Big Ears Festival returns to Knoxville, Tennessee next year from April 1-4, bringing its own unique perspective on the irrelevancy of traditional musical genres and artists who share its point of view on sonic fluidity. Long known for bringing together musicians from all corners of the musical spectrum, the festival embraces its avant tendencies, offering a lineup that defies obvious categorization and provides communal spaces for people of all rhythmic preferences. Spanning over 250 concerts and visual exhibits — including a carefully curated film program — the 4-day weekend will provide an expansive array of sights and sounds, focusing around a collective of multi-disciplinary artists whose works act as sensory nourishment.
Music will flow from churches, museums, art galleries, restaurants, converted train stations and warehouses, and even the sidewalks and streets will play host to musicians of all sorts. These four days will find artists like Jeff Tweedy, Natalie Merchant, Weyes Blood, Oneohtrix Point Never, Norah Jones, Thundercat, Gillian Welch, and so many others sharing stories and stages across the city.Â
Over the course of the weekend, The Bang On A Can All-Stars will present six concerts, including Philip Glass’ Glassworks, Steve Reich’s masterpiece Music for 18 Musicians, and Ryuichi Sakamoto’s 1996. The Big Star Quintet — featuring Jon Auer, Mike Mills, Pat Sansone, Chris Stamey, and Jody Stephens — will celebrate their collective histories, while Trio of Bloom (guitarist Nels Cline, keyboardist Craig Taborn, and drummer Marcus Gilmore) will perform live together for the first time. There will also be a reinterpretation of David Bowie’s final album, Blackstar, by Evan Ziporyn and Maya Beiser with a little help from the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra.
 And that’s just the tip of the Big Ears iceberg. Check out the extensive artist and event listing below.
Dig into our live reviews of Big Ears over the the past few years: 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025.
Passes for the festival will go on sale Wednesday, September 16 at 9am. Head over to the festival’s website for more information on pricing and availability.
Check out a video highlight reel below from this year’s festival.
