Hopscotch Music Festival officially kicks off on Thursday evening. If you’re planning to be in Raleigh, don’t bypass the excellent lineup of FREE day parties from Thursday afternoon through Sunday! If you don’t have a wristband, you can still see a hearty selection of acts that range from local to national. It’s also not too late to buy a wristband to the official festival! A small amount remain available for purchase through Hopscotch’s website.

Having trouble wrapping your mind around day party schedules and time slots? I’ve compiled them into a list for Thursday through Sunday*, and you can download it right here: Hopscotch 2016 Day Parties

A few highlights:

On Thursday, Gerrit Welmers (Future Islands) will be performing some of his Moss of Aura solo set 1pm at Kings. His latest album, “We’ll All Collide” was just released last week.

Also on Thursday, Miami artist/producer, VIRGO plays Ruby Deluxe at 4:15pm. Virgo’s cosmic sounds started off as compositions for a film project she was working on until she noticed their potential and turned those pieces into full-length songs with vocals.

On Friday, you can catch Bill Nace (half of Body/Head… Kim Gordon being the other half) solo 2:10pm at Kings. Nace’s list of past and present collaborations (both through art and music) is impressive and extensive. And out of all of Friday’s day parties, the Three Lobed Records + WXDU show at Kings brings such a talented crew, you won’t go wrong if you get there early or stick around late.

Stop by Slim’s on Saturday to catch Baltimore’s Wing Dam at 4:55pm as their cross-country tour continues on through the next month. They just might be the most fun band you see at a Hopscotch day party.

UPDATES (changed on PDF)

(9/7/16 11:30am) – Mac McCaughan has been added to the 1:30pm slot at OCSC’s day party Sat., 9/10 at Kings (replacing Sneaks)

*The times listed are based on a mix of times provided on Hopscotch’s website, along with the official Facebook event pages for each day party. Check those for any last minute changes.