Everything you need to know about Hopscotch Music Festival 2026

September marks the beginning of fall, a new school year, and the 16th annual Hopscotch Music Festival – a time when the city is transformed into a sonic playground. Over three days, from September 10 -12, downtown Raleigh becomes host to 150 live musicians, and performers, performing on two large stages in Moore Square and City Plaza, as well as in several participating clubs and venues. 

The streets are closed down for block parties, day parties, skating and extreme sport demonstrations – as well as killer DJs. Like the childhood game it’s named after, Hopscotch is a time of joy. It’s when you can rub shoulders with the local community and leap between squares to witness some of the best local talent and music.

We attended for the first time last year and had a blast. Hopscotch is a unique Raleigh event with a huge diversity of artists and things to do both day and night. Our favorite experiences were the day parties and the performers in the smaller inside venues. Hopscotch is deeply rooted in community and culture which is why we loved it so much.

It was fun meeting people on the streets and in bars, chatting about who they were going to see next and where, what day parties they were attending, and insider tips to make the most of the day. It felt like my favorite Big Day Out Festival in Australia where you would bounce from stage to stage at the Sydney Showgrounds swapping stories of the different artists and venues you saw with other festival goers. So vibrant and connected and all about the music!

If, we’re in town, we’ll be making it a regular event. We think it’s one of Raleigh’s most unique and diverse events that really supports local business and community. We highly recommend you attend, even if it’s just for the free day parties. In this guide, we share everything you need to know about the Hopscotch Music Festival in Raleigh for 2026.

About Hopscotch Music Festival

Hopscotch Music Festival began in 2010, making 2026 the 16th anniversary of this electrifying festival in Raleigh. It was founded by Greg Lowenhagen and Grayson Currin, who wanted to showcase a diverse range of music genres and support the local creative community.

Unlike most mega-festivals with massive fenced-in fields, Hopscotch is an urban festival spread over a 5-block radius, which makes it feel more intimate and centered around the local community. Streets and bars in Downtown Raleigh part of the atmosphere making it a true citywide celebration. And with free and ticketed events it’s inclusive to all budgets.

It’s also not limited to open-air stages – one moment you’re in a sweaty dive bar crammed with people dancing to Bluegrass, the next you’re in a grand theater bathed in sound. There are eight other participating venues with a range of sizes. The smallest participating venue, the Neptune, can only fit around 100 people, whereas the historic Lincoln Theater can seat 750 comfortably.

Participating venues in the Hopscotch Music Festival this year so far include Lincoln Theatre The Pour House Music Hall & Record Shop, Kings,, Nash Hall, and Slim’s.

Hopscotch Music Festival is open to all ages, but kids under 12 must be accompanied by an adult at the City Plaza and Moore Square stages. The Pour House, Neptunes, and Slims are 21+ venues, but Lincoln Theatre, King, and Transfer Co. Ballrooms are open to all ages. 

It’s also not limited in music, either. The beauty of Hopscotch is that every genre is celebrated, from electronic DJs to jazz to experimental music, and everything in between. It welcomes both nationally known headliners and up-and-coming artists from our own City of Oaks.

As well as music, Hopscotch features local vendors, food trucks, day parties, add a free Moore Square experience (including for kids), so there’s literally something for everyone! It’s an amazing opportunity to discover more of the vibrant life in Downtown Raleigh!

What’s new for 2026 Hopscotch Festival?

The Hopscotch Festival brings in new things every year to make it a better experience for all. This year Moore Square will transform into Moore Square Commons. Discover musicians, artists, makers, food vendors, free and welcoming family-friendly space to celebrate everything that makes Raleigh, Raleigh. It will be a space to slow down, meet friends, grab a drink in our beer garden, browse our local vendor market, and discover musicians from across the Triangle. It’s not specified yet, but I feel like Moore Square won’t be a big stage venue this year like it was last year.

Totscotch will return to Moore Square! n collaboration with Marbles Kids Museum. This family-friendly event will feature kid-focused activities, live music interactive entertainment, creative play, and plenty of space for young festivalgoers to explore. Totscotch will take place on Saturday, September 12 from 10am – 1pm.

One of the biggest things that are new for Hopscotch in 2026 is that Single day-passes are back! it was that you could only buy one pass that covered the whole three days. Now you can choose just one day if it better suits your schedule. Those passes are limited however so don’t delay!

Watch the official Hopscotch highlights video below 👇

Tickets and Passes

The best thing about Hopscotch is that it’s free to attend the day parties, but to watch the bands play on the open-air stages and attend club nights at the independent venues, you need to purchase a ticket. Instead of having a printed-out ticket, each ticket comes with a wristband, which allows you to freely move between venues. Passes for 2026 are lower than last year! YAY!!:

• Single Day Passes ($79) – choose your day for three days of music at City Plaza and Moore Square stages and access to late-night sets at participating clubs.
• 3-Day General Admission ($129) – includes access to three days of music at City Plaza and Moore Square stages and access to late-night sets at participating clubs.
• 3-Day VIP + Club Fast Pass ($299) – includes access to three days of music at City Plaza and Moore Square stages and priority access to late-night sets at participating clubs. Exclusive VIP-only amenities and a VIP Swag Bag.

2026 Hopscotch Headliners

The main headliners for the Hopscotch Festival 2026 in Raleigh include Dexter and the Moonrocks, Cory Wong, King Princess, Momma, Duckwrth, Soccer Mommy, and more! The image above shows the full lineup.

For City Plaza, the headliners each night will be:

• Dexter and the Moonrocks The West Texas band created their own sound, “Western Space Grunge,” turning a grassroots following into one of the fastest-rising acts in rock.
• Cory Wong: Grammy-nominated guitarist, composer, and producer Cory Wong is known for his infectious funk grooves, high-energy live performances, and genre-blending sound.
• King Princess: American singer-songwriter known for her genre-blending pop sound and honest songwriting.

Don’t worry if you don’t know any of the artists. We didn’t last year but had a lot of fun discovering new favorites across all genres and all quirk levels. Last year, we saw Goose on the main stage and now I see the in the mainstream world all the time.

I’ve been listening to the Hopscotch Main Stage playlist on Spotify and so far have penciled down King Princess, Willis, Momma, Liz Cooper, and Dexter and the Moonrocks as musts!

One of my favorite memories was seeing Goose’s best fan up the front in the crowd, waving his arm in the air with a goose sock on it. You can live vicariously through the fandom of others at Hopscotch. And you might just discover a new artist! It’s a great way to support indie artists!

Our most fun live music experiences were in Slims, Neptunes, and Kings – our first time experiencing the last two music venues. They’re fantastic.

Hopscotch Daily Schedule 2026

No schedule outlined yet. We’ll update this guide once it’s released. For now, we can share who is playing where on what day! Start researching the artists here and check out the Spotify main stage playlist below!

Thursday, Sept 10, 2026

City Plaza Headiners: Momma, Liz Cooper & Leo Brooks Band, & Dexter and the Moonrocks

Friday, Sept 11, 2026

City Plaza: Duckwrth, Thee Sinseers & Butcher Brown, and Cory Wong

Saturday, Sept 12, 2026

City Plaza: Soccer Mommy, WILLIS, Annie DiRusso, and King Princess

Day parties

The day parties are so much fun and where you can discover more local artists just starting out. They are typically held in bars, restaurants, and cafes. They are free to attend and take place at participating venues before the main headliners start playing in the various official Hopscotch venues. Some day parties may overlap, for example Slims! Day parties feature live music, and there are usually special deals on at the bar.

Wednesday Sept 9 (kickoff evening parties)

• Neptunes: Punk Nite 7pm – 2am
• Slims: Cesar Jesus’ Hopscotch Kickoff Party 7pm – 12am

Thursday Sept 10:

• The Pour House: Hopscotch goes Hardcore 12pm – 5pm
• Slims: Wake Forest Listening Hopscotch Day Party 12pm – 5pm
• Kings: Sick Day 12pm – 5pm
• Incendiary Brewing: 3rd anniversary 1pm – 5pm
• WKNC 88.1 & NSCU Libraries: 1pm – 3pm
• Neptunes The Warm Up: 12pm

Friday Sept 11:

• Kings: The Annual Ritual of Summoning: 12pm – 5pm
• The Pour House: Homie Hangout 12:30pm – 5pm
• Slims: Sleepy Cat’s Day Party: 1pm – 5pm
• Incendiary Brewing 1pm – 5pm
• Schoolkids Records 1pm – 5pm
• Crank Arm Brewing: 2pm – 6pm
• Berkley Cafe: 2pm – 5pm
• Neptunes: War of the Monsters Vol II 12pm – 5pm
• Rebus Works: Triangle Synth Party: 4pm – 7pm

Saturday Sept 12:

• Incendiary Brewing 11am – 5pm
• Morgan St Food Hall: 12pm – 5pm
• The Pour House: Southern Idiom, Expanded 12pm – 5pm
• Slims: Jack the Radio presents Hopscotch Day Party 12pm – 5pm
• Kings: Musicians in Music Family Show: 12:30pm – 5pm
• Schoolkids Records 1pm – 5pm
• Berkley Cafe: 12:30pm – 5:45pm
• Wolfe & Porter: The Power Poppers Party Hours: 1pm- 5pm
• The Anchor: 2pm – 5pm
• Rebus Works: Savage Knights hosts 4pm – 7pm
• Crank Arm Brewing: 2pm – 6pm
• Neptunes: Deep End Day Party: 12pm – 5pm
• Bitter Social: Redline 9pm – 2am

Sunday Sept 13 – many refer to this as the Hangover Party

• The Rialto Theater: Little Raleigh Radio Jazz Festival 11am -5pm
• The Pour house: Last Call y’all: 12pm – 5pm
• Ajja: Jaipur Literary Festival & Artsplosure: 12pm -5pm
• Slims: Hopscotch Hangover Party 12pm – 5pm
• Kings: Sunday Absolution Market 12:30pm – 5pm
• Berkley Cafe: Psychedelic Sunday 12:30pm – 5:45pm
• The Anchor: 2pm – 5pm

Check the schedule for the day parties here to find out who’s playing and where.

VIP Parties & Tickets

If you want priority access to all venues as well as a VIP area to sit, and VIP parties, the VIP tickets may be worth the investment. We had VIP tickets last year and enjoyed these perks. It was fun to attend the VIP parties before it with complimentary food and drink to mingle with other VIPers. If you’re more of a casual Hopscotcher, it might not be worth the extra investment, but for dedicated fans, it will be. I do think they needed free water filling stations in the VIP sections though in Moore Square and City Plaza.

VIP Pass holders enjoy expedited entry to official club shows, exclusive access to premium viewing at City Plaza with a dedicated section at the front of the stage, and entry to the new VIP Village at Jimmy V’s. Relax in comfortable lounge seating, enjoy complimentary food, and take advantage of a full-service bar between sets -all while staying close to the heart of the festival.

VIP parties last year were at Le Dive, Natural Science in Gateway Plaza & Jimmy V’s (they had gluten free pizza for me there! #thankful) If you are gluten free don’t expect the complimentary food at the VIP parties to adequately cater for you. It’s definitely not a big enough con to NOT get the VIP tickets though. You know it, you’re used to it!

This year, they have announced the opening party will be back at Le Dive! This was the busiest with the highest vibe atmosphere of the three we went to. Jimmy Vs will also have the VIP Village featuring comfortable lounge seating, bars with discounted pricing, complimentary food, a full-service bar.

Moore Square Commons

If you don’t have a ticket for Hopscotch but want to experience the vibe head to Moore Square for their new free Moore Square Commons. This is also a great space for concert goers to take a break in between shows.

Food and market vendors will be announced soon, but live music starts at 1p on Thursday and Friday and 11:45a on Saturday Let the kids enjoy Totscotch on Saturday from 10am – 2pm while you also enjoy some of the Music!

Food & Drink

Food options will be your typical Raleigh food trucks. One great thing about it being a festival spread across Downtown is you can eat at any of the restaurants and cafes downtown, which is what we did.

City Plaza, and last year Moore Square, and bars for drinks, and to be honest, we weren’t happy about them! If you’re a beer drinker, you’ll be happy! We’re not. I’m gluten free so have no choice. I was hoping I’d have a seltzer option. My only other option was a THC seltzer, which I did not want to drink at all. I really think they need another option for gluten free people like me who don’t want a THC drink. I thought it was weird.

HOWEVER, again, given that you are Downtown, it’s a social district, and there are lots of live music in the small, indoor venues, we would buy a drink from any of those options, and just not worry about it at City Plaza and Moore Square. Lucky Tree is a fantastic option for Moore Square for drinks as ticket goers could go in and out from there with drink in hand! Elements also could serve us drinks in the City Plaza VIP section as it was right near them.

Not sure how to plan for all of the fun? Download the Hopscotch Music Festival app to make it easier – well it’s meant to. We found the app last year to be pretty bad. I am hoping they will make some changes and update it for this year. Try it out as you’re meant to view set times and curate your own personalized schedule and navigate downtown with their site maps. Stay in the loop with real-time push notifications for any updates or changes, ensuring you never miss a beat. HOWEVER, warning:

Videos from last year’s Hopscotch

Check out two days Hopscotch Festival filled with VIP parties, day parties, and live music across different venues in the following videos 👇

Bag policy and what you can/can’t bring

As with most venues in Raleigh, you are allowed to bring small bags with you. The following bags are approved:

• Fanny packs (16.5in x 6.5in. x 4in)
• Single pocket drawstring bags (13in x 15in)
• Bags larger than 13in x 15in must be clear plastic/vinyl/PVC

At many Raleigh events I go to, people will stop and ask me where I got my clear bag! Clear bags are essential these days if you attend a lot of events. I have the following:

• Clear cross body purse
• Clear purse with gold chain (taking clear bags to a new fancy level)
• Clear bag backpack

You may bring with you the following items:

• Small point-and-shoot cameras – only approved press photographers can bring professional cameras with detachable lenses
• One empty, reusable water bottle (plastic or metal, not glass)
• One factory-sealed water bottle

You may not bring with you:

• Blankets
• Chairs
• Flow toys
• Glass containers of any kind
• GoPros
• Hula hoops
• Illegal substances
• Large bags or backpacks
• Laser pointers
• No drones of any size
• No outside food or beverages
• No pets (except service animals)
• Professional video/audio recording equipment
• Skateboards, roller blades, scooters, hoverboards, bicycles
• Tents
• Umbrellas
• Weapons

Tips for visiting

• Bring your ID. Some venues are 21+ and are strict on their policy. You must bring with you a valid photo ID, or you could get turned away.
• Individual clubs may not allow outside food or beverages, or empty water bottles, even if they were bought from a food truck participating in the festival. It’s up to each venue’s discretion. So try and eat before visiting a club.
• Take care of your wristband. You need to wear it for the whole three days, and if it falls off, then you won’t be permitted to enter.
• It’s a rain or shine event; check the weather and prepare accordingly. We skipped the last couple of artists at City Plaza because of heavy rain. We just didn’t know them well enough. We went to the inside venues instead. With Hopscotch you have options!
• Research the artists beforehand. It will help you plan out your day before hand with who you most want to see. We didn’t know the artists, so would pick one usually based on genre or venue, or following recommendations of people we met.
• Parking in downtown may be difficult due to the number of people attending the festival, so if you’re local, try and get a bus or rideshare in. If you are visiting from out of town, the hotels mentioned below come with parking (the Sheraton Raleigh Hotel has cheaper rates), or you can read our guide on parking lots in downtown here for options. Also consider riding the bus into Downtown – it’s cheap and easy! We rode the bus between day party venues on Hillsborough St and Downtown Raleigh, So easy!

Where to stay

If you are visiting Hopscotch Music Festival from out of town, then we recommend booking a hotel downtown so you can be within walking distance of the action. We’ve personally stayed at these hotels and think they’re great:

Raleigh Marriott City Center

The Raleigh Marriott City Center has an unbeatable location — you’ll be right in the heart of downtown, just steps from Red Hat Amphitheater and within easy walking distance of the many bars, clubs, and outdoor stages that take part in Hopscotch.

The hotel itself offers a polished, modern retreat from the bustle, with spacious rooms, comfortable beds, and city views that let you soak in the skyline before heading back out for another set. 

It’s great to stay nearby as you can recharge between shows, go for a swim in the indoor pool, or have a workout at the fitness center, or a meal at Rye Bar & Southern Kitchen, and save on buying food from food trucks. See prices and availability here.

Sheraton Raleigh Hotel

The Sheraton makes an excellent home base thanks to its unbeatable downtown location. Just steps from the festival’s main stages, it keeps you at the center of the action while sparing you the hassle of long walks or rideshares. 

Hopscotch has also partnered with the Sheraton to offer discounted rates, and some years the festival has even staged performances right outside the lobby doors — making it one of the most festival-friendly stays in town. You can view partnered rates via the official website.

Inside the Sheraton, you’ll find stylish rooms with plush Signature Sleep Experience beds, hardwood floors, and city views.  Festival-goers can enjoy the convenience of on-site dining at Jimmy V’s Osteria + Bar, plus a café, where you can get a quick bite or coffee before catching the next show. 

With a 24-hour fitness center, indoor pool and Jacuzzi, the hotel puts you in the heart of the action but also offers a retreat when the energy gets too much. See prices and availability here.

Read our honest review of the Sheraton Raleigh Hotel

Casso Hotel

Probably our favorite of the Downtown Raleigh hotels for its boutique style that showcases the Raleigh personality from the giant Sir Walter Raleigh mural in the foyer to the squirrels, acorns and wolves placed around the hotel.

It’s in a great location at the end of Glenwood South (party street) – easy walking distance to downtown, but a little further out than the other two hotels. They also have a great bar, with craft cocktails, and an excellent, hidden gem of a restaurant, Good Day, Good Night! It’s; one of our favorite restuarants in Downtown Raleigh. See prices and availability here.

Read our honest review of the Casso Hotel and discover more Downtown Raleigh Hotels here

Related Reading

While you are planning your visit to Hopscotch Music Festival, check out these other guides on participating venues:

• Awesome Music Venues in Raleigh: Where To Find Great Gigs!
• Things to know before visiting The Lincoln Theatre: Raleigh’s Historic Live Music Venue
• Things to know before visiting The Pour House Music Hall & Record Shop
• Guide to the best Events in Raleigh for September
• Guide to Moore Square: One of Downtown Raleigh’s 6 Districts