BIG EARS FESTIVAL 2020 • MARCH 26-29, KNOXVILLE, TN
Tickets On Sale Thursday, October 10, At Noon EDT
Information and Tickets: bigearsfestival.org
Click Here for First Round Highlights and Lineup
One of the first things that stands out about the 2020 lineup is how many Big Ears alumni are returning. These happen to be some of the more celebrated artists who have performed at the festival, and have each delivered some of its most memorable performances. The fact that Knoxville audiences and festival attendees who return from around the world each year get to witness these acts deliver customized sets in the creative micro-environment that is Big Ears makes an already exciting event that much more appealing. It’s been pointed out many times that this annual extended weekend allows for the exploration of listening as a creative act, and this type of curation allows listeners to follow the creative developments and decisions of some modern music heavyweights.
The queue for Anthony Braxton in 2016, stretching from The Standard all the way around the corner and up half a block of Gay Street, was as sure a sign as any that Big Ears seemed to have passed into some new realm of popularity bordering on disbelief. Braxton’s is not the easiest music to get a handle on, and hundreds of people waiting in line to hear him in Knoxville was a touch surreal. Compositionally and improvisationally, his 10+1tet show at the Bijou was to that point one of the festival’s most challenging and rewarding sets. His ensemble comprised former students who are some of the most active and forward-thinking composers and musicians in avant-jazz/new music working today, most of whom have also performed at Big Ears either solo or in other groups. Since 2016, jazz has become even more of a Big Ears staple, and Braxton returns for a 75th birthday celebration with three concerts, including the world premier of “Thunder Music Ensemble.”
Terry Riley, who celebrated his 75th birthday as artist-in-residence at Big Ears 2010, will return for his 85th birthday. Riley’s solo pipe organ performance at the University of Tennessee organ was one of that year’s highlights, and this year he’ll be performing solo pipe organ at St. John’s Cathedral, which has become one of the festival’s more alluring venues. Kronos Quartet returns to perform, among other pieces, selections of Riley’s music.
Meredith Monk, always a pleasure and privilege to see perform, makes her third appearance with the live concert premiere of “Memory Card,” alongside Bang on a Can All-Stars. That group have of course also provided many Big Ears high points, and facilitate the OneBeat international music program, which saw an iteration here this week.
Kim Gordon and Bill Nace thought so much of their Body/Head Bijou performance in 2014 they released it as an (highly acclaimed) album, and they’ll be collaborating with Big Ears vets Steve Gunn and John Truscinski to provide the soundtrack for Andy Warhol’s film “Kiss.” Britta Phillips and Dean Wareham previously provided a live score for Warhol’s “Screen Tests” at The Bijou, so it’s a return for Warhol, too.
The Necks were something like a Big Ears house band for a while, missing a few years here and there but reliably returning to The Bijou when schedules aligned. The bass, drum and piano improvisational trio embody the spirit of the festival as much as any act. Chris Abrahams, Tony Buck and Lloyd Swanton are also usually keen to perform solo or with other musicians, so we may see some other activity from them over the weekend.
Jason Moran made several memorable appearances throughout the weekend in 2018, but his Fats Waller Dance Party at Mill and Mine was definitely a highlight, one of the fest’s funkier shows. This year’s tribute to ragtime pioneer and early jazz bandleader James Reese Europe promises to be equally entertaining and even educational. A jazz pioneer who over the years fell into semi-obscurity, Reese is experiencing a somewhat popular excavation thanks to Moran’s highly acclaimed show and a subsequent New York Times article. Moran, who is just as apt to be found playing with more outre artists like Milford Graves or Henry Threadgill, also doing unparalleled contemporary work keeping the history and legacy of early jazz alive.
Jamie Branch, Peter Brötzmann, Mdou Moctar, Nadah El Shazay and 75 Dollar Bill have all graced the small stage of the Pilot Light in the last few years, and will make their Big Ears debuts at other venues in 2020. These are all high energy acts that lend themselves to more audience body movement than folding arms and nodding heads, even Brötzmann, whose solo saxophone playing is about as visceral as it comes.
This year’s “I can’t believe this is happening and we get to witness it” set has to belong to Annette Peacock, who rarely performs and hasn’t released a new album in more than a decade. Similarly, Tindersticks rarely play the U.S., and the band has been a long time wishlist act for many festival regulars. Their appearance also teases the possibility of films from Claire Denis being screened, though the film program has yet to be revealed. Nor has the Pilot Light lineup been announced or, the way things have gone the last few years, probably a dozen or more other acts. That’s become part of the fun, though, hasn’t it?
