Amadou & Mariam, Rickie Lee Jones, Los Lobos, James “Blood” Ulmer, Devandra Barnhart among the performers
The initial line-up for the 2023 Big Ears Festival is, as usual, a wild array of acclaimed artists, including classical, jazz, bluegrass, folk and other musical genres. The festival, which will celebrate it’s 10th anniversary year, will be held March 30-April 2, 2023, and will utilize venues all over downtown Knoxville. The event has become one of the most renowned music events in the world.
The event will include appearances by Malian greats Amadou and Mariam, singer-songwriters Rickie Lee Jones, Devendra Barnhart, Iron & Wine and Andrew Bird, jazz greats Charles Lloyd, James “Blood” Ulmer and Christian McBride, roots rock greats Los Lobos, The Mountain Goats and many more.
Special events will include nine concerts featuring the music of John Zorn in celebration of his 70th birthday; the North American premiere of Bill Frisell and his trio with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra; Oak Ridge native Edgar Meyer’s “Trios” with violinist Tessa Lark and cellist Joshua Roman; Bela Fleck’s “My Bluegrass Heart” show featuring Sierra Hull, Bryan Sutton, Mark Schatz and others; and “Love In Exile,” a collaboration of Arooj Aftab, Vijay Iyer and Shahzad Ismaily.
Many of the artists are veterans of the festival and regularly use the event for one-of-a-kind or rare collaborations or to premiere new work. Terry Allen and the Panhandle Pan, who had to cancel their appearance at the 2022 festival for medical reasons, have rescheduled for 2023.
Ticket packages will go on sale beginning on Tuesday, Sept. 13. Tickets range from $125 for daily passes (day pass tickets will go on sale later) to more than $800 for special packages. Visit www.bigears.org for more details.
