WEDNESDAY NIGHT SPECIALS / FREE WEEKEND EVENTS / ARTIST CANCELLATIONS
Arriving in Knoxville Early?
If you arrive in Knoxville early, don’t worry—we’ve got you covered with some Wednesday night surprises!
Boundless: Artists in the Archives
Works by Donald Brown
Wednesday, March 26 / Knoxville Museum of Art / 6p
University of Tennessee Libraries presents internationally renowned jazz pianist, composer, and producer Donald Brown premiering a new composition inspired by the Beauford Delaney Papers in the University of Tennessee Libraries’ archives. This special performance, part of UT Libraries’ Boundless: Artists in the Archives series, will take place at the Knoxville Museum of Art on Wednesday, March 26 at 7:00p. Inspired by Delaney’s rich legacy, Brown’s new work offers a moving tribute to the celebrated Knoxville-born artist and will feature Brown alongside acclaimed jazz musicians, including special guest Greg Tardy. Make sure you stop by the museum during your festival weekend to view the world’s largest public collection of works by Delaney.
A SPECIAL ESSENTIAL TREMORS: WEDNESDAY AT THE PILOT LIGHT
Legendary producer, label head, and author Joe Boyd will be our very special guest at the next Selector Series. Joe founded the label Hannibal Records and has advocated for music across the global spectrum but is probably best-known as a producer for artists including Pink Floyd, Fairport Convention, R.E.M., and Nick Drake’s first two albums, among many others. He’s also the author of a memoir, White Bicycles, and the recent And the Roots of Rhythm Remain, a personal history of what we sometimes think of as “world music.”
Tickets for Essential Tremors Selector Series: Joe Boyd
Eno
A Generative Film by Gary Hustwit
Wednesday, March 26 / Regal Riviera Cinema 3 / 7p
Join us on Wednesday evening for a special pre-festival screening of Eno, Gary Hustwit’s groundbreaking generative documentary exploring the life and creative world of Brian Eno. Blending music, art, and philosophy, the film offers a dynamic, ever-changing experience — no two viewings are the same. This exclusive Wednesday screening is available to all Big Ears passholders, subject to capacity, with a second opportunity to catch the film on Friday, March 28 for those who can’t make it or who want to experience its ever-shifting brilliance once more.
William Tyler Time Indefinite Album Listening
Wednesday, March 26 / Regas Square / 7p
Don’t miss this special pre-festival listening event at Regas Square, where William Tyler will present his forthcoming album, Time Indefinite, in full. The evening will feature visuals specifically designed to accompany the music, plus a conversation with Tyler and Stephen Brower from Amazon Music. Admission is free, but space is limited — grab your pass via the link below.
Free-to-the-public Programming
At its heart, Big Ears is a celebration of how music and culture can bring us all together. It is in that spirit that we offer the Big Ears experience to everyone in a series of free concerts all weekend long, the Knoxville Museum of Art to the Visit Knoxville Visitors Center. These are some really special performances.
We hope you’ll encourage your friends and neighbors to join us!
Dedicated Men of Zion & Knoxville Opera Gospel Choir
Sunday, March 30 / Knoxville Civic Auditorium / 5p
Experience a powerful and uplifting musical collaboration as the Dedicated Men of Zion join forces with the Knoxville Opera Gospel Choir for a special Sunday performance at Big Ears. Nearly a year in the making, this joyous celebration of gospel music’s rich heritage and lasting spirit is not to be missed. While the event is included as part of the offerings for festival pass holders, Big Ears is excited to open this special event to the public. Reserve your free ticket at the link below and be part of this unforgettable performance!
Knoxville Museum of Art
The Knoxville Museum of Art will be free and open to the public all weekend. The museum will host performances by artists by Bríghde Chaimbeul, Kalia Vandever, eucademix (Yuka Honda), Carlos Niño Salon’s Night 1 and Night 2, Allison De Groot & Tatiana Hargreaves, June McDoom, Fred Moten & Brandon Lopez, Larry & Joe, and Mivos Quartet. The museum will also host Laraaji & Arji OceAnanda’s Laughter: The Best Medicine Playshop and in addition to Pangrok Sulap’s exhibit at RED Gallery, the collective will be doing live printmaking sessions throughout the festival weekend at Knoxville Museum of Art’s South Garden.
Visit Knoxville Visitors Center
Visit Knoxville Visitors Center is your destination for all things Knoxville. During Big Ears free programming will include WDVX Blue Plate and Big Plate Specials with special guests, Knoxville Music History with Jack Neely, Critics’ Pick Panel with Ann Powers, Nate Chinen, Ashley Kahn, and Marcus J. Moore, Essential Tremors featuring Ian Lynch, Victoria Shen, and William Tyler a conversatios between Dawn Richard and Marcus J. Moore, Lonnie Holley and Grayson Currin, and Terika Dean & Lance Ledbetter from Dust to Digital, alongside the Gladson Family Band.
The Emporium Center
For almost 40 years, Wayne White has been unleashing humor in all aspects of his career. His most successful artworks have been his word paintings, which feature oversized, three-dimensional text painstakingly integrated into vintage landscape reproductions. The message of the paintings is often thought-provoking and almost always humorous, with White commenting on vanity, ego and his memories of the South
Wayne White: Big Words Exhibition
RED Gallery
Pangrok Sulap, a Malaysian community-collective from Borneo, includes “artists, musicians and social activists with a mission to empower rural communities and the marginalized through art.” “Pangrok” is the local pronunciation of “punk rock”, and “Sulap” is a hut or a resting place usually used by farmers in Sabah, Borneo. Accompanied by drumming, Pangrok Sulap prints are created through community participation.
Pangrok Sulap: Malaysian Printmaking Collective Exhibition
UT Downtown Gallery
Kite Symphony is a multidisciplinary exhibition by Roberto Carlos Lange and Kristi Sword. The project features a series of drawings called Radio Telescope and two films: an experimental visual music piece called Star Scores, which will be scored live during the Big Ears festival, and a film documenting sculptural interventions from their time in Marfa, Texas.
Kite Symphony Exhibition and Star Scores
Digital Motif
The Violins of Hope: Strings of the Holocaust exhibition is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience a deeply moving display of history, music, and resilience. This exhibition tells the stories of the Jewish musicians and their violins that survived the Holocaust. Restored and preserved, these instruments now serve as powerful symbols of hope and survival
Sad to Say, Some Cancellations
We are deeply disappointed to report that, due to circumstances beyond anyone’s control, the Tara Clerkin Trio and Tucker Zimmerman have had to cancel their tours and their scheduled Big Ears appearances. Previously, Bill Ryder-Jones and One Leg One Eye have also had to cancel their plans as well.
We wish each of them the very best and hope that they may join us at Big Ears in the near future.
