Hopscotch 2014 Night 1: De La Soul, Professor Toon and The Real Laww

All photos by Chris Powers

Hopscotch 2014 officially kicked off with the first Thursday night City Plaza show and it was a sign of things to come. If one thing was different about the fifth installment of Hopscotch, it’s that there was a lot more rhythm all around. More hip hop, more non-drone experimental music, and more dance music. This was a welcome change and I think the festival hit the right balance of genres across the board.

Durham’s own Professor Toon and The Real Law shared the stage as the opener for De La Soul. The duo’s no-frills show was the perfect intro to the night, much more appropriate than the Love Language/No Age combo that led into Public Enemy back at 2010’s Hopscotch. 

Hopscotch adds third City Plaza show with De La Soul

For the first time in the brief history of the Hopscotch Music Festival in Raleigh, this year's festival will expand their main City Plaza stage to a third day with the addition of a show on Thursday, September 4.

Veteran hip-hop group De La Soul will headline the big stage on September 4 with Toon and The Real Laww kicking things off. All 3-day passes will include admission to this show and individual tickets for the show will go on sale soon HERE for $30.

De La Soul have received a lot of attention this year after they gave away their entire back catalog as a digital download for a limited time. They have a new album out soon titled You're Welcome.

Run the Jewels to rock Raleigh on New Year's Eve

It may seem a bit early to talk about, but New Year's Eve isn't too far away and Hopscotch will be presenting a big show in Raleigh this year.

Hip hop heavyweights Run the Jewels (EL-P and Killer Mike) will ring in 2014 at the Lincoln Theatre. Toon & The Real Laww will kick things off at 9 p.m. and then both EL-P and Killer mike will perform solo sets before joining forces as Run the Jewels at midnight. Tickets are on sale now via Etix for $29.50 (general admission) or $49.50 (VIP upstairs).

Stream the entire album Run the Jewels, released earlier this year, below.