I’ll pick you up: Day three of Big Ears stays the course

Going into Saturday, I was planning on taking it easy.

According to my personal schedule, it was the lightest day of the weekend, but things change quickly at Big Ears.

Once again, cultural and musical diversity was on full display. This was perhaps most evident during one of my favorite Big Ears stretches ever. It started with the kaleidoscopic Sun Ra Arkestra at the Mill & Mine at 7 p.m. and continued at 8:15 when noted troubadour Ricky Lee Jones took the stage at the Bijou Theatre. You can always tell when you’re seeing something you’ll never forget. Jones was as good between songs as she was hitting all the notes. Her stories were charming and though provoking and her songs were even better. It was one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen in the Bijou. Immediately afterwards, Lucius made the long trek back to the M&M worth it with a set of pure heat (more on that below). The Meridian Brothers were back at Jackson Terminal for the second time in as many days. It was the first time I’ve seen the same band twice at Big Ears, and word had obviously spread about their show the day before. While their Friday show was electric in vibe, the band transformed the venue into a Bogata, Colombia, dance hall. It was the most movement from the crowd I’ve seen all weekend. That wasn’t all, though. Last up was a blind bet for me, but I quickly found BLANK editor Matt Rankin getting down about halfway through the crowd. “Who the hell is this?” I asked. “It’s Charlotte Adigery & Bolis Pupul. You’re welcome,” he answered. This electronic duo closed down this incredible stretch and we laughed all the way home. Here are our other favorites. – Rusty Odom

The Weather Station

As idyllic of a setting that Big Ears has ever provided in recent years, the century-old church building at the intersection of Gay Street and Fifth Avenue was a hospitable environment – both acoustically and stylistically – for the minimalistic arrangements presented indoors on an outwardly blustery Saturday afternoon by Tamara Lindeman and a versatile group consisting of four other members. Beginning with an acoustic formation that incorporated piano, cello, violin, upright bass and sax, the lineup would go on to transpose roles, with a couple of players dropping out on occasion to watch from the wings while the previously unoccupied drumkit and electric bass were assumed.
While it later returned to the original fold, the quintet’s music throughout was consistently arresting – regardless of the setup. Lindeman was a reluctant (though incredibly grateful and gracious) conduit, her somewhat awkward yet inspired banter between songs serving as a prelude to the expressive tunes that were to follow. Although the up-and-coming act had been relegated to what could be considered a fringe venue, it embraced being involved in an occasion of this magnitude, and its effort corresponded accordingly. – Matt Rankin

David Byrne’s “American Utopia”

Former Talking Heads lead singer David Byrne was in Knoxville recently for a screening of his concert film “American Utopia.” The film was shown at the Regal Riviera as part of Big Ears.

The 105-minute screening, which featured Byrne in his band’s Broadway show, was produced and directed by Spike Lee and released in 2020.

Byrne entertained questions from a moderator following the screening, where he discussed working with Lee and the late Jonathan Demme, who directed the Talking Heads’ 1984 concert film “Stop Making Sense.”

The film is truly captivating, as the 11-piece band is tight, and Byrne’s vocals are flawless. His down-to-earth personality shines through as he tells personal stories about his career and encourages the audience not to be afraid to be heard and to participate in the American political system.

It is as creative and captivating as anything Byrne has ever done. – Ken Lay

Kevin Morby

In his now 35 years on this earth (happy birthday!), Kevin Morby has accomplished quite a bit. With seven studio albums as a solo act, he has really had the opportunity to shine as a songwriter. To a packed house at M&M on Saturday afternoon, Morby worked his way through a good portion of his most recent album, 2022’s “This Is a Photograph.” Accompanied by Nashville’s Erin Rae, they charmed the crowd with “Bittersweet Tennessee” before moving into “Five Easy Pieces,” a song that displayed a talent that is uniquely his: sounding dreamy despite crooning lyrics that suggest chaos. With his distinctive voice, he kept the crowd entranced as he moved on to some more rocking, up-tempo jams like 2020’s “Campfire” and “Beautiful Strangers.” The mood was perfectly captured by a festivalgoer who could be seen pirouetting across the AstroTurf lawn outside the venue to Morby’s soundtrack. There is a lot going on in his music, but beauty is always present. – Jennifer Duncan-Rankin

Devendra Banhart

With a modest setup featuring Gyan Riley on acoustic guitar and Nicole Lawrence on pedal steel, the freak-folk hero of yore delivered an unassuming and devastatingly beautiful set on Saturday afternoon at the Bijou. Reveling in his inclusion in the Big Ears lineup but also poking fun at the festival’s exclusivity, Banhart crowdsourced a capo early on in the set before figuring – once that request was accorded – it might not be a bad idea to try to solicit the crowd for a few bucks while he was at it (and, later, for some potent potables, too).

Recounting such irreverence, though, threatens to minimize the legitimacy of the performance, which was both consummate and stirring. Multiple special guests inhabiting Banhart’s musical sphere made appearances, each one contributing an added dimension to the show. However, it was the base trio playing the gorgeous, Leonard Cohen-esque “Memorial” that rendered both the featured musician and the audience an emotional wreck. Breaking down mid-song, he was so choked up that it took until the culmination of the next track before he could compose himself.

It should be noted that Banhart, a longtime advocate for progressive causes who often has written from a feminist perspective, opted to sport finery for this performance in protest of recently enacted laws in this state. As he remarked, “The only crime I’m committing hee is these shoes with this dress.” It took until the last couple of songs – which, as Banhart mentioned, comprised new material – for the house lights to flicker in the allegedly haunted establishment, but it seems a safe bet that any ghosts present at a former den of iniquity might be OK with some mild antagonism every now and again. – MR

Ichiko Aoba

A quarter-hour postponement of this singer-songwriter’s set was no deterrent to the hundreds of patrons who already had been gathered outside the courtyard of St. John’s Cathedral for the better part of half an hour or longer before the originally scheduled start time. No such delay could keep them from seeing Aoba, who embarked upon her first North American tour last fall and was hitting the festival on just her second jaunt.
“Ethereal” is an overused term in music journalism, but it would be rather difficult to describe this set without using it. Beginning solo in the apse with just an acoustic guitar in tow, the artist was magnificent, her high register stretched to the point of breaking but her playing style patient, composed and utterly spellbinding. The congregation was rapt and, fittingly, quiet as a church mouse, almost breathless in its collective effort to not disrupt the onstage magic by making even the slightest peep. Knoxville’s Three Rivers string quartet was scheduled to appear with Aoba, but I bowed out after five gorgeous solo numbers, relenting my seat to the next person in the queue. – MR

Lucius

FOMO is a very real thing at Big Ears. But so, too, is the fact that wherever you are at any given moment during the weekend is the best place to be – no matter the proceedings. Both adages were especially true with respect to this group of four’s show late Saturday at the Mill & Mine. There was a lot of concurrent options at that hour, but the band here was in fine form, and the core singing duo of Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig – who were sure to express their profound appreciation at having been asked to return to perform at the festival – was in parallel, striking voice.

Pop music is a fickle mistress, coming across as flat in one construct yet culturally significant in another. For artists of that vein who look to myriad genres for inspiration, capturing the zeitgeist of the general public can be especially challenging. Lucius is adept at harnessing that spirit and turning what might be portrayed as populist fare by lesser entertainers into avant-garde brilliance. That’s a special talent, and the group was kind enough to put it on full display for the large crowd in attendance. – MR