Words from Threadgill, Ribot and Others/ What’s Next?
“This is the first truly American festival I’ve experienced…”
“‘…they’ve got singers and the Kronos quartet and bands and DJs and folk and country and jazz,’ Threadgill said. ‘Wolf Trap and other places have tried, but in my lifetime this is the first time I’m seeing this. Plus talks and books and movies…’ Threadgill took a breath. ‘Hey! I’ve got to go — there’s a George Crumb movie starting.’ And off he went.”
The esteemed writer Ashley Kahn concludes this wonderful profile of Big Ears and and how it came to be, published last week online in Down Beat, with this beautiful quote from one of our greatest musical inspirations – and 2016 Pulitzer Prize winner – Henry Threadgill, which certainly speaks to the spirit of what we are reaching for at Big Ears. We are honored!
Read: “Down Beat Magazine at Big Ears 2024”
“Big Ears is the one time a year we artists live the community that people think we live, and that we hold in our heads.” – Marc Ribot
As our friend and fellow promoter Ron Ozer put it, It’s always a good thing to see Nate Chinen at a concert, then you know you’ll get to read things about the show that you couldn’t have put into words so well. You can access Nate’s overview of Big Ears 2024 by subscribing to his blog, “The Gig,” on Substack.
Read: Nate Chinen: “What I Know About Big Ears”
What’s Next for Big Ears?
First of all, we’ve had an extraordinary response to our survey of this year’s festival. We, along with the team at AngelouEconomics, will be compiling and analyzing your responses as we plan for Big Ears 2025 and beyond. Thank you!
We will be announcing the official dates for Big Ears 2025 soon, in just two to three weeks, so stay tuned for that announcement here. We anticipate announcing the initial line up and program for 2025 in September and will begin selling passes at that time. As usual, we will announce a special pre-sale for previous festival passholders that will take place prior to the public on sale.
We’ve received very positive feedback on our decision to cap Big Ears attendance this year, and it seems to have been successful in helping to enhance the overall experience for all who attended. We have no plans to increase the size or number of passes sold in 2025 but will continue to be focused within the current festival footprint on creating the optimal festival experience for all.
Festival Merch Now Online!
Our Big Ears 2024 hoodies, t-shirts, totes, posters, and more are now available online. With every purchase, you’re supporting the programming initiatives and community outreach efforts of the Big Ears Festival!
Special thanks to our friends at Nothing Too Fancy for fulfilling these orders.
Shop Big Ears Merch, here!
