Big Ears, the experimentally inclined Knoxville music festival, revealed its 2027 lineup today. The event is not organized around traditional headliners, but Jeff Tweedy is the first name in the press release, followed by Robert Glasper, Natalie Merchant, Brad Mehldau, Weyes Blood, Courtney Barnett, Dinner Party, Kronos Quartet, Jim James, Thundercat, Rosanne Cash with John Levanthal, Gustavo Santaolalla (performing Ronroco), Sylvan Esso, Oneohtrix Point Never, Penguin Café, Chucho Valdés, Wednesday, Hannibal Buress, and Mon Rovîa.
There's much more on the docket beyond that initial cloud of names, like this other cloud that touts Cornelius, Jeff Parker ETA IVtet, Evan Ziporyn & Maya Beiser: Bowie Cello Symphonic (an orchestral interpretation of Blackstar), Ndudzu Makhathini, Valerie June, Sleaford Mods, Midori Tanaka, Mouse On Mars, SML, Melvins, Mavis Staples, the Womack Sisters, Bob James, Daniel Lanois, David Murray, Meat Puppets, Dirty Projectors, and Kali Malone.
More names that get a lot of attention here at Stereogum: Mount Eerie, Kevin Morby, U.S. Girls, Tyondai Braxton, Finom, Dave Harrington, Jeremiah Chiu, the Whitney Johnson/Lia Kohl/Macie Stewart trio, L'Rain, Liam Kazar, Ida, Bedouine, Carla dal Forno, Helen, Beauty Pill, Case Oats, James Brandon Lewis Quartet, James Elkington and Nathan Salsburg, Star Moles, Tomeka Reid, Marisa Anderson, Nirosta Steel, Otto Benson, Joan Shelley, Jim White Trio... I probably missed some good ones within the fine print, but you get the point.
We haven't even yet begun discussing the special programming Big Ears has in store. There will be a separately ticketed event in which Gillan Welch and David Rawlings perform the Grateful Dead's Acoustic Reckoning, with support from Nathaniel Rateliff and Norah Jones. Melvin Gibbs has curated a performance series titled How Black Music Took Over The World. There'll be six shows by the Bang On A Can All-Stars including Philip Glass’ Glassworks, Steve Reich’s Music For 18 Musicians, and Ryuichi Sakamoto’s 1996. Big Star classics will be performed by the Big Star Quintet, featuring Jon Auer, Mike Mills, Pat Sansone, Chris Stamey, and Jody Stephens. Or how about Penguin Cafe, a tribute to Simon Jeffes’ Penguin Cafe Orchestra led by Simon's son Arthur Jeffes, or Petra Haden's a cappella renditions of the King Crimson catalog, or the debut performance from Trio Of Bloom aka Nels Cline, Craig Taborn, and Marcus Gilmore?
There's just too much to get excited about here. Big Ears 2027 will take place April 1-4, 2027 at venues around Knoxville. After a presale for festival donors and past ticketholders, passes go on sale here starting this Wednesday, Sept. 16 at 9 a.m. ET.
