Big Ears Music Festival has revealed the highly eclectic artist lineup for its 2025 event due to take place in downtown Knoxville, TN from March 27th–30th [ticketing information].
The long-running festival will feature nearly 200 concerts at more than 14 venues over the course of four days. Additional programming will include film screenings, conversation sessions, exhibitions, workshops, and other interactive experiences.
Highlights of the initial Big Ears 2025 artist lineup include ANOHNI & the Johnsons, who helped launch Big Ears in 2009; multiple-Grammy-winning composer and bassist Esperanza Spalding; hauntingly beautiful Irish folk outfit Lankum; atmospheric indie-rock from Tindersticks and múm; a multi-generational lineup of jazz innovators like Steve Coleman, Immanuel Wilkins, Kris Davis, Ambrose Akinmusire, and Sylvie Courvoisier; and distinctive singer-songwriters like Waxahatchee, Jessica Pratt, Rufus Wainwright, Michael Hurley, and Cassandra Jenkins; and Indian music royalty like Zakir Hussain and Anoushka Shankar.
Other notable acts on the performer docket include Les Claypool’s Bastard Jazz, the improv-focused outfit led by the Primus bassist/frontman; modern bluegrass luminary Béla Fleck with an “unconventional” new trio; extraterrestrial guitarist/Wilco member Nels Cline; legendary bluesman Taj Majal; a unique collaboration between Sun Ra Arkestra and Yo La Tengo; a new-look Bill Frisell sextet; a celebration of James Baldwin led by revered singer-songwriter and poet Meshell Ndegeocello, and more.
In addition, two composers and instrumentalists operating in the nexus of jazz and classical music, 2024 Pulitzer Prize winner Tyshawn Sorey and 2013 Pulitzer Prize finalist Wadada Leo Smith, will each present multiple programs during the festival weekend. Big Ears 2025 will also present the North American premiere of “Jonny Greenwood’s 133 Years of Reverb”, an eight-hour piece for pipe organ performed by James McVinnie and Eliza McCarthy; Kate Soper’s modern operatic opus, “Ipsa Dixit”; and a revisitation of Philip Glass‘ 1974 epic “Music in Twelve Parts” by his namesake ensemble.
Passes for Big Ears 2025 go on sale on Thursday, September 12th at 9:00 a.m. ET following a special pre-sale for previous festival attendees on Wednesday, September 11th, at 9:00 a.m. ET. For complete ticketing details, head here. View the entire initial lineup below.
View this post on Instagram
The post Big Ears Festival Reveals 2025 Lineup: Les Claypool’s Bastard Jazz, Béla Fleck, Nels Cline, More appeared first on L4LM.
