REMAINING PASSES / LIVE TREMORS / ESPECIALLY AT BIG EARS
The Clock is Ticking
As we mentioned several days ago, there are only a few 4-Day Weekend and Saturday / Sunday passes remaining. They may be gone before the weekend, but they almost certainly won’t make it through the weekend! Purchase your passes here!
Essential Tremors Conversations
We’re delighted to welcome Lee Gardner and Matt Byars of the podcast Essential Tremors back to Big Ears for more live editions of the program.
Jlin: Thursday, 2:30 p.m. / Visit Knoxville Visitors Center
Electronic-music producer Jlin sits down to talk about three songs that have shaped her work for a live recording of the podcast.
Fred Frith: Friday, 11:30 p.m. / Visit Knoxville Visitors Center
Avant-guitar legend Fred Frith discusses three pieces of music that have influenced his decades of work for a live recording of the podcast.
billy woods and claire rousay: Sunday, 1:00 p.m. / Visit Knoxville Visitors Center
MC billy woods sits down with electro-acoustic musician claire rousay for a special live recording of the Essential Tremors podcast, as rousay talks to him about three songs that guided his development as an artist.
Especiallt at Big Ears
Adrianne Lenker: Thursday, 9:30 p.m. / Knoxville Civic Auditorium
Big Thief’s Adrianne Lenker is heralded as one of the great songwriters of her generation. She’s releasing her second solo record, Bright Future, on Friday, March 22, the day after her opening night performance at the Big Ears Festival.
Read: “Adrianne Lenker Isn’t Scared of Sadness”
Kronos Quartet | Five Decades: Saturday, 2:00 p.m. / Knoxville Civic Audiotorium
We knew that Kronos Quartet had surprises up their sleeve for their Five Decades celebration at the Big Ears Festival and details are starting to slip out. The amazing Inuit throat-singer and performer extraordinaire Tanya Tagaq, who blew minds in her Big Ears appearances in 2015, will join them, along with Brian Carpenter, whose Ghost Train collaborated recently with Kronos in bringing the music of the legendary Moondog.
Watch: Kronos Quartet and Tanya Tagaq – “Nunavut”
Watch: Kronos Quartet & Ghost Train Orchestra – The Music of Moondog
The Harvest Time Project: Sunday, 1:30 p.m. / Knoxville Civic Auditorium
Pioneering jazz saxophone icon Pharoah Sanders departed this earthly realm in the fall of 2022, but his luminous and deeply spiritual music lives on. The recent rediscovery of his iconic 1977 recording, 𝓟𝓱𝓪𝓻𝓸𝓪𝓱 — thanks to Luaka Bop Records — has inspired many and led to The Harvest Time Project, a powerful and vibrant tribute to the master led by Josh Abrams of Natural Information Society, along with Tisiji Muñoz, whose ecstatic guitar fuels the original recording.
At Big Ears, they will be joined by a slew of very special guests including Carlos Niño on percussion, Sheila Maurice-Grey on trumpet, John Medeski and Surya Bottafasina on keyboards, and Austin Williams on drums, for what is sure to be a singular, unforgettable, loving tribute to the jazz master, Pharoah Sanders. For the final assembly of players, do stay tuned!
Read: The Harvest Time Project: A Tribute to Pharoah Sanders
Nonesuch Records 60th Anniversary
Big Ears is delighted to help Nonesuch Records celebrate its 60th anniversary at the festival this year. The label has a remarkable legacy of releasing extraordinary and visionary music, from its earliest days to this very moment. This year’s lineup includes more than a dozen Nonesuch artists, covering a huge timespan of its history, past to present, including Rhiannon Giddens, Laurie Anderson, Kronos Quartet, Mary Halvorson, Brad Mehldau, and many more.
Patrons can also experience a visual history of Nonesuch through the photography of
Michael Wilson on display at The Standard during the festival weekend and pick up selections from their favorite Nonesuch festival artists at the Merch Store at Jackson Terminal.
