Two years ago, Greg Lowenhagen, co-director of the Hopscotch Music Festival, talked to Tommy Anderson, former general manger of WKNC 88.1 FM, about the start of the festival hosted by the Independent Weekly. At the time, it was planned to be the biggest music festival the Triangle had ever seen, and Lowenhagen had expectations it would only grow.

“I don’t want to look back and say, ‘Remember when we did Hopscotch Fest?'” Lowenhagen said on the air, three days before the debut of the shows. ”The goal is to keep this thing going.”

That thing has been going-Hopscotch, Raleigh’s three-day music festival, is entering its third year and has grown to dwarf the original concert format that energized the Triangle as a music destination in 2010.

The Independent Weekly announced the September festival’s band lineup yesterday, and within 13 hours of opening, all VIP passes to the concert venues hosting 175 bands sold out.

Lowenhagen and Grayson Currin, Independent Weekly music editor and event co-director, made their first public announcement of the festival lineup on WKNC yesterday.

“In 2010, we had 10 venues,” Lowenhagen said. “Last year we had 13 venues. And this year we’ll have 15 official venues. It’s all downtown, super walkable, within eight blocks.”

The festival will feature 35 percent local bands, according to Lowenhagen, and within the lineup, which has added 45 bands in the past two years, the genres range from acoustic folk to heavy metal.

“Basically, our goal every year is to mix some of the bands we think are the best bands in the world with some of the best local bands that we have right here in the Triangle,” Currin said. “We focus on indie rock, heavy metal and hip-hop music, and experimental music, and punk and alt-country…whatever you want to throw out there.”

The band lineup has focused on local talent in the past, but Currin said Hopscotch will focus this September’s festival on headliner shows.

“[We wanted to bring] bands we think will be a surprise for people and bands we think really haven’t been to the Triangle in a long time…bands people will get excited about,” Currin said.

The Roots, Jesus and Mary Chain, Built to Spill, Yo La Tengo, Liars and Sun O))) are some of the headlining shows. These bands may be old, but Lowenhagen said they’re still fun and relevant.

“I think [The Roots are] super current in that they’ve been playing large music festivals,” Lowenhagen said. “They’re playing in Bonnaroo this summer… They’ve been around for a long time, but they’re still highly capable of taking over our main stage and throwing a heck of a party.”

In addition to the growth in bands, the festival will feature three more concert venues, including the Longview Center, the Progress Energy Center Memorial Auditorium and the Contemporary Art Museum.

Though VIP tickets have sold out, the concert’s three-day wristbands are available, and now concert goers can buy one-day passes, which will open in July. But for music head Lowenhagen, the three-day pass is the best deal.

“You get all the club shows for three days, both headlining shows, and it costs $110,” Lowenhagen said.

For James Hatfield, a freshman in textile engineering and music intern at the Independent Weekly, the 2012 festival will be an exciting event. But Hatfield said he’s got his work cut out for him.

“We were working on the Hopscotch website all up until 11:30 Tuesday night, before we launched it,” Hatfield said. “We’ve only got one-fifth of the work done. Posting the lineup is just telling people what we’re planning on doing. We just have to do it.”

Rocking the House

A wide variety of bands play at Hopscotch every year. This fall, the roster is as diverse as ever, and includes the following bands, among many others.

The Roots

The Jesus and Mary Chain

Built to Spill

Liars

Yo La Tengo

Deerhoof

Escorts

Thee Oh Sees

Versus