Big Ears Festival - December 18, 2025

Darkside’s Prankster / Chilling Bambino / Miles at 100

Darkside's guitarist Dave Harrington returns with a question.

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“What’s the space between Bitches Brew and Blues for Allah?”

Darkside’s Guitarist Dave Harrington Returns

Any listener who has soared along with the ecstatic guitar playing that propels Darkside to the outer limits will likely not be surprised to learn that guitarist Dave Harrington is a proud and fervent Deadhead with unrepentant “jam band” inclinations. We invited him to return to Big Ears in 2026 and travel the space ways.

Taper’s Choice

Harrington’s collaboration with Real Estate’s Alex Bleeker, Vampire Weekend’s Chris Tomson and keyboardist Zach Tenorio-Miller, Taper’s Choice is on a mission to prove that almost everything you’ve believed about jam bands is a lie.

Pranksters South

With Nels Cline, Yuka Honda, Steven Bernstein, Spencer Zahn, Kenny Wollesen, and others, Harrington started Pranksters—like so many other good things in life—because of the Grateful Dead. An ever-growing, mutating ensemble, he calls it a “behemoth grooving machine.”

Duo with

Mary Lattimore

Last, but certainly not least, Harrington will join forces with the inimitable harpist for a duo performance as well.

Celebrating Miles Davis

We will, of course, be celebrating the Miles Davis Centennial in 2026. Among other plans, the Miles Electric Band will bring Davis’ latter day musical directions to life. A couple of years ago, Giovanni Russonello penned a primer in The New York TImes for this exhilarating—and sometimes under-appreciated—phase of the mercurial jazz legend’s ever-evolving musical quest.

READ THE ARTICLE

Hania Rani Presents Chilling Bambino

We’re thrilled to be presenting the North American premiere of Hania Rani’s new piano concerto, Non Fiction, which just had its world premiere last month in London. And with Ms. Rani in town for the festival weekend, we also couldn’t resist asking her to share an alter-ego, Chilling Bambino, with us as well. Shrouded in fog, surrounded by keyboards, expect to be swept away on a hypnotic, trance-inducing, exhilarating sonic journey.

The Best Time to Give

This is the best time to support the mission of Big Ears with a year-end gift. A generous donor has stepped forward with a $30,000 challenge grant. From now until midnight on December 31, every dollar you give will be matched—doubling your impact.

$50 becomes $100

$100 becomes $200

$500 becomes $1,000

Help us unlock the full match and start the new year stronger than ever. Thank you for making our work possible!

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