The last time Future Islands played the City Plaza stage they were performing songs from their upcoming record Singles. Little did they know then that their late night performance would go viral and “Seasons (Waiting on You)” would become their most popular song to date. This night frontman Sam Herring came out sporting some new facial hair and had an extra intense growl as they performed new and old songs, many of which were inspired by growing up in North Carolina.

Wearing stark white clothing painted splattered with vivd primary colors, the Barcelona punk group played at CAM late on Friday night. The group formed when co-founders Carla Pérez Vas and Jazz Rodríguez Bueno longed to escape the ennui of the classroom. Bueno yowled “Stop trimming your hair,” a sound comparable to the voice of such artists like PJ Harvey, while performing “Your Brain is Made of Candy” off their debut LP. Their guitar heavy performance had a sense of urgency, which impelled the audience to be present with each note.

As the sun set over Red Hat Amphitheater and Angel Olsen and band set up for the closing set of the festival it felt like an appropriate ending. Things weren’t closing with a bang, nor a whimper, but with Olsen’s soothing yet strong voice and vivid lyrics echoing through the air. Unfortunately many of the festivals attendees from out of town had to get home before Olsen’s set, leaving mostly the locals to enjoy her performance. 

Currently on tour with Protomartyr, who played later that Friday night, Melkbelly played to a pack crowd at Slim’s. Coming from the Chicago DIY scene, the four-piece is hard to pin down as one thing the band can be considered anything from indie rock to noise. Their performance was disruptive in the best way, with front-woman Miranda Winter switching from jaunty choruses to low growls from behind her long red hair. Unyielding, and loud Melkbelly filled Slim’s with each song.

Featuring both Sklar Gudasz and MC Taylor of Hiss Golden Messenger, Songs: Molina took the Fletcher stage alongside original Magnolia Electric Company members as they paid homage to Jason Molina and his songs. They performed late into the night, with little time spent telling stories like they did during the original run of dates earlier this year. And if you stayed late enough and didn’t bounce over to The Afghan Whigs you were treated with the set closer and Songs: Ohia most popular song “Farewell Transmission”.

While on the road with Eleanor Friedberger as her backing band, brothers Jonathan and Michael Rosen ruminated over a new project. That project was Cones, who took over Deep South Thursday night under the glimmer of the disco ball. Jonathon’s proclivity to pop music is mixed with Michael’s more technical and classical style. Care-free and light Cones moved through the folk rock group’s lush catalog of songs. Their music causes you to dream of a sunnier place, and forget the dark musty bar you actually occupy.

I don’t think I’m supposed to tell you this, but Susto frontman Justin Osborne was asleep in the van the hours leading up to their Saturday night set at Kings. He’d just returned from weeks on tour in Europe playing solo opening for Band of Horses and his body hadn’t adjusted back to EST. The line was long to get in, the venue was abuzz, and the sound check was grueling. Finally, they just ditched Osborne’s acoustic guitar and he played the set all electric. Susto’s been on tour for nearly the entire year since the release of their latest album & I’m Fine Today so even though they hadn’t performed together in weeks the set was tight, gritty, and full of energy. If you were there to catch what the buzz surrounding the band was all about, you quickly found out with this performance. 

Columbia trio MyBrother MySister made the most of their Hopscotch debut performance playing for a packed house at Slim’s and again the following day at the Sore Thumb Day party. They seemed to have turned the corner over the last year, becoming much more explosive, gritty, and dynamic live. It’s where they excel, with the closing of the day party set ending with guitarist Dylan Kittrell’s guitar through the head of the bass drum. With only two bands representing South Carolina officially on the lineup, MyBrother MySister and Susto offered a glimpse into the diversity of our music scene. 

Is Hopscotch without Zack Mexico really Hopscotch? Between them and their coastal neighbor band to the south Museum Mouth, you’ve surely seen members of these bands around the festival if you’ve ever attended. Following a unique performance under frontman John Saturley’s name opening night, Zack Mexico played a couple of day parties after. They’re one of North Carolina’s best psychedelic acts and they’ll be heading to Europe this fall with fellow Eastern NC native band Future Islands. 

Featuring Jenna Desmond and Corey Campbell, both members of Susto, Babe Club is one of South Carolina’s best up-and-coming acts. If not for hurricane Irma they would have been full band, but at the CLTURE day party they performed as a two piece and it worked out well. The two have an amazing chemistry on stage, and each song feels guided by quick glances and a having a deep sense of each other on stage. Babe Club performed songs from their upcoming release including “Automatic Love” heard on our 2017 SC music sampler. 

With their recent lineup change ET Anderson feels like a different band. Since their inception close to three years ago they’ve had somewhat of a rotating cast around drummer Michael Crawford and frontman Wilson W. Wilson. They’ve gone with a three guitar arsenal before and most commonly featuring Bobby Hatfield on keyboard, but with each of their past lineups they’ve been a huge force live. The new lineup is more straight forward featuring the tried-and-true rock formula of two guitars, bass and drums. The songs are still effective live, and they’re still a great live band, they just set the bar really high early on.