The mission of BIG EARS is to offer an exciting and dynamic platform of musical and artistic discovery, presenting a variety of adventurous, exploratory concerts and performances, installations, discussions, and interactive experiences by artists possessed of singular and unique visions that stand apart from the mainstream.
Big Ears WEEKEND PASSES:
A new weekend festival pass, the Outer Ear is now available for $100. The Outer Ear pass gives you priority admission to all Big Ears events except Philip Glass, Antony and the Johnsons and the Festival Finale with Michael Gira and Fennesz/Linkous/Minor and featuring Larkin Grimm. Quantities are limited.
We still have a few remaining premium passes, the Inner Ear, which offers reserved seats and priority admissions to all performances.
Inner Ear Pass (admission to all performances)
Outer Ear Pass (admission to all performances except Philip Glass, Antony and the Johnsons and the Festival Finale with Michael Gira and Fennesz/Linkous/Minor and featuring Larkin Grimm)
Big Ears Individual Tickets:
We are also making available a limited number of reserve seat tickets to individual shows taking place at the Bijou Theatre. Click the below show names to purchase tickets.
Fennesz • $25
Friday, February 6, 2009 at 8pm
Jon Hassell + Maarifa Street • $25
Friday, February 6, 2009 at 10:30pm
Philip Glass • $50
Saturday, February 7, 2009 at 3pm
Antony & The Jonhsons • $35
Saturday, February 7, 2009 at 8pm
The Necks • $20
Saturday, February 7, 2009 at 11pm
Negativland • $25
Sunday, February 8, 2009 at 2:30pm
Festival Finale: Michael Gira & Fennesz/Linkous/Minor and Larkin Grimm • $30
Sunday, February 8, 2009 at 7pm
All tickets are available HERE or by calling the Tennessee Theatre box office 865 684 1200.
NEW ARTISTS ANNOUNCED • 1/6/2009
Joining the already insanely brilliant Big Ears line up are a bespectacled comedian, avant gypsy punks from NYC, and an ambient puppeteer.
Comedian Neil Hamburger will be joining the lineup for a weekend of riotous humor.
Luminescent Orchestrii with Sxip Shirey will bring mondo-gypsy punk sounds to Knoxville all weekend long.
Fence Kitchen from Philly brings the singular vision of puppeteer Tim Harbison, set to live and prerecorded sounds.
Ok that’s a lot of new information, so pay attention because we have even more to let you in on; including full disclosure of a fascinating variety of demonstrations, workshops, discussions and installations by select Big Ears Artists – hacking, circuit bending, some deep listening...
FENNESZ’ BLACK SEA AMONG “BEST OF 2008” • 12/30/2008
Although not released until very late in the year, Fennesz’ remarkable Black Sea has been enthusiastically received, placing in Pitchfork’s Top CDs of 2008 as well as in the Best of the Year lists of a number of discerning critics.
To quote the Other Music newsletter, “It’s a record that demands your absolute attention…To put it simply, Black Sea is Fennesz's most mature, most delicate album to date, and possibly his most beautiful…A genuine contender for album of the year.”
We’re thrilled that Fennesz will be making his first appearances in several years in the USA at Big Ears. He will perform solo as well as present his collaboration with Mark Linkous and Scott Minor from Sparklehorse during the course of the weekend.
INITIAL SCHEDULE AND NEW TICKETING OPTIONS • 12/30/2008
We’ll be announcing details for much of the Big Ears schedule next week (the week of January 5), along with information about talks, workshops, installations, and more. At the same, we’ll be making a limited number of reserved seat tickets to many of the individual theatre shows available, as well as an additional weekend pass option.
ADDITIONAL TICKET SALES • 12/24/2008
A limited number of reserved seat tickets for all theater performances will go on sale immediately after the first of the year, along with an additional festival pass. This ticketing information – and more – will be announced between Christmas and New Year’s day. Visit our website, or, better yet, sign up for the Big Ears newsletter to stay up to date on new festival information.
Happy Holidays!
New Artists Added! • 12/19/2008
Big Ears is excited to announce the following additions to the line up for our inaugural festival, Feb. 6 – 8, 2009, in Knoxville, TN:
• Violinist and electronics composer C. Spencer Yeh will perform with his visionary Burning Star Core
• Electronic pioneer and hardware hacker Nicolas Collins will lead a workshop building electrical instruments from unlikely sources
•Master electronic party impresario Dan Deacon will be bringing his Baltimore Round Robin
• Avant folk gypsy Larkin Grimm will perform her spellbinding songs
• Internationally acclaimed woodwind virtuoso Ned Rothenberg will perform solo as well as collaborate with others
• San Agustin will create haunting moments of introspection, enveloped in clouds of bluesy guitar notes, then sweep it all away with great electric gales
•Improvisational sorcerers the Shaking Ray Levis will conjure up their "old timey" avant-garde
Hotel and Travel PackageS • 12/19/2008
Don´t forget to book your travel and hotel rooms. The festival is offering discounted hotel rates through Jan. 7 at these | Hotels | Hotels are within walking distance of all the venues.
the Ampy Ant Cafes • 12/18/2008
Discussion stations will be located throughout the Big Ears festival where festival goers can take a break, relax and meet each other. Live and evolving ambient music will be provided by musicians at each location. As part of this process, the musicians will interview willing festival attendees and may include portions of the shared conversation into special musical pieces. The newly created pieces will be provided online and often on-site throughout the festival. Be sure to bring a jump drive. Special high quality green and black teas and herbal infusions will be served at these venues, sometimes by the musicians themselves.
Big Ears on Pitchfork • 12/08/2008
The Tennessee festival landscape will get a little larger next year with the inaugural Big Ears, a new fest spearheaded by one of the founders of Bonnaroo...| read more |
Press Release • 12/08/2008
EXPLORATORY ‘BIG EARS FESTIVAL’ ANNOUNCED FOR
FEBRUARY 6 – 8, 2009 IN HISTORIC KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE
IMMERSIVE, ADVENTUROUS GATHERING TO INCLUDE PHILIP GLASS, ANTONY AND THE JOHNSONS, FENNESZ, MICHAEL GIRA, JON HASSELL & MAARIFA STREET, FENNESZ, MATMOS, THE NECKS, NEGATIVLAND, PAULINE OLIVEROS AND MANY MORE
The weekend of February 6 – 7 – 8, 2009 will see the maiden voyage of a new “boutique” music festival concept called BIG EARS in Knoxville, Tennessee. The mission of BIG EARS is to create a dynamic cross-genre music and arts festival experience. Spearheaded by Ashley Capps, president of AC Entertainment and longtime fan of cutting edge music, the BIG EARS experience will include concerts by legendary innovators along with young cutting edge visionaries and experimentalists crossing a variety of genres. The festival will also include art installations, exhibitions, performance art, seminars with artists, and interactive experiences.
Perhaps best known as a founder and producer of the acclaimed mega-festival, Bonnaroo, Capps envisions a very different experience at Big Ears, “Big Ears is conceived as a boutique festival, appealing to a very focused audience of music fans with adventurous tastes. We’re hoping to sell a thousand tickets to our inaugural event, but we intend for everyone who attends to have an extraordinary experience.”
Capps envisions BIG EARS as happening several times a year in different cities – with each festival loosely defined by a unifying thread. In keeping with its moniker – BIG EARS is a term often used to describe especially gifted and insightful listeners- the inaugural festival’s concept is about listening. “I have a compelling interest in music that demands your complete attention, that quietly insists that you slow down and listen - and that transports you into another world. It seems that there are others who long for that experience as well. And this is a quality common to the music of many of the artists performing at BIG EARS in February,” says Capps.
Artists confirmed include enormously influential composer/performer Philip Glass; 2005 Mercury Prize-winning cabaret act Antony and the Johnsons; trumpet wizard Jon Hassell and his multi-cultural trance fusion band, Maarifa Street; Australia’s improvising ambient groove trio The Necks; Swans-founder and godfather of the new avant-folk movement Michael Gira; sonic anarchists Negativland (presenting their subversive “live” radio show “It’s All in Your Head”); the richly textured electronic soundscapes of Fennesz; the ever-inventive electronic group Matmos; and, last but not least, renown composer and electronic music pioneer, Pauline Oliveros will present her meditative Deep Listening experiences. More additions to the weekend line up will be announced soon.
The selection of Knoxville, Tennessee as the launching pad for Big Ears is not an accident. “We wanted to create a ‘getaway’ event, outside of the usual major cultural centers, and Knoxville is a great choice. There are two fabulous historic theaters with extraordinary acoustics (including the 750-seat Bijou which celebrates its 100th Anniversary in 2009) along with a variety of other great venues, including the legendary experimental music outpost, The Pilot Light, and the Knoxville Museum of Art; excellent restaurants, and downtown hotels…and they’re all within a short walk of one another…plus, it’s our hometown and we want to show it off!”
Weekend festival passes – which offer admission to all festival concerts (subject to available capacity) – are priced at $j195.00 plus applicable service fees and will be available beginning Friday, Dec. 5 at 10:00am Eastern. They may be purchased through www.bigearsfestival.com or by calling 865.684.1200 ext. 2 between the hours of 10:00am and 5:00pm eastern. More festival details, including travel and hotel information and up-to-the-minute news and additions to the line up, are also available at the BIG EARS website.
download a copy
A new weekend festival pass, the Outer Ear is now available for $100. The Outer Ear pass gives you priority admission to all Big Ears events except Philip Glass, Antony and the Johnsons and the Festival Finale with Michael Gira and Fennesz/Linkous/Minor and featuring Larkin Grimm. Quantities are limited.
We still have a few remaining premium passes, the Inner Ear, which offers reserved seats and priority admissions to all performances.
Inner Ear Pass (admission to all performances)
Outer Ear Pass (admission to all performances except Philip Glass, Antony and the Johnsons and the Festival Finale with Michael Gira and Fennesz/Linkous/Minor and featuring Larkin Grimm)
Big Ears Individual Tickets:
We are also making available a limited number of reserve seat tickets to individual shows taking place at the Bijou Theatre. Click the below show names to purchase tickets.
Fennesz • $25
Friday, February 6, 2009 at 8pm
Jon Hassell + Maarifa Street • $25
Friday, February 6, 2009 at 10:30pm
Philip Glass • $50
Saturday, February 7, 2009 at 3pm
Antony & The Jonhsons • $35
Saturday, February 7, 2009 at 8pm
The Necks • $20
Saturday, February 7, 2009 at 11pm
Negativland • $25
Sunday, February 8, 2009 at 2:30pm
Festival Finale: Michael Gira & Fennesz/Linkous/Minor and Larkin Grimm • $30
Sunday, February 8, 2009 at 7pm
All tickets are available HERE or by calling the Tennessee Theatre box office 865 684 1200.
NEW ARTISTS ANNOUNCED • 1/6/2009
Joining the already insanely brilliant Big Ears line up are a bespectacled comedian, avant gypsy punks from NYC, and an ambient puppeteer.Comedian Neil Hamburger will be joining the lineup for a weekend of riotous humor.
Luminescent Orchestrii with Sxip Shirey will bring mondo-gypsy punk sounds to Knoxville all weekend long.
Fence Kitchen from Philly brings the singular vision of puppeteer Tim Harbison, set to live and prerecorded sounds.
Ok that’s a lot of new information, so pay attention because we have even more to let you in on; including full disclosure of a fascinating variety of demonstrations, workshops, discussions and installations by select Big Ears Artists – hacking, circuit bending, some deep listening...
FENNESZ’ BLACK SEA AMONG “BEST OF 2008” • 12/30/2008
Although not released until very late in the year, Fennesz’ remarkable Black Sea has been enthusiastically received, placing in Pitchfork’s Top CDs of 2008 as well as in the Best of the Year lists of a number of discerning critics.
To quote the Other Music newsletter, “It’s a record that demands your absolute attention…To put it simply, Black Sea is Fennesz's most mature, most delicate album to date, and possibly his most beautiful…A genuine contender for album of the year.”
We’re thrilled that Fennesz will be making his first appearances in several years in the USA at Big Ears. He will perform solo as well as present his collaboration with Mark Linkous and Scott Minor from Sparklehorse during the course of the weekend.
INITIAL SCHEDULE AND NEW TICKETING OPTIONS • 12/30/2008
We’ll be announcing details for much of the Big Ears schedule next week (the week of January 5), along with information about talks, workshops, installations, and more. At the same, we’ll be making a limited number of reserved seat tickets to many of the individual theatre shows available, as well as an additional weekend pass option.
ADDITIONAL TICKET SALES • 12/24/2008
A limited number of reserved seat tickets for all theater performances will go on sale immediately after the first of the year, along with an additional festival pass. This ticketing information – and more – will be announced between Christmas and New Year’s day. Visit our website, or, better yet, sign up for the Big Ears newsletter to stay up to date on new festival information.
Happy Holidays!
New Artists Added! • 12/19/2008
Big Ears is excited to announce the following additions to the line up for our inaugural festival, Feb. 6 – 8, 2009, in Knoxville, TN:
• Violinist and electronics composer C. Spencer Yeh will perform with his visionary Burning Star Core
• Electronic pioneer and hardware hacker Nicolas Collins will lead a workshop building electrical instruments from unlikely sources
•Master electronic party impresario Dan Deacon will be bringing his Baltimore Round Robin
• Avant folk gypsy Larkin Grimm will perform her spellbinding songs
• Internationally acclaimed woodwind virtuoso Ned Rothenberg will perform solo as well as collaborate with others
• San Agustin will create haunting moments of introspection, enveloped in clouds of bluesy guitar notes, then sweep it all away with great electric gales
•Improvisational sorcerers the Shaking Ray Levis will conjure up their "old timey" avant-garde
Hotel and Travel PackageS • 12/19/2008
Don´t forget to book your travel and hotel rooms. The festival is offering discounted hotel rates through Jan. 7 at these | Hotels | Hotels are within walking distance of all the venues.
the Ampy Ant Cafes • 12/18/2008
Discussion stations will be located throughout the Big Ears festival where festival goers can take a break, relax and meet each other. Live and evolving ambient music will be provided by musicians at each location. As part of this process, the musicians will interview willing festival attendees and may include portions of the shared conversation into special musical pieces. The newly created pieces will be provided online and often on-site throughout the festival. Be sure to bring a jump drive. Special high quality green and black teas and herbal infusions will be served at these venues, sometimes by the musicians themselves.
Big Ears on Pitchfork • 12/08/2008
The Tennessee festival landscape will get a little larger next year with the inaugural Big Ears, a new fest spearheaded by one of the founders of Bonnaroo...| read more |
Press Release • 12/08/2008
IMMERSIVE, ADVENTUROUS GATHERING TO INCLUDE PHILIP GLASS, ANTONY AND THE JOHNSONS, FENNESZ, MICHAEL GIRA, JON HASSELL & MAARIFA STREET, FENNESZ, MATMOS, THE NECKS, NEGATIVLAND, PAULINE OLIVEROS AND MANY MORE
The weekend of February 6 – 7 – 8, 2009 will see the maiden voyage of a new “boutique” music festival concept called BIG EARS in Knoxville, Tennessee. The mission of BIG EARS is to create a dynamic cross-genre music and arts festival experience. Spearheaded by Ashley Capps, president of AC Entertainment and longtime fan of cutting edge music, the BIG EARS experience will include concerts by legendary innovators along with young cutting edge visionaries and experimentalists crossing a variety of genres. The festival will also include art installations, exhibitions, performance art, seminars with artists, and interactive experiences.
Perhaps best known as a founder and producer of the acclaimed mega-festival, Bonnaroo, Capps envisions a very different experience at Big Ears, “Big Ears is conceived as a boutique festival, appealing to a very focused audience of music fans with adventurous tastes. We’re hoping to sell a thousand tickets to our inaugural event, but we intend for everyone who attends to have an extraordinary experience.”
Capps envisions BIG EARS as happening several times a year in different cities – with each festival loosely defined by a unifying thread. In keeping with its moniker – BIG EARS is a term often used to describe especially gifted and insightful listeners- the inaugural festival’s concept is about listening. “I have a compelling interest in music that demands your complete attention, that quietly insists that you slow down and listen - and that transports you into another world. It seems that there are others who long for that experience as well. And this is a quality common to the music of many of the artists performing at BIG EARS in February,” says Capps.
Artists confirmed include enormously influential composer/performer Philip Glass; 2005 Mercury Prize-winning cabaret act Antony and the Johnsons; trumpet wizard Jon Hassell and his multi-cultural trance fusion band, Maarifa Street; Australia’s improvising ambient groove trio The Necks; Swans-founder and godfather of the new avant-folk movement Michael Gira; sonic anarchists Negativland (presenting their subversive “live” radio show “It’s All in Your Head”); the richly textured electronic soundscapes of Fennesz; the ever-inventive electronic group Matmos; and, last but not least, renown composer and electronic music pioneer, Pauline Oliveros will present her meditative Deep Listening experiences. More additions to the weekend line up will be announced soon.
The selection of Knoxville, Tennessee as the launching pad for Big Ears is not an accident. “We wanted to create a ‘getaway’ event, outside of the usual major cultural centers, and Knoxville is a great choice. There are two fabulous historic theaters with extraordinary acoustics (including the 750-seat Bijou which celebrates its 100th Anniversary in 2009) along with a variety of other great venues, including the legendary experimental music outpost, The Pilot Light, and the Knoxville Museum of Art; excellent restaurants, and downtown hotels…and they’re all within a short walk of one another…plus, it’s our hometown and we want to show it off!”
Weekend festival passes – which offer admission to all festival concerts (subject to available capacity) – are priced at $j195.00 plus applicable service fees and will be available beginning Friday, Dec. 5 at 10:00am Eastern. They may be purchased through www.bigearsfestival.com or by calling 865.684.1200 ext. 2 between the hours of 10:00am and 5:00pm eastern. More festival details, including travel and hotel information and up-to-the-minute news and additions to the line up, are also available at the BIG EARS website.
download a copy
For more information contact:
Carla Parisi
Kid Logic
kidlogic@nj.rr.com
973-563-8204