, January 17, at 10am.

Dave Matthews Band's as-yet-untitled new album will be out on April 14. The album, the group's first since LeRoi Moore's death last year, was produced by Rob Cavallo — who you may remember from Green Day's American Idiot. It will certainly be interesting to see how longtime fans respond to this one. Are we in store for another Glen Ballard-style revolt? (P.S. I thought Everyday was a good album. Don't tell.)

04.14.09 - New York, NY - Madison Square Garden !
04.15.09 - East Rutherford, NJ - IZOD Center !
04.17.09 - Charlottesville, VA - John Paul Jones Arena #
04.18.09 - Charlottesville, VA - John Paul Jones Arena #
04.20.09 - Pelham, AL - Verizon Wireless Music Center #
04.22.09 - Raleigh, NC - Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion $
04.24.09 - Charlotte, NC - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre $
04.25.09 - Nashville, TN - Vanderbilt Stadium
04.26.09 - New Orleans, LA - New Orleans Jazz Heritage Festival
04.28.09 - Alpharetta, GA - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre $
04.29.09 - Alpharetta, GA - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre $
05.01.09 - The Woodlands, TX - The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion $
05.02.09 - Dallas, TX - Superpages.com Center $
05.05.09 - Albuquerque, NM - Journal Pavilion $
05.06.09 - Phoenix, AZ - Cricket Wireless Pavilion $
05.08.09 - Las Vegas, NV - MGM Grand Garden Arena %
05.09.09 - Las Vegas, NV - MGM Grand Garden Arena %

! w/ the Roots
# w/ Old Crow Medicine Show
$ w/ The Avett Brothers
% w/ Jason Mraz

The Roots, Eve 6 to play (separately) in the Triangle

It's barely spring but dates are popping up across the area that will take us well into the sweltering days of summer.

The Roots will play a free show at Duke University on Wednesday, April 23, for the university's "last day of class" party. In our experience, there's no sort of ID check to keep these shows students only, so by all means head out there.

In a move proving once and for all that they are totally out of touch, Downtown Live organizers have booked Eve 6 to play in Moore Square on Aug. 23. What should be a really cool event is instead a parade of past-their-peak rock bands. My hope of redemption lives on, but I'm guessing it will quickly fade as each new show is announced.

State Fair organizers are also already hard and work and have booked Jason Aldean, TobyMac and Joe Nichols for their weeklong Christian 'n Country extravaganza. This year's fair will be held Oct. 17-26.

In another Van Halen update, the show has now been re-rescheduled for May 5. We're not holding our breath.

And for those of you who are, like us, wondering when the hell R.E.M. tickets will go on sale for their June 10 show at Walnut Creek, we have no idea. But you'll be the first to know when we do find out!