Blank’s Big Ears Guide • Big Ears Creator Ashley Capps Interview • Madame Weezy’s Big Ears Horoscopes • Schedule
By Daniel Britt, Eric Dawson, Jennifer Duncan-Rankin, John Flannagan, Matt Rankin, Andrew Richardson and Nat Tracey-Miller
For abstract music lovers of a certain vintage (mine, specifically, it would seem), this year’s Big Ears lineup is a jaw-dropper in terms of depth and quality. While that expansiveness ensures that you will not be led astray no matter what path you choose, it also means that the schedule – as thoughtfully considered and sensibly organized as it possibly could be – offers up a litany of soul-crushing conflicts throughout each of the festival’s four days. In the week leading up to the schedule’s release, Big Ears founder Ashley Capps not-so-subtly hinted at what struggles awaited festivalgoers this go-round in a social-media post that included a photo of one of resident artist Wayne White’s pieces. Right in the middle of an idyllic nature scene, painted onto the canvas in bright colors, were block letters spelling out “Fomo.”
The agonizing decisions begin during the first hour of music on Thursday and don’t stop until the weekend draws to a close. Given that the festival sold out well in advance, perhaps there is a silver lining in that venues will be at capacity less frequently than in previous years. Still, the crunch promises to be excruciating for everyone. With that in mind, we’ve compiled a list of the artists whose sets we are most looking forward to catching. They are presented in chronological order, with any artists slated for multiple appearances listed according to their first on the schedule. Hopefully, if you’re not sure which way to lean, our recommendations will help push you in the right direction. Just know that you absolutely will miss out on some magical things over the weekend, so you might as well get over the fear, accept that reality and make the best of it. – Matt Rankin
Thursday
Marissa Nadler • 6 p.m. • The Point
When this singer-songwriter/painter last appeared in Knoxville, roughly 15 years ago, she delivered a stark suite of haunting yet melodic and adroitly finger-picked murder ballads in a joint show with Sharon Van Etten at The Pilot Light. Though the aesthetic and subject matter of her material has largely retained a grim gothic edge, Nadler has since developed into a consummate artist. An evocative songwriter with a keen knack for composition, her latest full-length effort, 2021’s self-produced “The Path of the Clouds,” featured a range of gorgeous textures and included tasteful, tuneful collaborations with Simon Raymonde (Cocteau Twins), Amber Webber (Black Mountain) and Big Ears vet Mary Lattimore. – MR
Yo La Tengo • 6:30 p.m. • Mill & Mine; w/ Sun Ra Arkestra • Friday • 3:30 p.m. • Civic Auditorium
The ultimate indie-rock lifers, Hoboken’s greatest export returns to Big Ears for a doubleheader. On Thursday, they’ll condense their longstanding “evening with” format into a lean 75 minutes, drawing from one of the deepest and most diverse catalogs in modern music. Friday afternoon finds them at the Civic Auditorium for a rare collaborative set with their longtime friends in the Sun Ra Arkestra. Yo La Tengo continues to make vital music (2023’s “This Stupid World” was one of the year’s best according to critics) but are also rightfully viewed as living legends with a discography solidly ensconced in the canon and a jukebox of well-curated covers deep enough to make James Murphy ask, “Was I there?” – Nat Tracey-Miller
Immersion • 7:30 p.m. • Regas Square; Nanocluster (Immersion/SUSS) • 9 p.m. • Regas Square
Immersion, comprising Wire’s Colin Newman and partner Malka Spigel, produces an exciting strain of electronica that has evolved since its inception as much as both of its creators have individually in their respective three-decade-plus careers. Immersion began in the ‘90s as “traditional” up-tempo electronic before moving into a more ambient style. A seven-year hiatus preceded the project’s sound drifting into a smooth ambient-jazz direction in 2016.
The duo changed gears again in 2021 when it embarked upon the ongoing exploratory Nanocluster series, which has included collaborations with artists such as Laetitia Sadier, Ulrich Schnauss and Tarwater. The latest volume features SUSS, and the two groups join forces Thursday evening when they likely will present at least part if not all of that album. With another recent Nanocluster alum, Thor Harris, also in town over the weekend, don’t be surprised if something else involving him were to pop up. – John Flannagan
Steve Roach • Thursday, Friday & Saturday • 8 p.m. Thurs. & Sat., 8:30 p.m. Fri. • Church Street United Methodist
Having performed twice previously (in 2010 and 2012) and booked for the 2020 edition that was scrapped due to the pandemic, Steve Roach is no stranger to this festival, and he will be presenting two two-hour sets in 2025. A native Californian, he has the cool distinction of working alongside future creator of “The Simpsons” Matt Groening at a record store in the Golden State. Both took entirely different paths, of course, with Roach going on to become one of the progenitors of ambient music and a seminal act in the soft-scape electronic realm. His catalogue is expansive and daunting at first glance, but the sound has always been consistent if not completely recognizable, creating a blueprint for myriad auteurs in generations past and present. Roach is influenced by German electronic music, which will be showcased throughout Big Ears this year in what is a kind of mini theme. – JF
SUSS • 8:15 p.m. • Regas Square; Nanocluster (Immersion/SUSS) • 9 p.m. • Regas Square;
Across the Horizon Nights • Friday & Saturday • 9:30 Fri., 10 p.m. Sat. • The Point;
Across the Horizon Presents: The Third Wave of Ambient • Saturday • 10 a.m. • Old City PAC;
Across the Horizon Presents: Music for Film & TV • Sunday • 11:30 a.m. • Regal Riviera
There are certain crossovers that work so well it seems obvious: gospel and hip-hop or fantasy and metal, for example. Two bands on this year’s lineup have forged an outside fusion that is so apparent it could smack you on the head and say “duh!” for you, but in slow motion. I’m referring, of course, to ambient and country. SUSS are Big Ears veterans, previously having soundtracked the best lunch I’ve ever had, on a Saturday in 2023 at the Jig & Reel.
This year they will be leading a series of collaborative performances called Across the Horizon that will showcase their minimalistic approach along with an immersive visual art display. By combining classic country tones with a Sonoran sparseness, SUSS have carved a distinct niche for themselves, but in a domain not entirely without peers. Cowboy Sadness, comprising members of The Antlers, Port St. Willow and Bing & Ruth, released “Selected Jambient Works, Vol. 1” in January of last year. Moody and ethereal and exhibiting striking depth, the album suits a Sunday drive just as well as it would a Jodorowsky film. Titling the work as it did makes one hopeful that more are to follow. – Daniel Britt
Beth Gibbons • 9 p.m. • Civic Auditorium
While the legendary Portishead seems to be solidly back on ice (this summer marks 10 years since the group’s last proper gig), its individual members cast a big shadow on this year’s festival. Gibbons makes her North American solo debut at Big Ears, and she brings the same nimble ensemble that brought the textures of “Lives Outgrown” to stages across Europe last year. Don’t expect a parade of “Dummy” classics in the setlist (though buckle up for the exception), but also don’t expect to ever forget the moment. – NTM
Tortoise • 9 p.m. • Mill & Mine
Even if “Millions Now Living Will Never Die” was the only thing this Chicago post-rock outfit ever produced, that album alone would be enough to enshrine the band in the American music canon. As is, the five-piece’s career catalog is healthy and diverse, but it’s hard to overstate the importance of “Millions” and its follow-up “TNT.” In 2025, they’re still richly rewarding listens; when they were released in 1996 and ’98, respectively, though, they blew minds. Steve Reich, Eno and Kraftwerk are obvious touchstones for the landmark efforts, but it’s fair to say that Tortoise in turn bridged the gap between those early modern innovators that provided inspiration and the mainstream acolytes of experimental music that would follow. Perhaps the group isn’t solely responsible for its existence, but it’s hard to envision the entire Toronto scene of the early aughts, for example, sounding the same or proliferating the way it did without the band’s monumental influence. The same could be said for countless other artists that have made an impact in the last quarter century. – MR
DARKSIDE • 11:30 p.m. • Mill & Mine
Nicolas Jaar returns to Big Ears for the third time, though it’s the first with his acclaimed project with multi-instrumentalist Dave Harrington (and new third member Tlacael Esparza, drummer and percussionist). DARKSIDE has released three albums to date, the most recent, “Nothing,” having come out at the end of February. That ambitious effort finds the band exploring everything from funky disco and acoustic riffing to its more traditional sound of electronics infused with standard instrumentation. This should be an apt act to close down the first night of Big Ears. – JF
Friday
The Nels Cline Singers • 1 p.m. • Civic Auditorium; w/ 101 Audio Odyssey • 9 p.m. • Mill & Mine;
w/ Jenny Scheinman’s All Species Parade • Saturday •10:30 p.m. • Bijou Theatre;
w/ Consentrik Quartet • Sunday • 7:30 p.m. • The Point
Nels Cline cuts a wild cross-section of Big Ears’ proclivities, capable of steel-guitar heartbreak, noisy feedback-laden freakouts and anthemic, soaring solos. All of that was on display during Wilco’s headlining slot in 2017, in a lineup which also saw Cline and some of his bandmates showcase their own solo projects. Pushing 70 years old, Cline shows no signs of slowing down, as he’ll arrive in Knoxville with three official projects and the ever-present potential for surprises. His Friday set with the Nels Cline Singers will feature music from his excellent 2020 Blue Note release “Share the Wealth” with the help of Brian Marsella, Cyro Baptista, Trevor Dunn, Skerik and Scott Amendola. – NTM
Cassandra Jenkins • 2 p.m. • The Point
If 2021’s brilliant and risk-taking “An Overview on Phenomenal Nature” was an emotionally draining paean to Jenkins’ former musical mentor David Berman, it’s understandable that last year’s follow-up, “My Light, My Destroyer,” would be comparatively more conventional and restrained. However, although the heights aren’t quite as high, it’s still a phenomenal, beautifully produced and paced effort that warrants repeat listens, each of which reveal new quirks and turns of phrase. Born of an austere folk tradition, Jenkins’ music nevertheless crackles with warmth and flickers in unexpected directions. – MR
Tyshawn Sorey • Friday 3 & 8 p.m. • St. John’s Cathedral;
w/ King Britt & Friends • Saturday • 3:15 p.m. • Jackson Terminal;
w/ Tyshawn Sorey Trio • Saturday • 8 p.m. • Bijou Theatre;
w/ Fieldwork • Sunday • 5:15 p.m. • Bijou Theatre
The incomparable modern composer and multi-instrumentalist was a standout presence during the 2023 edition of the festival, seemingly popping up everywhere all weekend and doing incredible things wherever he went. Sorey may just outdo himself this year, however; in addition to these five distinct performances, his work will be performed by Sarah Rothenberg on Thursday (9:45 p.m., St. John’s) and by the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra on Sunday (2 p.m., Civic Auditorium), and he will take part in a panel discussion with Claire Chase as moderated by Nate Chinen on Saturday at noon at the OCPAC. A heavy load for us mere mortals, but all in a weekend’s work for a Pulitzer-winning MacArthur Fellow, apparently. – MR
Alabaster DePlume • 4 p.m. • Mill & Mine
Big Ears 2022 saw DePlume perform a Sunday morning set at The Standard backed by Jamie Branch’s Fly or Die Quartet, which tore the house down on the same stage the night before. It was the ultimate Saturday night/Sunday morning experience with the same set of musicians leading each service. That Big Ears was back after two years on hiatus made the sets that much more powerful, and Branch’s death a few months later underscored just how special those shows were. Don’t get it twisted: Branch and her band brought the bomb and the balm, but DePlume’s working method of playing with a different group of musicians in each city while touring has primed him to be a gifted bandleader in any setting. Joining him this year to back his emo-jazz inspirational improv will be the powerhouse combo of Tcheser Holmes, Patrick Shiroishi, Macie Stewart and Big Ears MVP Shahzad Ismaily. – Eric Dawson
Tall Tall Trees • 5:30 p.m. • Jig & Reel
To say that Mike Savino, performing as Tall Tall Trees, plays the banjo would not necessarily be telling a lie, but it certainly would be vastly underselling his work. Thanks to a custom zither (known as Banjotron) equipped for loops and effects, Savino blends folk and psychedelia with a craftsmanship that highlights the familiar while embracing the weird. Savino has enlisted the help of members of Ween, Butthole Surfers and Kishi Bashi with songwriting and live shows, despite mostly performing as a one-man act. Hailing from Long Island and with a background in jazz, Tall Tall Trees nonetheless embodies the roots and ethos of Appalachia with an effortlessness that is a testament to his respect for the region. – DB
Wadada Leo Smith • Friday • 5:30 p.m. • St. John’s Cathedral w/ RedKoral
Quartet and Solo; w/ Revolutionary Fire-Love • Saturday 1:30 p.m. • Bijou Theatre;
w/ Vijay Iyer • Saturday • 2:30 p.m. • Bijou Theatre;
w/ Radio Light and Orange Wave Electric Sunday • 6 p.m. • Mill & Mine
Smith is a giant of modern music, a veteran from the earliest days of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians and a peer and collaborator of the likes of Jack DeJohnette, Anthony Braxton, Roscoe Mitchell and Henry Threadgill. Smith’s work has ranged from focused pastoral compositions to grand bubbling fusion, wild free-jazz sojourns into the cosmos and commemorating major American landmarks in “Ten Freedom Summers” and “America’s National Parks.”
This year, Smith essentially brings his CREATE Festival to Big Ears, showcasing five of his current projects over three days. Friday afternoon sees Smith perform two solo works and a recent string work with the RedKoral Quartet. Saturday’s double bill at the Bijou (sure to fill quickly) showcases a new work for Revolutionary Fire-Love, a septet with Andrew Cyrille, Vijay Iyer, Erika Dohi, Seiyoung Jang, Ashley Walters and Yosvany Terry. Iyer and Smith will follow immediately with a duo set to mark the recent ECM release “Defiant Life,” their first joint album in a decade.
Smith performs with Sylvie Courvoisier on Saturday evening before closing his weekend with a packed program at the Mill & Mine. Radio Light, a quartet with Min Xiao-Fen, Cyrille and Ra Kalam Bob Moses perform Smith’s “Symphony No. 1,” and then Orange Wave Electric finishes things out with a work from 2020’s “Fire Illuminations” and a new piece. This dynamic group features Brandon Ross, Smith’s grandson Lamar, Melvin Gibbs, Hardedge and Deerhoof drummer Greg Saunier. Rather than a career retrospective, the events in the CREATE series are a snapshot of a legend who shows no signs of slowing down, and they are sure to stand among this year’s most unforgettable moments. – NTM
Jessica Pratt • 5:45 p.m. • Tennessee Theatre
Psychedelic folk hasn’t always been well-represented at Big Ears, but Joanna Newsom and Devendra Banhart turned in truly memorable performances in years past, and Pratt is poised to do the same in 2025. Last year’s immaculately produced “Here in the Pitch” clocked in at less than half an hour, but it still dominated year-end best-of lists for the quality of its songcraft and its ability to transport listeners to faraway realms over the course of its brief runtime. Each track is a serious vibe, and it should be intriguing to hear how they collectively sound in the cavernous state theater of Tennessee. – MR
Merce Lemon • 7:30 p.m. • Jig & Reel
It’s during the second track on last year’s “Watch Me Drive Them Dogs Wild” when you really start to take notice, and it’s specifically the moment when the band picks up and ends in a Crazy Horse-esque takeoff that fills the air with words you wished you had said during your last breakup. Live, Lemon and the band live up to the hype. They’re both sincere and unapologetic, mirroring the heartbreak inherent on the albums and emphatically projecting it outward onto the crowd. – Andrew Richardson
Tarta Relena • 7:30 p.m. • First Presbyterian Sanctuary
A special part of Big Ears since the festival’s inception, world music performed by unique artists has enchanted audiences that might not have had the opportunity to see them in another capacity. Catalan folk duo Tarta Relena will be performing its a cappella material featuring minimal electronic elements. The pair performs a traditional Mediterranean style, incorporating a less-is-more approach that relies more heavily on vocal and storytelling ability than instrumentation. – JF
Still House Plants • 7:45 p.m. • The Standard
A friend commented on how much sadness was in Still House Plants’ music, and I admit I was so focused on the precision and intensity of their music that the emotion I most associated with them was anger. But with that comment in mind and a fresh set of ears, I got it on a subsequent relisten, especially in the lyrics throughout their five albums. It’s also conveyed through the interplay of the drums, guitar and vocals, a deceptively simple configuration with which this trio has made something completely original, something new with the hoary staples of rock ‘n’ roll. Full of anger, frustration, confusion, sadness, with room for some joy, this music is all too human, even if at times it sounds mechanical. Catch them live to see how they do it. A phenomenal band, perfect for our times. – ED
Les Claypool’s Bastard Jazz •11:30 p.m. Mill & Mine
A master purveyor of side projects, California native Claypool has been infusing his signature low-end taps and slaps in countless projects for nearly five decades. Sometimes funny, sometimes freaky but always funky, his unique blend of playing styles on his signature fretless bass has the man frequently named among the best to ever pick up the instrument.
Embracing multiple genres himself, Claypool has amassed fans from across the musical spectrum, from metalheads to jam band followers – and now jazzophiles with this colorful iteration. Accompanied by a talented crew on horns, keys and percussion, a late-night Knoxville audience will be treated to a one-of-a-kind experience full of crazy notes, crazier words and the craziest time signatures. The bandleader’s creativity knows no bounds, but his ability to be so prolific yet approachable in whatever he does is maybe the most impressive talent he possesses. – Jennifer Duncan-Rankin
Saturday
Julia Holter • 3:15 p.m. • Tennessee Theatre
Knoxville’s grand palace is an appropriate setting for the luxurious works of this contemporary composer. Rather than having a limiting or confining effect, Holter’s uncanny ability to imbue her meandering, free-form pieces with a defined pop sensibility at just the right times generates an interesting dichotomy. Bubbling beneath the surface is abundant energy and joyfulness intrinsic to the exploratory nature of the instrumentation, but, presented with the rigid constraints of an orthodox song structure, it threatens to roil over. What emerges is a tense dynamic in which the potency of both properties is enhanced, resulting in some incredibly moving passages. – MR
Michael Rother: The Music of Neu! and Harmonia • 6 p.m. • Mill & Mine
German music legend Rother is a key innovator in German experimental electronica/rock. An early but brief member of Kraftwerk, the multi-instrumentalist later co-founded influential krautrock group Neu! with Klaus Dinger, who also had departed Kraftwerk at the same time. Neu! released three seminal albums in the early ‘70s that solidified them as innovators in modern electronic music. Rother was also a member of Harmonia, a West German supergroup that combined the forces of Cluster and Neu! Rother will be performing the works of those groups along with some solo work in what will mark yet another legend gracing Big Ears with his presence. – JF
Arooj Aftab • 7:15 p.m. • Civic Auditorium
Her music resists easy labels or categorization, and her powerful voice can evoke either hushed awe or effusive cursing depending on how it hits one’s ear at a given moment. And I could attempt to summon all the right adjectives to describe how incandescent and poignant her live performances can be. But simply suffice it to say that Aftab’s last two appearances at Big Ears – solo in 2022 and with Vijay Iyer and Shahzad Ismaily as Love in Exile the following year – elicited full-body goosebumps in your boy, and I had never experienced that phenomenon prior or since, regardless of how much I might have been enjoying myself at a show. Localized pimpling or shivers, sure, but not head-to-toe feels. That, though, is the type of reaction Aftab can elicit from the stage. – MR
Helado Negro • 8:15 p.m. • Jackson Terminal
Robert Carlos Lange imbues his songs with delicate hooks and a sensuality borrowed from R&B that coalesces into a product all its own. On his 2024 album “Phasor,” Lange walks a tightrope between deeply personal themes and highly accessible art-pop with ease, delivering tracks that feel as if they could be about no one in particular just as readily as they could be about you, specifically. His musical process is as intimate as the finished product, with Lange producing, mixing and engineering his work as Helado Negro, giving it a refreshing uniqueness. In addition to his performance on Saturday, he and Kristi Sword have an interdisciplinary art exhibit on display at Downtown Gallery throughout the festival. Check the Big Ears app or website for specific times. – DB
Lankum • 8:45 p.m. • Mill & Mine
When anyone asks who I’m most excited about at Big Ears this year, I tell them about Lankum, but every time I try to describe their sound, it just doesn’t do them justice. “Irish doom folk” and the like doesn’t even sound that appealing to me, and I love this band. Their music stops time, takes you back in time and seems future-forward all at once. There’s no other band like them, and I’m looking forward to hearing those haunting vocals and feeling the whomp of their music live. – ED
Waxahatchee • 9:30 p.m. • Civic Auditorium
With a Southern soulfulness that exudes through both her voice and lyrics, Katie Crutchfield makes songs that can be alternately described as indie, folk, Americana or any hyphenated hybrid of the three. Her 2020 album “St. Cloud” offered a folk-driven exercise in introspection with an apprehension and sparseness that fit the malaise we all felt in its release year. It set an incredibly high bar for expectations, which Waxahatchee inarguably met or exceeded with last year’s “Tigers Blood.” Heartfelt and sincere, that effort showcases Crutchfield’s songwriting, all the while tempting you to overlook the lyrics due to the richness of the music itself. “Right Back to It,” her duet with MJ Lenderman, is a standout but at best only stands a hair above any other track. – DB
clipping. • 10:45 p.m. • Jackson Terminal
This LA-based trio of longtime pals has been making its own brand of smart, interesting and unique hip-hop for well over a decade. Starting as a remix project between college roommates William Hutson and Jonathan Snipes, the addition of rhymes from uber-talented Daveed Diggs found the group gaining notoriety soon after the release of its first mixtape. The trifecta’s sound is raw, angsty and somewhat industrial, with Diggs’ mind-blowingly agile but relaxed delivery a perfect match for the stark beats and wall-of-noise production crafted by Hutson and Snipes. The group recently teamed up with Aesop Rock for “Welcome Home Warriors” on the heels of its recently released fifth album “Dead Channel Sky.” – JDR
Water Damage • 12:30 a.m. (late Sat., early Sun.) • The Standard
Water Damage will be THE late-night set for heads. At Big Ears, the Austin, Texas-based guitar army will be augmented by David Grubbs and saxophonist Patrick Shiroishi and who knows who else. Riff and drone fans will unite and bang their heads slowly to half-hour trance-outs, and you should take this chance to put yourself in the middle of a maelstrom happening at a hopefully stupidly loud volume. – ED
Sunday
Tindersticks • 2 p.m. • Tennessee Theatre
Moody, melodic and cinematic – apropos for a band that has soundtracked several Claire Denis films – this English chamber-pop outfit has been active since the early ‘90s, pausing only for a spell in the middle of the next decade while its idiosyncratic frontman Stuart A. Staples pursued a solo career. Although they never garnered the same kind of hype as some of their contemporaries, there are strands of Joy Division, Nick Cave, Morphine, Mercury Rev, The National, Future Islands and Father John Misty in the baroque, lounge-ready stylings of Tindersticks. Impressively, last fall’s full-length “Soft Tissue” is as fresh, funky and soulful as anything the group has put on record at any point in its existence. – MR
Mabe Fratti • 3:15 p.m. • Jackson Terminal
Based in Mexico City these days, Guatemalan Mabe Fratti put together one of the best albums of this past year. “Sentir Que No Sabes” takes the experimental cellist to new heights, gorgeously blending her instrument, voice and synths into an avant-pop masterstroke. – AR
múm • 7:45 p.m. • Bijou Theatre
Icelandic indietronica trio múm performs music that incorporates soft vocals with glitches and skittering electronic beats along with traditional instrumentation. Influenced by Aphex Twin (when is Richard D. James coming to Big Ears?) as evidenced by the style of percussion used in many of group’s songs, check out “Don’t Be Afraid, You Have Just Got Your Eyes Closed,” a prime example of its overall sound and which incorporates all of these elements flawlessly. The Bijou, with its stellar acoustics, is a perfect environment in which to cocoon yourself with the aural equivalent of hygge. – JF
Rufus Wainwright • 8 p.m. • Civic Auditorium
The nature-versus-nurture argument is quite a toughie when it comes to how this artist has become so accomplished. With both parents celebrated folk musicians and musically inclined grandparents, as well, it doesn’t seem all that far-fetched that Wainwright would possess similar musical acumen. While he may have had access to sharpen his performance skills from an early age, songwriting is simply more of an innate ability that some folks seem to be born with. In both storytelling and musical composition, this gentleman is able to convey honesty and connection in a manner that simply cannot be learned. His songs are effortless, intimate and interesting. From classical to opera and even pop, he can touch a wide range of tastes without anything sounding forced or unnatural. – JDR
Explosions in the Sky • 9 p.m. • Mill & Mine
Explosions in the Sky makes for a fitting closer for Big Ears. Playing the last show Sunday night, the Austin-based experimental rock group has a knack for creating arrangements that, much like a music festival, brood for a moment, build to a frenzy and ultimately erupt in a crescendo. Its music often has been described as cinematic, an apt descriptor considering the band has composed the soundtracks for numerous movies and shows, most recently Netflix’s Western series “American Primeval.” These songs evoke the pivotal moments, not just in media, but in life, as well – instances of self-doubt overcome by courage or fear negated by compassion – eliciting an emotional response that adapts to each subsequent listen. Whatever your level of physical or emotional drainage is by Sunday evening, Explosions in the Sky should provide a much-needed catharsis for weary festivalgoers. – DB
The welcome return of a favorite program
Blacktronika: Afrofuturism in Electronic Music
King Britt’s Blacktronika program will be returning to Big Ears in 2025, building upon last year’s superb package. Britt has curated an ambitious mix of multi-genre performers for this installment, which will include Britt’s collaboration with composer and multi-instrumentalist Tyshawn Sorey that blends percussion-based jazz with electronic elements to create a complex gumbo of sound. Their performance will be Saturday afternoon at 3:15 at Jackson Terminal.
Britt is also bringing the silky-smooth stylings of Free Form Funky Freqs, which features Living Colour founder and guitarist Vernon Reid. The style would best be described as free-form jazz, of course, but it combines R&B along with prog rock for its own particular twist. The trio also features Jamaaladeen Tacuma and G. Calvin Weston, and the group will perform at the Mill & Mine Saturday night at 11:30.
While this Big Ears does not feature as much hip-hop as it has in past editions, Antipop Consortium will represent the genre, bringing its unorthodox alternative hip-hop, thanks again to Britt. The project began in the late ‘90s and experienced a breakup in 2002 that saw members M. Savyid, Hprizm and Beans each branch out to explore assorted styles of electro-rap before reuniting in 2007. The trio has toured with the likes of Radiohead and DJ Shadow, and its skills are sharply honed from regular touring jaunts since 2009. It will perform Friday night at 11 at Jackson Terminal.
Not a part of the larger program but combining ambient textures, resonant bass and meaningful hip-hop bars with jazz and classical is Ambrose Akinmusire, who will perform solo on Thursday evening in the chapel of First Presbyterian before presenting a full-band performance of his fantastic new album “honey from a winter stone” at the Bijou the following night. He’ll also sit down with journalist Nate Chinen at the Blue Note Lounge Friday morning for what should be a good coffee talk. – JF
Concurrent side programming during Big Ears
What For • The Pilot Light • Thursday-Saturday • Free
The venerable Old City venue once again will feature alternate programming during the Big Ears festivities, as it will host its own mini festival for the second consecutive year. The mostly local lineup nevertheless will feature three national acts on Thursday: Geologist, the electronic producer and member of Animal Collective; Highlife and Gang Gang Dance guitarist Sleepy Doug Shaw; and Hide, a Dais Records band out of Chicago.
The amazing local roster includes The New Romantics, Dirty Knees, Paperwork, J.Bu$h, nightjar and a plethora of the city’s best experimental music producers. Check thepilotlight.com for the full lineup and schedule. – JF
Channel Pressure • Saturday • 8:30 p.m. • Barley’s • $15
Insomnia and Big Fangs present this musical showcase featuring acts from Knoxville, Nashville, Cincinnati, Tampa and Indiana. The styles of music will mostly fall in the synth-pop, industrial, new wave, goth and post-punk range. Channel Pressure debuted last year during Big Ears and was an eclectic platform for local and regional talent. This year’s lineup includes The New Romantics (Brandon Biondo will be busy over the weekend) along with Healing, Spectral Body, Hypnagogia, Attic Eyes, Twice Dark and Guilty by Design. Check barleysknoxville.com for details. – JF
For more info and coverage throughout the weekend, including daily recaps, check out www.blank.news
