Big Ears concerts and events take place in over a dozen venues, with capacities that range from 80 to 2,500 people. Admission to each event is on a first come, first served basis (subject to the legal capacity of the venue) with VIP patrons given priority access, followed by Premier and then General Admission patrons.

All weekend passes include:
• Admission to 150+ concerts and performances in 12+ venues over 4 days
• Admission to all official film screenings and literary events during the festival
• Entrance to all official talks, panel discussions, exhibitions, and workshops

There are no paper or digital tickets to Big Ears Festival, only wristbands which must be worn by the patron to access festival venues.

Add-on events may require a separate, digital pass. Details regarding these performances will be shared when the festival announces the performance schedule.

Passes are required for patrons ages 2 and older. Big Ears does not offer tickets to individual shows during the festival weekend.

The 2024 festival on-sale schedule is as follows:
• Donor Pre-Sale: Tuesday, September 12, 2023 @ 9am ET
• Previous Purchaser Pre-Sale: Wednesday, September 13, 2023 @ 9am ET
• General Public On-Sale: Thursday, September 14, 2023 @ 9am ET

Premier pass holders will receive everything offered to General Admission passholders and more!

Premier patrons are offered priority admission to official Big Ears venues where available. After VIP pass holders are given access to a venue, Premier pass holders will be granted access prior to General Admission patrons. If a venue reaches capacity and becomes 1 in, 1 out, Premier pass holders will be given priority entry after VIP patrons.

In addition, Premier pass holders, along with VIPs, will receive an invitation to an exclusive, unannounced “secret show” during the festival weekend.

Upon release of the festival schedule, separately ticketed add-ons such as Ryuichi Sakamoto’s Kagami and La Monte Young & Marian Zazeela: Just Charles will be placed on sale. Premier and VIP passholders will have early access to purchase tickets before General Admission passholders.

Venues with Priority Access:

• Knoxville Civic Auditorium
• Tennessee Theatre
• Bijou Theatre
• The Point
• St. John’s Cathedral
• The Mill & Mine
• The Standard
• Old City Performing Arts Center

Sonic Explorer VIP pass holders will receive everything offered to General Admission and Premier passholders and more!

Where available, Sonic Explorer VIP pass holders will enjoy and dedicated line or entrance and are granted entry to performance venues prior to Premier and General Admission pass holders. If a venue reaches capacity and becomes 1 in, 1 out, VIP pass holders will be given priority entry followed by Premier and then GA patrons.

In addition, Sonic Explorer VIPs enjoy a reserved, VIP section in seated venues (where available). This section will be held until 10 minutes before show time when the section will be opened to all patrons to ensure maximum attendance and venue capacity as well as to ensure sections do not remain empty during an artist’s performance.

Along with preferred entry and seating, VIP patrons receive invitations to exclusive events such as the Official Kick-Off Party and a VIP Happy Hour.

Every VIP pass comes with a voucher that can be redeemed for a merchandise package at the festival’s on-site store ($100 value).

Venues with Dedicated VIP Line / Entrance or Priority Access
• Knoxville Civic Auditorium
• Tennessee Theatre
• Bijou Theatre
• The Point
• St. John’s Cathedral
• The Mill & Mine
• The Standard
• Old City Performing Arts Center

Venues with Reserved, VIP Seating:
• Knoxville Civic Auditorium
• Tennessee Theatre
• Bijou Theatre
• The Point
• St. John’s Cathedral

Pass tiers or price levels, including “Early Bird,” are simply a way to encourage patrons to purchase their passes early and save money. There is no difference in offerings or benefits between tiers of the same pass type.

Wristbands will be mailed to patrons at the address provided upon checkout. Please ensure your mailing address is accurate and at a location that you can access in late February and early March 2024. To change or update your mailing address, please contact Front Gate Tickets customer support here.

Wristbands will not be mailed to international customers and must be picked up at will call at the festival’s on-site box office.

Any passes purchased after the mailing cutoff will be picked up via will call at the festival’s on-site box office as well.

Patrons have an option to add an official Big Ears Festival merchandise package to their order when purchasing a pass. The package will include a branded t-shirt and coffee mug along with a lineup poster and a tote bag ($100 value). By purchasing early you can save 20% on these items.

Those who purchase will receive a digital print pass (DPP) before the festival. Once on-site, bring that pass to the festival merch store for redemption to receive your merch package.

VIP passholders automatically receive a merch package as part of their pass purchase.

Yes!

On the checkout page, you have the option to purchase your full order at that time or you can purchase using a “layaway plan.” The layaway plan is available for all orders including at least (1) weekend pass. Purchaser must agree to the Layaway Plan Terms and Conditions, including a default policy.

A deposit upon purchase will serve to secure your ticket(s). All subsequent payments will be automatically charged to the credit card used for the initial purchase. Your ticket(s) will not be mailed to you until you have made your last payment.

IMPORTANT: If, for any reason, any of your payments are declined, in whole or in part, then all of the following will apply: (i) your order and your tickets will be cancelled (ii) any payment received as of that date will be kept by Big Ears as partial offset for your default, (iii) you will still owe the balance of the full amount due for each ticket and you authorize Front Gate and Big Ears to charge your credit card for any balance due, (iv) Front Gate and Big Ears will be entitled to pursue all of their legal and equitable remedies to recover the full payment from you, and (v) you agree to pay all costs of collection incurred by Front Gate or Big Ears, including legal fees, that they may incur in collecting the balance of each ticket price. Layaway plan tickets are subject to all of the other terms of the ticketing agreement.

Please reach out to Frontgate’s customer service if you have questions regarding the layaway plan.

Payment Schedule Breakdown:

When purchasing between Sep. 12 through Oct. 14:
• Deposit – 16% + 16% of service fees upon purchase
• Payment 1 – 21% + 21% of service fees due October 28th
• Payment 2 – 21% + 21% of service fees due November 18th
• Payment 3 – 21% + 21% of service fees due December 9th
• Payment 4 (Final) – 21% + 21% of service fees due December 30th

When purchasing between Oct. 15 through Nov. 11:
• Deposit – 16% + 16% of service fees upon purchase
• Payment 1 – 21% + 21% of service fees due November 25th
• Payment 2 – 21% + 21% of service fees due December 16th
• Payment 3 – 21% + 21% of service fees due January 6th
• Payment 4 (Final) – 21% + 21% of service fees due January 27th

When purchasing between Nov. 12 through Dec. 2:
• Deposit – 16% + 16% of service fees upon purchase
• Payment 1 – 21% + 21% of service fees due December 16th
• Payment 2 – 21% + 21% of service fees due January 6th
• Payment 3 – 21% + 21% of service fees due January 27^th
• Payment 4 (Final) – 21% + 21% of service fees due February 17^th

When purchasing between Dec. 3 through Dec. 23:
• Deposit – 16% + 16% of service fees upon purchase
• Payment 1 – 28% + 28% of service fees due January 13th
• Payment 2 – 28% + 28% of service fees due February 3rd
• Payment 3( Final) – 28% + 28% of service fees due February 24th

When purchasing between Dec. 24 through January 13:
• Deposit – 16% + 16% of service fees upon purchase (plus layaway fee $10)
• Payment 1 – 42% + 42% of service fees due February 3rd
• Payment 2(Final) – 42% + 42% of service fees due February 24th

All sales are final and no refunds will be offered.

Yes! If you purchased a ticket directly from Front Gate Tickets and can no longer attend the festival, you can use the Ticketmaster Verified Ticket Exchange to sell your passes to another fan. Sign in to your Front Gate Tickets account and under “Your Account” select “Order History” to list your ticket on the Ticketmaster Verified Exchange. Offering your pass for sale does not guarantee a buyer.

Passes are non-transferable and the festival will not honor passes or wristbands purchased from a third party. Only wristbands purchased through the Big Ears Festival website and its official ticketing provider, Front Gate Tickets, and the Ticketmaster Verified Ticket Exchange are valid. If you want 100% confidence in your ticket purchase, you should only purchase your passes through the links on our tickets page.

Big Ears box office will verify that only those who purchased passes are able to claim them.

Big Ears is not responsible for any counterfeit passes or wristbands purchased via an unverified or unofficial third party.

For you own protection, please do not purchase passes from any source other than bigearsfestival.org, Front Gate Tickets, or Ticketmaster Verified Ticket Exchange.

Removing a wristband automatically voids it (unless by accident or for safety reasons, in which case you will need to get a replacement wristband from the festival’s box office which will require you to prove your purchase information). Festival security will check every wristband to ensure it has not been removed or passed between multiple people.

Big Ears does everything it can to keep ticket prices as low and affordable as possible while providing patrons and artists with the highest level festival experience. The following is a list of service fees included in your ticket purchase:
• Tennessee Theatre Preservation Fee ($3.00)
• Bijou Theatre Preservation Fee ($2.00)
• Knoxville Civic Auditorium Facility Fee ($2.00)
• Charity Donation ($2.00)
• Processing & Fulfillment ($10.00)
• Front Gate Fee ($4.30 Weekend / $3.80Daily)
• Shipping ($12 per order)
• Credit Card Processing (3% of total price)

At this time there are no national, state, or local mandates or requirements to provide a negative COVID-19 test result or proof of vaccination to attend events or large gatherings. Big Ears will continue to monitor the situation, consult with health professionals, and, if needed, reserves the right to enact policies and procedures to ensure the health, safety, and well-being of our patrons, if deemed necessaryt. Any changes in policy will be shared via our website, social media, and email newsletters.

• All sales are final. No refunds or exchanges.

• Wristbands are not transferable once applied to a patron’s wrist.

• Patrons of all ages are welcome. Passes/tickets will be required for patrons ages 2 and older.

• All acts advertised have confirmed their appearance at Big Ears 2024; however, acts and performance times are subject to change without notice.

• Passes/tickets lost or stolen cannot be replaced.

• There is a limit of eight (8) General Admission and four (4) Premier or VIP passes per order.

• Management reserves the right, without the refund of any portion of the pass/ticket purchase price, to refuse admission or to eject any person who fails to comply with the rules of the venues, local, state or federal law, or whose conduct is deemed illegal, disorderly, or offensive by management.

• Persons entering the venues are subject to search for contraband, unauthorized merchandise, alcohol, controlled substances, weapons, firearms, fireworks, cameras, video equipment, or recording devices, which are expressly forbidden.  Any persons found attempting to enter the venues with forbidden item(s) will be refused access, or, at venue’s discretion, allowed to give up the forbidden item(s). Confiscated items will be destroyed or disposed of at venue’s discretion.

• Pass/Ticket/Wristband user assumes all risks of personal injury incidental to the event, whether occurring prior to, during, or subsequent to the event.

• The resale or attempted resale of passes at a price higher than that appearing on the face of the pass/ticket is prohibited and if discovered will result in the ticket being voided without refund.

• The sale of unauthorized merchandise is not permitted.  Purchaser agrees he/she may be ejected from the event if found selling unauthorized merchandise.

• Passes may not be used for advertising, promotion (including contests and sweepstakes), or other trade purposes without the express written consent of Big Ears.

• Pass holder consents to Big Ears and its affiliates’ use of his/her image or likeness incidental to any video display, transmission, recording, and/or other content captured at the event.

Big Ears has partnered with Front Gate Tickets as it’s official ticketing provider. For any questions regarding your Front Gate account or order, please contact them here.

Ticketmaster Verified Ticket Exchange is the official resale partner of Big Ears Festival. For any questions regarding the exchange, please contact them here.

For any general questions about Big Ears ticketing or the festival, please contact us here.