A look into many of the acts performing during the festival
by Wayne Bledsoe, Daniel Britt, John Flannagan, Jennifer Duncan-Rankin, Matt Rankin and Rusty Odom
Big Ears founder Ashley Capps interview • Madame Weezy’s Big Ears Horoscopes • Previews
PREVIEWS
R.B. Morris
Thursday • 6:30 p.m. • Regas Square (w/ Knoxville Poets Laureate)
Thursday • 10 p.m. • Jackson Terminal (w/ The New Band)
Singer-songwriter, playwright and the city’s first poet laureate, Morris is a Knoxville institution. Fellow songwriting greats John Prine and Tom T. Hall sang his praises. Prine even signed him to his Oh Boy Records and later covered his song “That’s How Every Empire Falls,” a song also covered by Marianne Faithfull. A student of the great beat poets among others, Morris has been known to break into verse in the middle of a song with stunning results. He’ll be backed by some of the cream of the local music community for his late show. – Wayne Bledsoe
Kurt Vile & The Violators
Thursday • 7:30 p.m. • Knoxville Civic Auditorium (KCA)
Although this alt-rock old head has found himself on the fringe of mainstream success at multiple points along his career path, the Philadelphia-based fretboard wizard has always embraced the unconventional. With his latest full-length album and follow-up EP, however, Vile devoted ample time and, in some cases, entire tracks to exploring experimental tones and textures, irregular song structures and fantastical lyrical imagery. Whether he will play this primetime set straight-up or use it as a vehicle to venture further into unfamiliar soundscapes remains to be seen, but either way, it is exciting to witness such a veteran musician seeking out new experiences (on record, at least) this far into the journey. – Matt Rankin
Tyondai Braxton
Thursday • 8:15 p.m. • The Standard
Making a repeat Big Ears appearance is this former member of math-rock band Battles and the son of legendary avant-garde jazz composer Anthony Braxton (another veteran of this festival). The younger Braxton, a respected composer and producer in his own right, held a residency in 2015 in the room adjacent to the performance space at The Standard. There, he spearheaded an intriguing multimedia project, “HIVE,” that involved several musicians collaborating from within futuristic, glowing pods that themselves were impressive works of art. This time around, Braxton returns to the same venue as part of Thursday’s lineup for “Blacktronika,” a highlighted program this year that celebrates innovative people of color who have made important and lasting contributions to electronic music and its many offshoots. – MR
Andre 3000: New Blue Sun
Thursday • 9 p.m. • St. John’s
Friday • 5:30 p.m. • Bijou Theatre
Saturday • 8:30 p.m. • The Point
Sunday • 3 p.m & 7 p.m. • The Point
After hearing Andre Benjamin’s “New Blue Sun” the night it dropped, I knew it was a no-brainer for Big Ears. I also thought the combo seemed a little too good to be true, though, and I didn’t get my hopes up.
Then, through some creative programming, both sides made it work and five shows were added to the bill. I am of the opinion that Outkast is the most influential southern band of the last 30 years and I personally had the opportunity to book Big Boi for Second Bell a few years ago. They say “Don’t meet your heroes” and I’ve had some disappointing interactions with bands in the past, but Big couldn’t have been any cooler. I can only imagine that Andre will be the same and the idea of the most influential human of my youth hanging around town for four days is pretty cool. Check out this piece for a deeper look into these non-bars performances. – Rusty Odom
Jlin
Thursday • 9 p.m. • The Point
Originally from Gary, Indiana, Jerrilyn Patton is a pioneer in the footwork and juke genres within the Chicago electronic music scene. Capable of blending several styles from up-tempo ghetto house to leisurely ambient, it’s hard to say which vibe she will choose to unfurl at the downtown church. (Hopefully it’s the harder material, as I would like to see the rafters shake a little and do some people-watching.) Jlin, who has released music steadily since 2015, last year was named a finalist for a Pulitzer in music for her composition “Perspective.” – John Flannagan
Francesco Turrisi
Thursday • 9 p.m. • Old City
Performing Arts Center (OCPAC)
Saturday • 8 p.m. • Tennessee Theatre (w/ Christian McBride and Rhiannon Giddens)
This Italian multi-instrumentalist is a festival alumnus, previously impressing audiences with his skills highlighting one of the oldest known instruments: the frame drum. A lauded jazz pianist, too, Turrisi is accomplished at blending a variety of sounds and genres into music that is both interesting and beautiful. Appearing solo over the weekend, as well as with his wife and frequent collaborator Rhiannon Giddens, audiences will be treated to a hearty sampler of his many talents. – Jennifer Duncan-Rankin
Adrianne Lenker
Thursday • 9:30 p.m. • KCA
Songwriting guru, starkly affecting solo artist, frontwoman for revered rock group Big Thief – Lenker is the wearer of many hats and a creative force within modern alternative music as a result of her versatility. Both a prolific songsmith and a relentless performer, she is the rare individual whose copious output, while varying greatly from release to release, is all of an elite quality. Performing Thursday night following Kurt Vile’s set at the KCA, it seems likely that Lenker will preview several tracks from her sixth solo album, “Bright Future,” which is scheduled to drop the next day. – MR
Unwound
Thursday • 11 p.m. • Mill & Mine
This iconic Pacific Northwest noise outfit reprised its distinctive, angular sound for a tour last year, its first live foray since way back in 2002, after which it had disbanded. Founding member Justin Trosper (guitar/vocals) and long-serving drummer Sara Lund reformed the modern incarnation of the group in honor of Vern Rumsey, its original bassist who died in 2020. With the current roster incorporating guitarist Scott Seckington and Jared Warren as a fill-in on bass, Unwound is as potent now as it was in its millennial heyday, when seminal double album “Leaves Turn Inside You” (2001) earned numerous accolades and established the band as one of the most influential post-hardcore groups in history. – MR
Trevor Dunn
Friday • 12 p.m. • Bijou Theatre • (w/ Trio Convulsant avec Folie a Quatre)
Sunday • 5:15 p.m. • Jackson Terminal (w/ Ahleuchatistas)
Lending his voluminous basslines this weekend first to his jazz-fusion trio with guitarist Mary Halvorson and drummer Ches Smith and later to the Asheville-based instrumental group helmed by Shane Parish, Dunn is a heavyweight in his field, having collaborated with seemingly all of the performers on this year’s lineup. In fact, Dunn (Mr. Bungle, Fantomas, John Zorn) has played with just about anyone who has ever graced a Big Ears stage, and it is great having his collaborative spirit back in town for the 2024 edition of the festival. – JF
Yasmin Williams
Friday • 12 p.m. • The Standard
The fingerstyle guitarist’s 2022 set at First Baptist Church was a rarity for Big Ears in that it was refreshingly loose and offered plenty of interaction between artist and audience. Though the ambiance was a departure for what usually is a bookish and staid festival environment, the music itself – albeit warm and inviting – was intricate, intimate and painstakingly rendered. Expect similar vibes and another virtuoso performance when Williams takes to the stage at noon on Friday. – MR
Faun Fables
Friday • 12:45 p.m. • Jackson Terminal
This duo has been gracing stages for more than two decades with its unique blend of folk, rock and performance art. Making our home-sweet-home Pilot Light a regular tour stop over the years, Faun Fables have built quite a local following. Signed to the Drag City imprint, home to a vast array of experimental performers such as fellow 2024 Big Ears artist Bonnie “Prince” Billy, audiences will be in for a treat, as the group’s shows tend to feature not only delightfully eccentric sounds, but also dance and other elements of theater. Wholly creative and undoubtedly entertaining, this show promises to be a fully immersive experience. – JDR
Joanna Sternberg
Friday • 1:15 p.m. • OCPAC
This quirky New York City folkie produces structurally simple but gloriously potent and lovingly rendered earworms that will infiltrate your headspace for hours – if not days or weeks. With a penchant for introspective self-reflection, Sternberg’s writing alternates from plaintive yearnings to grateful exhortations, all the while exploring diverse and sometimes difficult emotional terrain through vivid imagery and inspired similes. With just two full lengths under their belt, the artist is on the ascendancy; expect them to feature more prominently at future engagements, but you’ll have to settle for an early afternoon weekday slot at this one. – MR
John Paul Jones
Friday • 2 p.m. • Tennessee Theatre
Sunday • 5:45 p.m. • Mill & Mine (w/ Thurston Moore)
A founding member of Led Zeppelin, Jones went on to collaborate with a wide variety of musicians, including the members of Nickel Creek and Glenn Phillips of Toad the Wet Sprocket in the band Mutual Admiration Society; with Dave Grohl and Josh Homme in Them Crooked Vultures; and many other artists. A mandolin and bluegrass enthusiast, he also produced albums for Uncle Earl, Sara Watkins and others. At Big Ears, Jones has a show of his own and another with Thurston Moore officially scheduled, but there’s no telling where else he might show up. – WB
Sam Amidon
Friday • 2:15 p.m. • The Standard
At Big Ears 2015, I experienced a singular note so exquisitely beautiful that it will forever be wedged into my memory and my soul. Sitting onstage in a dimly lit Tennessee Theatre, Amidon was performing “Oh Where” from his 2007 album “But This Chicken Proved Falsehearted” with contemporary classical greats Kronos Quartet. Slow and calculated, his voice was so distinct and delivered in such a haunting manner that the entire room was hushed, hanging on every word. When he had properly built the tension to a quivering peak, he picked up his violin, pulled his bow across the strings and created such a gut-wrenching and sorrowful sound that it elicited an audible gasp from the audience.
As a shiver went through my entire body, I grabbed my husband and stared into his eyes, both of us knowing we had just experienced something totally unexpected and wholly unforgettable. I can’t say if I’ll ever again experience something as powerful as that moment, but with such a talented and gifted folk legend as Amidon – crafting each note of his music so carefully and artfully – I will happily continue to forever chase the dragon. – JDR
Senryu
Friday • 4:30 p.m. • The Standard
Longtime Knoxville art-rock ensemble Senryu has spent nearly a quarter of a century creating unforgettable songs, concept albums and EPs, and concerts that are inspirational and sometimes bizarre spectacles. While commercial success may not have been in the mix, critics and fans across the country were always on board. This is a band whose fans always seem like family and whose music can range from loud, community-rousing anthems to intriguing experimental numbers. The group’s performances are ever rarer events, so any opportunity to see them should be taken. – WB
Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway
Friday • 5:45 p.m. • Mill & Mine
Over the past few years, traditional sounds have been finding their way more and more into the mainstream, with artists such as Noah Kahan, Sierra Hull and Billy Strings making Americana hip to a new generation of music lovers. Tuttle is absolutely a star in this cool kids’ club and has established herself as a role model for aspiring female artists. Growing up in the bluegrass scene, this Grammy-winning multi-instrumentalist has made a name for herself not only because of her superior technical ability, but also for her fun, quirky and accessible songwriting. Her latest album, 2023’s “City of Gold,” features down-home bangers like “Where Did All the Wild Things Go” and “Next Rodeo” (do yourself a favor and watch the hilarious music video created for that track), as well as raucous anthems such as local plea “Down Home Dispensary.” As the genre itself continues to evolve, it’s inevitable her success will only continue to grow. – JDR
Marc Ribot
Friday • 8 p.m. • Bijou Theatre • (w/ Chocolate Genius, Inc.)
Saturday • 9:45 p.m. • Mill & Mine (w/ Ceramic Dog)
Sunday • 2 p.m. • Bijou Theatre (w/ Evan Lurie)
Sunday • 8:45 p.m. • Mill & Mine (w/ John Medeski and Joe Russo)
While Ribot, a Big Ears veteran, started his career backing up great artists – including Tom Waits at his peak, Elvis Costello and John Zorn – his own music is an eclectic cornucopia of styles. From the Cuban rock with his group Los Cubanos Postizos to his interpretations of free-jazz great Albert Ayler to the sometimes beautiful, sometimes abrasive and always unpredictable performances with Ceramic Dog, Ribot’s shows are always riveting. – WB
MAVI
Friday • 9:15 p.m. • The Standard
This year’s Big Ears features the deepest hip-hop lineup the festival has ever compiled, and this dynamic Charlotte-based rapper promises to be one of the genre’s biggest draws. Lyrically dense and supremely evocative with his allusions, his specialty is dispensing hypnotic stream-of-consciousness flows over lo-fi production and basic beats. Although he cites MF Doom as a touchstone for his style, MAVI’s approach is equally hazy but less hardened and more approachable, recalling the backpack technique of rhymesters like Aesop Rock and Talib Kweli or collectives like Jurassic 5 and Atmosphere. Truly an under-the-radar choice at a difficult time slot due to the concurrent competition, this artist nonetheless should be on your periphery. – MR
DJ Heather
Friday • 9:30 p.m. • Mill & Mine
This year’s rendition of Big Ears is celebrating the history of Black electronic music in America, with a healthy portion of the artists representing the Chicago and Detroit house scenes. Heather hails from the former and has become one of the Second City’s finest musical exports. She uses a tried-and-true traditional technique of mixing albums and incorporating samples as she goes, a method she has perfected over the last two decades. This should be an absolute rave. – JF
Rhiannon Giddens
Friday • 10 p.m. • Tennessee Theatre
Saturday • 8 p.m. • Tennessee Theatre (w/ Christian McBride and Francesco Turrisi)
Sunday • 1 p.m. • Mill & Mine • (w/ Silkroad Ensemble)
No one can make history sound quite as fresh and cutting edge as this Greensboro, North Carolina, treasure. From her time with Carolina Chocolate Drops and folk supergroup Our Native Daughters to her collaboration with the Nashville ballet, Giddens has built a career out of creating some of the most palpable stories set to music. Clinching a Pulitzer in 2023, she added opera composition to her bevy of skills for writing the libretto for “Omar,” a semi-biographical tale of the enslaved Muslim writer Omar ibn Said.
Giddens absolutely has a knack for somber and serious storytelling, but she also can be fun, flirty and cheeky, too. Her new release “You’re the One” features tunes that are romantic, inspirational and make you want to put on your boogie shoes. Save for a single collaboration with Americana favorite Jason Isbell, this third solo album focuses on Giddens as an artist, conveying her relatability while still putting her versatility on full display. – JDR
Carl Craig
Saturday • 12 a.m. • Mill & Mine
Overseeing the transition from the Windy City to Motown at the Mill & Mine will be Detroit producer/DJ extraordinaire Craig, who will close the first half of the weekend late Friday night/early Saturday morning. Credited with being at the forefront of the second wave of Detroit techno in the early ‘90s, he was influenced by Kraftwerk and Derek May, a forefather of the initial wave who bolstered Craig’s career early on by pushing his mixtape.
Specializing in house rather than typical four-on-the-floor techno bangers, he boasts a diversity of styles: jazz, krautrock, ambient and even new wave – which has led to collaborations with all kinds of artists, from Depeche Mode to Tori Amos to Junior Boys, with the latter resulting in a Grammy nod for a 2008 remix of “Like a Child.” PBS even recently featured the legend on an episode of its docuseries “Gospel” as part of its celebration of Black History Month. This will be a rare opportunity to see DJ royalty in our own backyard. – JF
Dibia$e
Saturday • 10 a.m. • Regal Square (w/ ‘Blacktronika’ Presents the LA Beat Scene)
Saturday • 2:45 p.m. • Jackson Terminal
The Watts-born artist will take part in a presentation with King Britt and Computer Jay on Saturday morning about the history of electronic music in Los Angeles and on the West Coast in which each should bring his own flavor to the proceedings. Though known primarily for his 8-bit, video game-sampling work, Dibia$e’s range should be on full display during his solo showcase later that afternoon. His production work is well-respected, and he has collaborated with the likes of DJ Premier, Flying Lotus and Portishead’s Geoff Barrow. – JF
Kronos Quartet
Saturday • 2 p.m. • KCA
There is an idea that each person or place retains some iota of energy from every interaction they experience, regardless of the gravity or consequence of that interaction. Each aura tinges the others around it, effortlessly and constantly creating a new and ever-changing palette. If this holds true, then the body of work – the collaborators, the venues, the music – of Kronos Quartet must certainly reflect the entire prism by this point.
In a career spanning five decades, the group has commissioned more than a thousand pieces of music from composers such as Terry Riley and Philip Glass; collaborated with rock legends such as Frank Zappa, David Bowie and Paul McCartney; and supplied soundtracks for movies such as “Heat,” “Requiem for a Dream,” and “The Fountain.” There is hardly a hallowed ground it hasn’t played or a great mind it hasn’t picked. Kronos now lends this rainbow of musical knowledge to a younger generation, having recently commissioned a collection of works for students, intending to pass on the hues it has collected since its inception and hopefully to uphold a vibrancy that has not faded for 50 years. – Daniel Britt
Sleepytime Gorilla Museum
Saturday • 7:30 p.m. • Mill & Mine
Never predictable, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum has incorporated puppet shows, speeches, ethnic dance and all manner of experimental instruments into the group’s shows. The band’s music ranges from ethereal to downright scary. Through the years, Knoxville’s Pilot Light has been a regular stop for the band, but the group’s reputation has continued to grow, landing it in larger venues. This unpredictable show may rattle even veteran Big Ears goers. – WB
Roger Eno
Saturday • 9 p.m. • St. John’s Cathedral
Since releasing his first work in 1983, Eno has established himself as a pillar of the ambient music world. His compositions, often sparse and delicate, tend to harken back to aspects of life that have been left behind. They may recall a particular place, a fleeting feeling or a transient emotional state. His method of writing music and then stripping away the gratuitous or nonessential – occasionally to the point of silence – gives each piece a sense of intentionality. Even if the listener cannot understand how or why an arrangement makes them recall a certain vignette, the music itself is filled with such deliberate focus that one cannot help but feel the evocation of the moment itself was purposeful – and, in fact, almost inevitable. – DB
Herbie Hancock
Saturday • 9 p.m. • KCA
One of the greatest jazz artists to emerge in the 1960s, keyboardist Herbie Hancock has spent his life expanding the boundaries of jazz and rock. His album “Head Hunters” is one of the pivotal works in what was once called “jazz fusion.” His song “Rockit,” which blended jazz and hip-hop, became a smash during the early days of MTV. In the subsequent years, he has continued to blend, experiment and astound. – WB
Armand Hammer
Saturday • 9:45 p.m. • Jackson Terminal
Unfortunately, this avant-garde rap duo’s set coincides with a brutal stretch of conflicting shows on the festival’s third night, but Jackson Terminal will be the sole destination for any and all knowing hip-hop heads. Capturing snapshots in time with their narrative rhymes, fleeting melodic breaks and meandering interludes of found sound, billy woods and E L U C I D effortlessly conjure multiple dimensions, their interminable, intertwined phrasings flooding pleasure centers. Despite at first coming across as more of a disjointed art project than a pair of orthodox flow merchants, concentrated listening reveals the New York City combo to be consummate craftsmen capable of manufacturing memorable and hook-laden verses. – MR
billy woods
Saturday • 9:45 p.m. • Jackson Terminal (w/ Armand Hammer)
Sunday • 6 p.m. • The Standard
Conveying internal discourse and feelings and describing external situations and places more completely and eloquently than perhaps any other contemporary rapper, woods is a veritable tour de force. His 2023 effort, “Maps,” witnessed him transfixing listeners with impassioned poetry delivered over beatmaking partner Kenny Segal’s outstanding production. That album, though, was just the latest in a lengthy career chock full of exceptional, insightful rhyming. Although Thurston Moore and John Paul Jones’ collaboration will provide worthy opposition on Sunday evening, it’s hard to imagine woods’ set being any less stimulating or magical. – MR
Bonnie “Prince” Billy
Saturday • 10:30 p.m. • Tennessee Theatre
I’ve never been a fan of the term “freak folk,” but if you’ve ever spent any time experiencing any of Will Oldham’s music, from the Palace collection to any of his various monikers, it’s kind of hard to think of a more appropriate designation. Pairing his delicate and earnest voice with dynamic and imaginative songwriting, he evokes imagery of an off-the-grid homesteader who occasionally observes (but rarely interacts with) our impersonal and harshly superficial society.
The man has his fingers in quite a few pies for sure, and thankfully has a fun and quirky side to complement his more serious – and at times interesting-but-creepy – persona. An avid collaborator, Oldham has donated his talents to several projects with other artists like Matt Sweeney, Susanna and, more recently, fellow Drag City labelmate Bill Callahan. Aside from his musical pursuits, he’s also an accomplished actor, contributing to projects such as personal favorite “Matewan,” a story about the infamous West Virginia miner uprising, and – funnily enough – “Jackass 3D.” Variety is, as they say, the spice of life, so it’s safe to say this guy is one spicy meatball. – JDR
Jake Blount
Sunday • 3:15 p.m. • Jackson Terminal
Knoxville audiences have been acutely schooled in the history and significance of Black American music through panel discussions and repeat performances – both at Big Ears and elsewhere – involving essential artists like Rhiannon Giddens, Allison Russell, Amythyst Kiah and Leyla McCalla (as well as their supergroup Our Native Daughters), and Blount is the latest of their contemporaries also making a mark in that area of study. A traditionalist who integrates African rhythms into his compositions, his spirituals are simultaneously sorrowful and joyful; though they acknowledge generational trauma endured over centuries, they both communicate and commemorate the perseverance it took to survive, as well. Blount’s proficiency on banjo and fiddle is beyond compare, the resulting sound technically precise yet also teeming with humanity. – MR
Nadah El Shazly
Sunday • 4:45 p.m. • OCPAC
This Egyptian siren’s mix of harmonic textures and a seemingly unlimited number of world-music influences takes listeners on an eerie journey that ends in an explosion of styles and patterns in fascinating and unexpected settings. A leading force in the underground Cairo music scene, El Shazly is a DIY trailblazer in an area of the globe not usually recognized for women’s rights. As such, this is a can’t-miss show as Big Ears winds down for the year. – JF
KMRU
Sunday • 5 p.m. • St. John’s Cathedral
It’s hard to think of a more perfect venue in which to experience the beautiful soundscapes of this 27-year-old Kenyan artist. Originally hailing from Nairobi, where his grandfather Joseph Kamaru was a legendary activist and gospel singer who sold over half a million records, KMRU now resides in Berlin, where he constructs ambient electronica, experiments with natural sounds and releases albums at an incredible pace. The textures he produces are woven beautifully into full, wildly imaginative compositions, and the Episcopal sanctuary should provide an excellent backdrop for these pieces. – JF
Thurston Moore
Sunday • 5:45 p.m. • Mill & Mine (w/ John Paul Jones)
Best known as co-founder of the classic “noise rock” act Sonic Youth, Moore helped redefine what a guitar – and rock music in general – could sound like and has since gained legendary status. His music is sometimes challenging but always interesting. His Big Ears show with former Led Zeppelin bassist/multi-instrumentalist John Paul Jones is sure to be one that will be talked about for a long time. – WB
FlySiifu
Sunday • 5:45 p.m. • The Standard
This is a collaboration between emcees Pink Siifu and Fly Anakin, who hail from Alabama and Virginia, respectively. The pair’s near-eponymous 2020 debut, a concept album themed around a fictional record store, was a strong effort that featured a bevy of contributing “customers” like Liv.e, $ILKMONEY and producers Madlib and Jay Versace. Both rappers are lyrical maestros whose flows lay nicely over sleepy yet infectious beats and top-notch production. Chances are that this show won’t be a traditional hip-hop party atmosphere, as the duo’s style – involving skits and interludes and following an ordered structure – tends to be more suited to a long-game approach. – JF
Come back to www.blank.news for daily recaps throughout the festival.
