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Single Day Passes for Thursday, Friday, and Sunday are still available — but selling fast. Saturday Single Day Passes are officially SOLD OUT. A limited number of 4-Day Weekend Passes remain as well. Don't wait — once they're gone, they're gone! |
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March has arrived, and Big Ears is just over three weeks away. As we count down the days, we're also celebrating Women's History Month — and we couldn't think of a better way to mark the occasion than by spotlighting a few of the remarkable women who will be gracing our stages this year, making history at Big Ears and far beyond. |
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Essential Tremors: Mary Lattimore |
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A harpist since childhood–as well as the daughter of one–Mary Lattimore’s choice of instrument reveals the simple beauty it contains, transcending the stereotype of it being strictly for use in classical music or as flourishes in movie soundtracks. Her ability to cut straight to the heart in her compositions works the same trick, not relying on the standard glissandos often employed by traditional players, but simply reducing the instrument to its essence. Her most recent release is a duet with Julianna Barwick, Tragic Magic, and came out in January of 2026. Hear how songs by Debussy, The Cure, and Sonic Youth guided her musical path. |
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Julianna Barwick & Mary Lattimore |
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Julianna Barwick and Mary Lattimore go to church and come out with the music of heaven on their album, Tragic Magic. With harps dating to the 18th century, synths from the 70s and a voice from eternity, they've created a celestial sound. This utterly captivating duo will perform on opening night at Big Ears 2026; later in the festival weekend, Barwick will offer a solo performance, while Lattimore performs two additional duets, with Walt McClements and Dave Harrington. John Diliberto talks to the duo in this Echoes Podcast from PRX. |
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Bold, unflinching, groovy and utterly irresistible, Cleo Reed’s soulful, jazzy, electro-Americana-folk album, Cuntry, has been one of our musical delights of the past year. Saxophonist and producer Josh Johnson brought them to our attention as part of his Big Ears curation for 2026, and we’re all the better for it. We eagerly await this visionary artist’s big Ears debut. |
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Respira(eucademix, azumi O E, Waldo Walle) |
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You have never seen or heard a performance quite like Respira, which the celebrated sound artist Yuka Honda and the Butoh dancer azumi O E, in collaboration with lighting designer Waldo Walle, unveiled at New York’s ISSUE Project Room in April 2025. It;s deeply mysterious and stunningly beautiful. |
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Sō Percussion & Caroline Shaw featuring Ringdown |
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The Pulitzer Prize winning composer Caroline Shaw’s second collaboration with Sō Percussion earned them their second Grammy Award together last year. As anyone who witnessed their Big Ears performance in 2022 can attest, they create a shimmering world of acoustic poetry, at times recalling Cocteau Twins and Joni Mitchell, as they leave audiences transfixed and transformed. We can’t wait to have them perform Friday of the festival. |
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Hania Rani: Non Fiction featuring the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra |
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Hania Rani’s powerful new concerto, Non Fiction, takes inspiration from a lost composition from the Holocaust while reckoning with the harrowing realities of our current moment. This is a fascinating reflection and meditation on the power and possibilities of music. Hania Rani will be joined by the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, and guest soloist, saxophonist Jack Wyllie (Portico Quartet) on Sunday afternoon, March 29, at Big Ears. And you don’t want to miss her Chilling Bambino set at The Greyhound the night before. |
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Marilyn Crispell: 2025 NEA Jazz Master |
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Pianist extraordinaire Marilyn Crispell was recognized as an NEA Jazz Master last year, acknowledging her contributions as one of the leading and most celebrated avant-garde jazz artists of all time. Coming to prominence during her tenure of over a decade with Anthony Braxton’s much- celebrated 80s and 90s quartet, she’s in the pantheon with a who’s who of jazz greats. She’ll perform this year at Big Ears with percussionist Harvey Sorgen. |
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