BIG EARS SELLS OUT / WELCOME CECILIA STAIR / NEW PODCAST / MORE
BIG EARS IS SOLD OUT
A huge Big Ears THANK YOU for the outstanding response from all of you who are attending this year’s festival. Your attendance – and support – brings Big Ears to life, making everything that we do together possible.
Opening day is only two short weeks from today. Between now and then, we still have surprises to share, as well as important information and tips to help you make the most of your festival weekend.
And, yes, download your app! We’ll be seeing you soon!
Welcome Cecilia Stair to the Big Ears Team
We’re delighted to introduce you to a relatively new member of our Big Ears team. Cecilia Stair has joined Big Ears as our Community Outreach Coordinator, helping to take the creative spirit that is the heart and soul of Big Ears into communities, organizations, and classrooms throughout the region.
Cecilia is a musician and board-certified music therapist. She earned a BA in Music at the University of Tennessee, followed by a MM in Music Therapy at the University of Kentucky. Her current clinical work is focused on supporting individuals living with Parkinson’s disease and dementia, as well as individuals in treatment or recovery from substance use disorders. Previously, she has taught at the Central Music Academy in Lexington and the Community School for the Arts in Knoxville.
As a cellist, she has performed and recorded with a number of artists, including the Lonetones, Tyler Childers, Senora May, Lucette, and Warren Byrom. She is performing at Big Ears this year with RB Morris/William Wright as well as William Tyler.
Cecilia is passionate about increasing access to the arts, providing others with opportunities for self-expression, and making connections that foster understanding and empathy.
Podcast #4: Wadada Leo Smith & Tyshawn Sorey with Larry Blumenfeld
Journalist and music critic Larry Blumenfeld (WSJ, Chamber Music Magazine) sat down with legendary trumpeter and composer Wadada Leo Smith and genre-defying composer Dr. Tyshawn Sorey. The discussion delves into the deep connections between sound and silence, the evolution of “creative music,” and the social and political impact of their work. Smith reflects on his early influences, his revolutionary compositional language, and the powerful legacy of Ten Freedom Summers, while Sorey shares insight into his Pulitzer-winning composition, Adagio (For Wadada Leo Smith) and his exploration of spontaneous creation in Autoschediasms and Monochromatic Light (Afterlife). Together, they discuss their unique approaches to composition, performance, and collaboration.
Listen to it on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, and Pocketcast!
Joyful Noise at Big Ears
Joyful Noise Recordings brings its adventurous spirit to Big Ears Festival with a pair of unique performances that showcase the label’s eclectic roster. Known for championing boundary-pushing artists and embracing unconventional formats, the Indianapolis-based label has spent over two decades fostering creativity across the indie music landscape. This year’s Big Ears lineup features Joyful Noise artists in inspired collaborations including improvised soundscapes accompanying live glass blowing and a one-of-a-kind gathering of labelmates and surprise guests.
Molten Soundscapes: Freeform Glass & Sonic Sculpture
ft. Thor Harris & Matthew Cummings
Friday, March 28 / Pretentious Beer Company / 8:00p
Join internationally renowned glass maker Matthew Cummings and polymath percussionist Thor Harris (Swans, Water Damage) & Friends for a unique collaboration of sound and sculpture. Lit only by the light of the furnace, the performance will last approximately one to one and a half hours, the end result being a glass sculpture that is a physical and abstract dictation of the music’s movement over the course of the evening.
Joyful Noise Presents: Wendy Eisenberg, Greg Saunier, Tall Tall Trees, Kramer, Thor Harris & Surprise Guests
Saturday, March 29 / Pretentious Beer Company / 3:00p
The Declaration Project with Lara Downes
Pianist, Lara Downes is bringing a new project with her to Knoxville and this year’s Big Ears Festival‚—”The Declaration Project”—and she’s inviting you to participate.
Submit a short essay in written audio, or video form on what these words mean to you: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. What do these words mean to you today and for the future? Release these concepts from historical narratives, and from any political and social agendas. The focus is on recognizing and celebrating our shared humanity, and harnessing our vision, intention and actions to create a bright American future. Submissions will be chosen to feature on WUOT 91.9 FM, Knoxville and also at a performance during Big Ears on March 29th.
