Hopscotch Night 3: Boulevards seizes the moment as Hopscotch comes to an end

All photos by Kevin Norris

After six years, Hopscotch finally defeated me. By the time Saturday rolled around, I was dragging and for the first time I cut back on the shows I planned to attend. With my most anticipated artist, Owen Pallet, canceling for a family emergency and one in, one out situation at nearly every Moore Square area venue, I focused on catching a select few musicians.

Dwight Yoakam is one of the most intriguing headliners Hopscotch has every booked. Seeing his name on the lineup invokes a “Whoa. Really?” that sends one brain into a dance to reconcile how strange and awesome it was all at once. Yoakam did not disappoint, despite some early technical issues. There were sparkling sport coats, big cowboy hats and boots, but this wasn’t a night of country at Walnut Creek. Yoakam’s music appeals to a general audience, but he keeps his roots in country and rock and roll without kowtowing to Nashville’s pop influence.