Big Ears, arguably America’s premier experimental music festival, returns to Knoxville this coming March 26-29. The festival has shared its initial 2020 lineup this morning, presenting its usual fascinating mix of avant-garde heroes.

Iconic minimalist composer Terry Riley will celebrate his 85th year on Earth with “Riley At 85,” a program featuring “a duo with Gyan Riley, a solo organ performance on the new St. John’s Cathedral pipe organ, and more.” Kim Gordon and her Body/Head bandmate Bill Nace will team with another noteworthy duo, Steve Gunn and John Truscinski, to create a soundtrack to Andy Warhol’s KISS. John Paul Jones and Anssi Karttunen’s widely publicized duo Sons Of Chipotle will perform. Meredith Monk will team with Bang On A Can All-Stars. Joe Henry will lead a one-time supergroup featuring Jason Moran, Marc Ribot, Jay Bellerose, David Piltch, and Levon Henry. That sort of thing!

Tickets are available here starting 10/10. Other names that jump out from the lineup include MÚM (performing Yesterday Was Dramatic – Today Is OK), Thundercat, Sudan Archives, Damo Suzuki, Tindersticks, Xylouris White, Devendra Banhart, Saul Williams, Mdou Moctar, Efterklang, 75 Dollar Bill, Kronos Quartet, and a celebration of Anthony Braxton. The list goes on, but you’ll have to examine it for yourself below.

LINEUP:
75 Dollar Bill
Andrew Cyrille
Annette Peacock
Anthony Braxton
Areni Agbabian
Aurora Nealand & the Royal Roses
Bang On A Can All-Stars
Caroline Shaw
Caterina Barbieri
Christian Scott
Damo Suzuki Network with the Sound Carriers
Dan Weiss Starebaby
Daniel Pioro & Valgeir Sigurðsson
Devandra Banhart
Diamond Curtain Wall Trio
Dos Santos
Efterklang
Electric Appalachia (William Tyler, Mary Lattimore, Eric Dawson of TAMIS)
Fennesz
Gyan Riley
Harriet Tubman
Jaimie Branch’s Fly or Die
Jason Moran & the Harlem Hellfighters
Jeff Parker and the New Breed
Joe Henry’s 115th Dream
Joshua Abrams & Natural Information Society
Kim Myhr
Kronos Quartet
Marc Ribot
Maurice Louca
Mdou Moctar
Meredith Monk
Moonlight Benjamin
mssv (Mike Baggetta, Stephen Hodges, Mike Watt)
Múm
Myra Melford’s Snowy Egret
MZM (Miya Masaoka, Zeena Parkins, Myra Melford)
Nadah El Shazly
Natalie Joachim
nief norf
Paul Lazar’s Cage Shuffle
Peter Brötzmann
Sarah Davachi
Saul Williams
Shabaka & the Ancestors
So Percussion
Sons of Chipotle (John Paul Jones & Anssi Karttunen)
Sound for Andy Warhol’s KISS (Kim Gordon, Bill Nace, Steve Gunn, John Truscinski)
Spektral Quartet
Steve Coleman and Five Elements
Sudan Archives
Tamino
Terry Riley
The Haden Triplets
The Necks
Thunder Music Ensemble
Thundercat
Tindersticks
Xylouris White