Big Ears Festival Announces Daily Lineups, Single Day Passes

As it takes place a few months before the summer festival season really gets into full swing, we haven’t always given Knoxville’s Big Ears Festival enough due. Since its founding in 2009 (and its subsequent reveal in 2014, after a three-year absence), however, the boutique event has really grown into one of the most unique and interesting festivals in the nation, blending music, film, art, and community engagement, and hosting a genre-defying array of performers in all kinds of conventional and unorthodox spaces.

For every performer on the 2020 lineup you might be familiar with- Patti Smith, Thundercat, John Paul Jones, and the like among the most recognizable- there are dozens upon dozens of unique, worldly, lesser-known, and unusual artists who help create one of the most nuanced, artistic, interactive, and original festival experiences you’ll ever find.

Set to take place March 26-29, this year’s Big Ears is looking to be one of the biggest and most exciting installments ever, and though we encourage you to experience the entire event if you can, whether or not you’re familiar with all of the artists, if a certain handful pique your interest the most, or if your schedule is limited, the fest has unveiled its daily lineups, in conjunction with some single-day ticket options. You can scope out all the performers by day below, and explore weekend and single tickets right here!

THURSDAY

Patti Smith: Words and Music
Jason Moran: The Harlem Hellfighters
Nathalie Joachim & Spektral Quartet
Damo Suzuki Network with the Sound Carriers
Peter Brötzmann
75 Dollar Bill
Daniel Pioro & Valgeir Sigurðsson
Maurice Louca
Arooj Aftab and the Vulture Prince Ensemble
Gunn-Truscinski Duo
Sarah Davachi
MSSV (Mike Baggetta, Stephen Hodges, Mike Watt)
Anssi Karttunen
Aurora Nealand & The Royal Roses
Jacob Kirkegaard
Nief-Norf

FRIDAY

Patti Smith and Her Band
Joe Henry’s 115th Dream
Anthony Braxton 75: A Celebration
The Necks
Sons of Chipotle (John Paul Jones & Anssi Karttunen)
Efterklang
Fennesz
Sudan Archives
Sound for Andy Warhol’s KISS (Kim Gordon, Bill Nace, Steve Gunn, John Truscinski)
Jeff Parker and The New Breed
Peter Brötzmann & Andrew Cyrille
Steve Coleman and Five Elements
Terry Riley
Mdou Moctar
The Haden Triplets
Jason Moran
Anja Lechner
Caterina Barbieri
Myra Melford’s Snowy Egret
Moonlight Benjamin
Nadah El Shazly
Minwi Sonnen with Marc Ribot and Ches Smith
Caroline Shaw
Ches Smith’s We All Break
Sxip Shirey’s Hour of Charm
Aurora Nealand & The Royal Roses
Fred Lane and his Disheveled Monkeybiters
Sarah Davachi
Josephine Foster
Jacob Kirkegaard
Zeena Parkins
Astrid Sonne
Ingar Zach
Kim Myhr
Nief-Norf

SATURDAY

Terry and Gyan Riley
Kronos Quartet & Sam Green: A Thousand Thoughts
Devendra Banhart
Annette Peacock
Tindersticks
Múm
Xylouris White
John Paul Jones
Marc Ribot and Andrew Cyrille
Caroline Shaw & Sō Percussion
Saul Williams
Shabaka and the Ancestors
Anthony Braxton’s Diamond Curtain Wall Trio
MZM (Miya Masaoka, Zeena Parkins, Myra Melford)
Bang on a Can All-Stars
Meredith Monk & John Hollenbeck: Duet Behavior 2020
Kim Myhr: You | me
Che Apalache
Ben LaMar Gay Quartet
Jaimie Branch’s Fly or Die
Tamino
Harriet Tubman
Dan Weiss Starebaby
Theremin Noir (Rob Schwimmer / Uri Caine / Mark Feldman)
Ensemble Dal Niente + Guest Ken Vandermark
Dos Santos
Areni Agbabian
Gyða Valtýsdóttir
Sonja LaBianca
Paul Lazar’s Cage Shuffle
Chris Abrahams
Marc Ribot plays Frantz Casséus
Sxip Shirey’s Hour of Charm
Jacob Kirkegaard
Nief-Norf

SUNDAY

Meredith Monk and the Bang on a Can All-Stars: Memory Game
Thundercat
The Necks
Kronos Quartet with Terry & Gyan Riley
Anthony Braxton’s Thunder Music Ensemble
A Winged Victory for the Sullen
Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah
Electric Appalachia (William Tyler / Mary Lattimore)
Joshua Abrams & Natural Information Society
Nivhek
Gyan Riley’s ELIXIR
Bell Orchestre
The Claudia Quintent
Sam Gendel Concert Group
D. Scot Williams
Ensemble Dal Niente + Guest Ken Vandermark