TOP PICKS OF 2024 / “EVOL” VIDEO / FROM THE VAULT

The 50 Best Albums Of 2024 So Far

As we cross the midpoint of 2024, Stereogum has compiled their 50 Best Albums list, and we’re thrilled to share that it includes several recent Big Ears artists. Among them are Hurray for the Riff Raff with their album The Past Is Still Alive, Mary Halvorson’s Cloudward, Adrianne Lenker’s Bright Future, and claire rousay’s Sentiment. Plus, Beyonce’s new album Cowboy Carter, featuring Rhiannon Giddens, also got a nod.

View: “The 50 Best Album’s of 2024 (So Far)”

Adrianne Lenker Releases New Video

Adrianne Lenker has shared a new video, directed by Erin Birgy, for “Evol,” a track from her recently released Bright Future.

The video is “a portrait of a wandered person, unrooted and questioning the realities of connection,” explains Birgy. “Their curiosity leads through landscapes and the people invested from them. This figure is on the verge of outgrowing stoic individualism encouraged by colonialism that fights to deny [the] interconnectedness of egoless place and being.”

View: “Adrianne Lenker – “Evol” (Official Video”

From the Vault: Looking Back at Moments from Big Ears 2024

Ches Smith: Laugh Ash

Renowned drummer Ches Smith, frequently featured at Big Ears, usually accompanies artists like Marc Ribot, Mary Halvorson, and Trevor Dunn. This year, he shifted gears with his latest group, Laugh Ash. As the bandleader, he blended the sophistication of chamber ensemble compositions with the raw appeal of low-fi hip hop, damaged electronics, and block structures.

Titan to Tachyons

With an impressive lineup consisting of guitarist Sally Gates, drummer Kenny Grohowski, bassists Matt Hollenberg and Trevor Dunn, Titans to Tachyons skillfully brought to life the abstract worlds of surrealism and science fiction with their captivating mix of improvisational notes, rhythmic grooves, and explosive metal elements.

Sleepytime Gorilla Museum

Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, one of the most gloriously unclassifiable American bands in existence, put on a show that can only be described as apocalyptic. Their music went beyond simple head-banging anthems. Each tune was a complex journey in itself.