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Arts & Culture

Comic: How WUNC's Brian Burns prepares to get the most out of Hopscotch

WUNC | By Eli Chen,

Brian Burns

Published September 2, 2025 at 12:18 PM EDT

An illustration that depicts the Raleigh Hopscotch Music Festival. — The Hopscotch Music Festival in Raleigh takes place this year on Sept. 4 through Sept. 6.

The Hopscotch Festival returns to Raleigh for its 15th anniversary this week on Sept. 4-6, featuring My Morning Jacket, Earl Sweatshirt and many other local and national acts.

In this illustrated guide, WUNC's music reporter Brian Burns, a regular at Hopscotch since its inception in 2010, takes us through how he gets the most out one of the Triangle's most beloved music festivals.

An illustration of Brian Burns, WUNC's music reporter with the text: "I've been a part of the Triangle's music scene for 20+ years, working at record stores, labels and most recently, directing WUNC Music. I've been a regular at Hopscotch since the first one in 2010." (Credit: Eli Chen/WUNC)

An illustration of a hand holding a phone with the Hopscotch Festival app on it, with the text: "Before the festival, I make a list of who I want to see. The festival has a handy app that makes it easy to learn more about everyone who is performing. And I do a little research on the acts I'm not familiar with.
The way I discover a lot of new music is through Apple Music, Bandcamp and especially instagram. I'll look at an artist's account and if a lot of people I'm already following are following them, they'll probably be up my alley." (Credit: Eli Chen/WUNC)

An illustration of a singer performing to a small crowd, including WUNC's Brian Burns. The text says, "I feel like the club shows and day parties are kind of where the heart of the festival is. A lot of local bands are playing and a lot of people are taking off work to go bop around Raleigh. The club shows are usually booked by genre, so if you know you like one band on a bill there's a good chance you'll be interested in the others before and/or after them. I love catching bands I like in the clubs during Hopscotch because it just feels like you're going to a normal show and not necessarily at a big festival." (Credit: Eli Chen/WUNC)

An illustration of a guitarist performing to a crowd. The text says, "My headliner strategy: If there's a headliner I really want to see, I'll be sure to be near their stage a little bit before they go on. Sometimes you have to miss out on whatever is happening on the other main stage, but that's part of the game. If there are two headliners performing close to each other but on the different stages, I usually stick around for four or five songs and then move on to the other stage." (Credit: Eli Chen/WUNC)

An illustration of Brian Burns walking into Transfer Food Hall in Raleigh. The text says, "Since I tend to spend 10 to 12 hours at the festival each day, it's important to take some breaks and make sure I find some windows where I can grab something to eat. I use Transfer Food Hall as a home base because they have lots of great options for food, there's plenty of space, and you can get in and out pretty quickly." (Credit: Eli Chen/WUNC)

An illustration of Brian walking by Lincoln Theater in Raleigh and someone waving to him among a group of people waiting outside the venue. The text says, "It really is kind of leaving a lot of it up to chance once you're out there…because you're going to run into a bunch of people and you just don't know where the night is going to take you. I feel like that's part of the magic and fun of the festival – it's almost like the festival creates a community on its own."

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