The 2020 Big Ears line-up announced this morning (Tuesday, Oct. 8) will feature some of the most acclaimed artists from the festival’s past nine years. Among the artists scheduled to perform are former artists in residence Terry Riley and The Kronos Quartet; Sons of Chipotle, a new group featuring Led Zeppelin bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones and Finnish cellist Annsi Karttunsen in their first North American performance; a collaboration of Meredith Monk and the Bang On a Can All-Stars; vocalist/violinist Caroline Shaw; Australian legends The Necks; and many, many other artists.
Since its founding in 2009, Big Ears has become one of the most acclaimed music events in the world, with rave reviews from the New York Times, Rolling Stone, the New Yorker and magazines, newspapers and music websites around the world. The event was created by AC Entertainment and became a 501c non-profit organization in 2016. The event regularly brings music fans from around the world for adventurous musical experiences in the jazz, classical, rock, folk, avant-garde, world music and other genres. The festival regularly features premieres of new works, one-time collaborations between artists and music events that only occur at Big Ears and major European concert halls.
The 2020 Big Ears Festival will be held March 26-29, and tickets will go on sale at noon, Thursday, Oct. 10, at bigearsfestival.org. Ticket prices for the entire festival range from $225 to $750. Daily ticket prices, which will go on sale at a later date, will range from $75 to $125, if weekend passes don’t sell out.
The 2020 Big Ears Festival is made possible by the generous support of The Aslan Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, Visit Knoxville, Tennessee Department of Tourism, Pilot Flying J, the City of Knoxville, Knox County, Tennessee Arts Commission and additional devoted sponsors, foundations and individual donors.
Probable highlights for Big Ears Festival, circa 2020
Anthony Braxton
Big Ears 2020 will feature at least four shows with the jazz legend, including, Braxton75: A Celebration; Anthony Braxton solo; Diamond Curtain Trio; Thunder Music Ensemble.
Terry Riley
Expect at least three shows with the pioneering keyboardist/composer, including, Terry Riley at 85; Terry and Gyan Riley; Terry Riley solo organ.
Meredith Monk & the Bang On a Can All-Stars
The group will collaborate on the piece “Memory Card,” set for release in 2020.
Bang On a Can All-Stars
Longtime Big Ears favorites perform the music of Glenn Branca, Ornette Coleman and others.
Kronos Quartet
Classical iconoclasts will perform a collaboration with filmmaker Sam Green “A Thousand Thoughts” and a second show featuring the works of Terry Riley.
Jason Moran and the Harlem Hellfighters
The critically celebrated jazz pianist will pay tribute to ragtime/early jazz bandleader James Reese Europe.
Caroline Shaw
The Pulitzer-winning composer/violinist/vocalist Shaw will collaborate with the adventurous ensemble, So Percussion.
Thundercat
Multi-instrumentalist Stephen Lee Bruner has performed with Suicidal Tendencies and earned a Grammy for his work on Kendrick Lamar’s “To Pimp a Butterfly.” This is the biggest hip-hop-associated name on the bill and his diverse musical background makes him a great fit for the lineup.
Sons of Chipotle
Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones collaborates with Finnish cellist Annsi Karttunsen in the act’s North American premiere.
The Necks
The indescribable Australian improvisational trio will perform two shows.
Sound for Andy Warhol’s “Kiss”
Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon and Bill Nace, who perform at Body/Head will provide music to the classic Andy Warhol experimental film. Steve Gunn and John Truscinski will also lend his talents to this performance.
Annette Peacock
Composer, vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and musical innovator Annette Peacock rarely performs live, which will make this performance particularly special.
Mum (pronounced myooom)
Icelandic group Mum will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the band’s album “Yesterday Was Dramatic, Today is OK.” If they collaborate with Kronos, don’t miss it (see video).
Tindersticks
After releasing their first album in 1993, the Tindersticks became cult favorites and regular collaborators with French filmmaker Claire Denis. This is another rare live performance.
Mdou Moctar
Big Ears has regularly featured artists from the Sahara Desert Taureg community. Mdou Moctar is a guitar wizard who most recently toured with Tame Impala.
Moonlight Benjamin
This blues rock from Haiti could be a stand-out in a genre that doesn’t get a lot of play at Big Ears.
Joe Henry’s 115th Dream
Acclaimed Singer/songwriter/producer Joe Henry brings his collaboration with pianist Jason Moran and guitar great Marc Ribot, along with musicians Jay Bellerose, David Piltch, and Levon Henry.
Catarina Barbieri
Italian composer Catarina Barbieri by her own account“explores the psycho-physical effects of repetition and pattern-based operations in music, by investigating the polyphonic and polyrhythmic potential of sequencers to draw severe, complex geometries in time and space.”
Peter Brotzmann and Andrew Cyrille
Free jazz greats Peter Brotzmann (saxophone) and Andrew Cyrille (drums) will perform shows both as a duo and solo.
Jamie Branch Fly or Die
Young trumpet virtuoso Jamie Branch will be coming from a featured show at the Kennedy Center just before performing at Big Ears with her band Fly or Die.
Maurice Louca
Based in Cairo, Egypt, Maurice Louca makes music that is by turns, soothing, jarring and hypnotic. At Big Ears, he’ll perform with a full band.
Sarah Davachi
Acclaimed keyboardist will perform an electronic show and a concert on the pipe organ at St. John’s Catheral.
Mssv
Minutemen/fIrehose bassist Mike Watt, Knoxville-based guitarist Mike Baggetta and acclaimed percussionist Stephen Hodges combine for a group that features music from Baggetta’s new album “Wall of Flowers.”
Myra Melford’s Snowy Egret
The pianist/composer with her band received a Guggenheim Fellowship after the group’s performance of the work “Language of Dreams” and was named Midsize Ensemble of the Year in the 2016 Jazz Journalists Association Awards.
That’s not all. Here is the complete list of performers, thus far, for Big Ears 2020.
75 Dollar Bill
Andrew Cyrille
Annette Peacock
Anthony Braxton
Areni Agbabian
Aurora Nealand & the Royal Roses
Bang on a Can All-Stars
Caroline Shaw
Caterina Barbieri
Christian Scott
Damo Suzuki Network with the Sound Carriers
Dan Weiss Starebaby
Daniel Pioro & Valgeir Sigurðsson
Devandra Banhart
Diamond Curtain Wall Trio
Dos Santos
Efterklang
Electric Appalachia (William Tyler, Mary Lattimore, Eric Dawson of TAMIS)
Gyan Riley
Harriet Tubman
Jaimie Branch’s Fly or Die
Jason Moran & the Harlem Hellfighters
Jeff Parker and the New Breed
Joe Henry’s 115th Dream
Joshua Abrams & Natural Information Society
Kim Myhr
Kronos Quartet
Marc Ribot
Maurice Louca
Mdou Moctar
Meredith Monk
Moonlight Benjamin
mssv (Mike Baggetta, Stephen Hodges, Mike Watt)
Múm
Myra Melford’s Snowy Egret
MZM (Miya Masaoka, Zeena Parkins, Myra Melford)
Nadah El Shazly
Natalie Joachim
nief norf
Paul Lazar’s Cage Shuffle
Peter Brötzmann
Sarah Davachi
Saul Williams
Shabaka & the Ancestors
So Percussion
Sons of Chipotle (John Paul Jones & Anssi Karttunen)
Sound for Andy Warhol’s KISS (Kim Gordon, Bill Nace, Steve Gunn, John Truscinski)
Spektral Quartet
Steve Coleman and Five Elements
Sudan Archives
Tamino
Terry Riley
The Haden Triplets
The Necks
Thunder Music Ensemble
Thundercat
Tindersticks
Xylouris White
