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The Conversation Continues

What if the defining feature of modern music isn't melody, harmony, or genre, but a set of rhythmic principles that survived centuries of displacement and now pulse through nearly everything we hear?

That question shaped one of the most memorable conversations at Big Ears 2026, when Melvin Gibbs joined Larry Blumenfeld, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Brandon Ross, and J.T. Lewis at the Blue Note Lounge to discuss the ideas behind How Black Music Took Over the World. We've paired excerpts from that conversation with performances and moments from Black artists across the festival in a new video essay, now available

on the Big Ears YouTube channel.

For those looking to spend more time with Gibbs' ideas, How Black Music Took Over the World expands on the conversation, tracing the Black musical traditions that continue to shape how music is made, heard, and understood across genres and generations.

Recently hailed by The New York Times as "revelatory," it's an essential new work from one of music's most thoughtful voices.

NPR Tiny Desk: Annahstasia

There is a remarkable sense of ease to Annahstasia's music, even when the subjects are anything but simple.

Her recent NPR Tiny Desk Concert offers an intimate introduction to one of the most compelling singer-songwriters to emerge in recent years. Backed by a sensitive ensemble and drawing largely from her debut album Tether, Annahstasia's songs move between vulnerability and resilience, carried by a voice that feels both grounded and expansive. The performance closes with a reimagined version of "Villain," transforming a song once rooted in self-doubt into something closer to acceptance.

If you missed her set at Big Ears 2026, or simply want to spend more time with these songs, the Tiny Desk is a beautiful place to start.

A Familiar Face

on a Legendary Stage

Julian Lage's recent run with Bob Dylan quietly became one of the summer's most welcome musical intersections.

The collaboration arrived without much fanfare, stretching across several dates on Dylan's summer tour before Lage returned to his own international schedule. The musical logic was easy to hear. Lage has long moved between folk, jazz, blues, and improvisation

with uncommon ease, while Dylan has spent decades treating his songs as living works, reshaping them from night to night.

For many in the Big Ears community, it was simply a pleasure to watch those paths cross. Whether at Big Ears or on another stage, Lage continues to bring the same openness, curiosity, and generosity to every musical conversation he enters.

SML Returns with

Spontaneous Music Live

SML has released a new album, Spontaneous Music Live, recorded direct to analog tape during a three-night residency at Zebulon in Los Angeles. The release presents two uninterrupted improvisations by Anna Butterss, Jeremiah Chiu, Josh Johnson, Booker Stardrum, and Gregory Uhlmann exactly as they unfolded, marking a notable shift in the band’s approach.

The records SML has released so far have never been straightforward documents of a performance. Hours of improvisation became raw material, carefully shaped into albums where editing carried as much creative weight as the playing itself. With Spontaneous Music Live, the band takes the opposite approach, trusting the full arc of each performance rather than narrowing the music into its essential moments.

Listeners who spent time at The Greyhound during Big Ears 2026 will recognize that philosophy. Across six sets, SML resisted the idea of a definitive version, allowing each performance to follow its own logic. Spontaneous Music Live feels like an invitation back into that room, where the destination mattered less than the

decisions that carried the music there.