Hopscotch announces 2012 day parties

The details of the free day parties for the 2012 Hopscotch Music Festival were announced today. There are about 30 day parties in all, more than any previous year, featuring some of the area's biggest bands.

There will be five big official parties, two on Friday, September 7, and three on Saturday, September 8. Here's how those parties break down.

The The Love Language will headline a party at the Contemporary Art Museum on Friday from noon to 5 p.m. that will also feature Lonnie Walker, The American West, The Lollipops and SPCL GST.

Royal Bangs announce new album & tour, coming to Chapel Hill

Tennessee rockers Royal Bangs will release their third full-length album titled Flux Outside on March 29 via Glassnote Records and will kick off a hefty tour to support the album the following day in North Carolina.

After playing Greenville and Asheville, quite an odd routing choice, the band will come to Local 506 in Chapel Hill on April Fools Day, Friday, April 1. Tickets are $10 and available now via etix.

Stream or download the bombastic song "Grass Helmet" from Flux Outside via the widget below (click the down arrow on the right side to download).

Album Review: Royal Bangs - Let It Beep

The newest release by the Knoxville-based Royal Bangs, Let It Beep, is a like an entire pack of gummy bears melted together on a hot day: strange, but colorful and delicious.

Royal Bangs combine bouncy indie rock and layers of dancing electronics with a garage rock mentality for a sound that falls somewhere between Radiohead and Electric Six. The band often sounds as if they are driving without brakes, full speed ahead without a care in the world and no intention to stop.

This pure rock and roll attitude dominates the first couple of tracks. The opener “War Bells” is pretty straight forward, but sets up the urgent and explosive “Poison Control” nicely.

Royal Bangs to drop by Schoolkids after the Rodeo [Canceled]

Knoxville band Royal Bangs, who opened for The Black Keys last night at Disco Rodeo, will stop by Schoolkids Records this afternoon. The band will play a set today at 5:30PM sharp!

[UPDATE: Well, the in-store has been canceled. Here's the statement that Schoolkids received from the band's label.

"We are so sorry to tell you that Royal Bangs had to return home after last night's show. apparently one of the band members had something he had to attend to. It was important enough to cancel with you guys, something they know is not cool. We totally apologize. We really wanted this to happen."

So within a few hours of this post, the show was off. Sorry guys.]

Royal Bangs debut album We Breed Champions is out now via Audio Eagle Records.

Royal Bangs tour dates:
Oct 7 2008 - Coyotes at City Block - Louisville, KY *
Oct 8 2008 - Ryman Auditorium - Nashville, TN *
Oct 9 2008 - LC Amphitheatre - Columbus, OH *
Oct 10 2008 - Madison Theatre - Covington, KY *
Oct 11 2008 - EJ Thomas Hall - Akron, OH *
Oct 25 2008 - CMJ (L Magazine Party) - Brooklyn, NY
Oct 25 2008 - Cake Shop (CMJ Music Fest) - New York, NY
Nov 6 2008 - Skull Alley - Louisville, KY
Nov 7 2008 - The Basement - Nashville, TN
Nov 8 2008 - Pilot Light - Knoxville, TN
Nov 9 2008 - The Milestone - Charlotte, NC
Nov 13 2008 - Khyber - Philadelphia, PA
Nov 14 2008 - Death By Audio - Brooklyn, NY
Nov 17 2008 - The Bug Jar - Rochester, NY
Nov 20 2008 - Corktown Tavern - Detriot, MI
Nov 22 2008 - The Picador Iowa City, Iowa
Nov 23 2008 - 7th Street Entry - Minneapolis, MN
Nov 24 2008 - Lemp Arts Neighborhood Center - St. Louis, MO
Nov 25 2008 - The Buccaneer - Memphis, TN

* w/ The Black Keys