GLOBETROTTING AT BIG EARS
Celebrating Artists From Around the World
Big Ears Festival is an opportunity for a weekend of musical globetrotting, with this year taking us from India to Parkistan, Ukraine to Indonesia, Italy to Armenia, Ireland to Tunisia, Brazil to Guatamala, to our own backyard and beyond.
Here are just a few of the brilliant artists whose music draws from the deep well of rich inspiration offered by their cultural heritage.
Anoushka Shankar

Gracing the world stage from a young age with over a quarter-century’s performing behind her, Anoushka Shankar is a singular, genre-defying artist across multiple musical realms – classical, contemporary, acoustic, electronic, and more. Shankar, alongside her new quintet of musicians, will perform music from her two newly released mini-albums, Chapter I: Forever, For Now and Chapter II: How Dark it is Before Dawn, and gems from previous releases.
Watch: Anoushka Shankar – “Dancing In Madness” (Live on KEXP)
Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino

Italy’s fascinating dichotomy of tradition and modernity come together in the music of Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino. Featuring festival alum, Mauro Durante, the seven-piece band and dancer are the leading exponents in a new wave of young performers re-inventing Southern Italy’s Pizzica musical and dance traditions for today’s global audience. Perhaps they’ll lead us through the tarantella?
Watch: “Balla Nina” – Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino – Official Music Video
Zakir Hussain and Masters of Percussion

A classical tabla virtuoso of the highest order, Hussain is appreciated both in the field of percussion and in the music world at large as an international phenomenon and one of the greatest musicians of our time. His Masters of Percussion ensemble promises to be a spectacular showcase of drumming virtuosos from diverse traditions, celebrating the rhythmic tapestry of global music.
Read: “The Legend and His Rhythm, in Five Table Movements”
EMEL

Emel Mathlouthi is a Tunisian-American singer-songwriter, composer, performer and producer whose music has crossed time, countries and continents. She rose to fame in 2012 with her protest song “Kelmti Horra” (My Word Is Free) from the eponymous album Kelmti Horra and was subsequently called the voice of the Arab spring. Don’t miss her Big Ears debut.
Read: “EMEL Defines Each Track on Her Empowering New Album MRA“
Dedicated Men of Zion

Though rooted in the harmony-rich tradition of Black gospel, Dedicated Men of Zion’s dynamic style weds that legacy to electric blues, R&B, soul, and funk in a sound that evokes the four a.m. juncture where Saturday night bleeds into Sunday morning. They’ll be on hand for two performances – their own and what’s sure to be an uplifting, collaborative performance with our hometown’s Knoxville Opera Gospel Choir.