BLUE NOTE RECORDS / PODCAST #2 / EDWARD GOREY / MORE CONVERSATIONS
Schedule and Pass Reminder!
Big Ears 2025 Schedule coming Thursday!
Full 4-Day Weekend and Saturday passes in limited supply! Secure you pass here.
Blue Note Records Pop-Up Store and Lounge
Big Ears Festival is thrilled to announce a special partnership with the legendary Blue Note Records for our 2025 edition. This collaboration brings an exciting new dimension to the festival with the creation of a dedicated Blue Note Records Pop-Up Store & Lounge— a vibrant gathering space where music, conversation, and discovery come together. Throughout the festival weekend, the Blue Note Lounge will host a dynamic lineup of talks, panels, conversations, pop-up performances, and other surprises, including special appearances and events featuring musician, producer, and Blue Note President, Don Was.
In the afternoons and evenings, the lounge will transform into a welcoming retreat for festival-goers to relax and recharge, offering a comfortable space to take a break between performances while soaking in the spirit and sounds of Blue Note’s rich musical legacy. The Pop-Up Store will feature exclusive Blue Note merchandise as well as vinyl LPs and CDs from Blue Note artists performing at Big Ears alongside a robust selection of classics from the label’s storied catalog. Join us as we celebrate the past, present, and future of one of jazz’s most iconic labels—right in the heart of Big Ears. Stay tuned for more details!
Podcast Episode 2 – Critics Roundtable
Thank you all for listening to our debut episode this past week with Big Ears founder Ashley Capps. For the second episode of Big Ears: Conversations About Music, we convened a group of three writers (Vanessa Ague, Grayson Currin and Peter Margasak) and one broadcaster (J. Greg Bryant) to discuss some of their most memorable musical experiences of 2024 – outside of Big Ears – and what they are most eagerly anticipating in 2025, at Big Ears and beyond. Thanks to you, our incredible fans, the Big Ears Podcast made its debut in the top 50 music podcasts on both Apple and Spotify! Don’t forget to leave a review and rating on your favorite platform.
Listen: Big Ears Conversations About Music
Celebrating Edward Gorey’s Centennial:Carla Kihlstedt’s 26 Little Deaths
This past weekend marked the centenary of the beloved illustrator Edward Gorey. At Big Ears Festival, we will celebrate Mr. Gorey’s 100th with a special performance of Carla Kihlstedt’s 26 Little Deaths, 26 miniatures for singing violinist and chamber orchestra, inspired by Gorey’s macabre abecedary, The Gashlycrumb Tinies – an illustrated children’s book in which, on each and every page, a child representing a letter of the alphabet meets an untimely demise. Moving seamlessly between art song, pop song, and cabaret (following in the footsteps of Hans Eisler and Kurt Weil), Kihlstedt has created a song cycle that captures the pathos, humor, and wit of Gorey’s iconic images.
Read: Carla Kihlstedt’s 26 Little Deaths
More Talks, Panels, and Conversations
MacArthur Fellows Conversation: Claire Chase & Tyshawn Sorey with Nate Chinen
Two visionary artists and MacArthur “Genius” Fellows, Claire Chase and Tyshawn Sorey, come together at Big Ears for a rare meeting and conversation. A trailblazing flutist and a masterful composer-percussionist, Chase and Sorey have each redefined the possibilities of their instruments and expanded the frontiers of contemporary music. During this insightful discussion led by Nate Chinen, they’ll explore their creative processes as well as the intersections and evolving landscapes of composition and improvisation.
Read: Claire Chase & Tyshawn Sorey
Essential Tremors Live
Essential Tremors Podcast returns to Big Ears, hosting live conversations with festival artists about the music that shaped them. This year, the live episodes will feature two thought-provoking discussions with Victoria Shen, an experimental sound artist pushing the boundaries of noise and performance, and Ian Lynch, a key force behind Lankum’s radical reimagining of folk traditions. Through personal stories and deep musical connections, they’ll explore the songs and sounds that left a lasting imprint on their creative lives.
Essential Tremors: Ian Lynch
Friday, March 28
