For many people, Knoxville, Tennessee is a college football town or a place to stay when visiting the Great Smoky Mountains National Park or Dollywood. However, for the tenth time since 2009, Big Ears Music Festival brought thousands of music lovers together for a celebration of music and art on March 30 – April 2.
As always, the weekend was filled with an eclectic lineup with styles ranging from classical, metal, noise, ambient, jazz, electronic, Latin American and Indie folk. Fans of composer/saxophonist/producer John Zorn were treated to a “marathon” of his works throughout Saturday and Sunday as he took residency at the historic Tennessee Theater (including a secret show on Saturday night.) It’s tenth go-round went off smoothly, aside from severe winds on Saturday pushing back the free outdoor shows by a day. It’s a credit to their excellently put-together mobile app that participants were notified about postponements and capacity alerts in real time so festival goers were always in the know about what was going on over the weekend.
These are a handful of the acts that gave standout performances…
Los Lobos gave the festival a proper kick-off on Thursday night at the Tennessee Theater with a set list that included songs from across their fifty-year career as well as a selection of covers. They opened their set with a rousing rendition of “How Much Can I Do?” from their 1983 EP …And a Time to Dance followed by “Maricela” from their album Colossal Head, from 1996. They managed to get the audience on their feet throughout, whether it was by playing their own materials or covering songs like “Ay te dejo en San Antonio” by Santiago Jimenez or encoring with the classic “Guantanamera” by Joseito Fernandez.
Andrew Bird took the stage on Friday night at the Knoxville Civic Auditorium to a capacity crowd. Behind the band was a giant Wurlitzer speaker shaped like two gramophone horns that would spin intermittently on certain songs to create a wave of sound effect. Bird’s set consisted largely of new songs from his forthcoming album Inside Problems in the first half followed by a selection of older songs. Halfway through, Bird did a three song “Old Timey” set where he and his guitarist gathered at a center microphone and played acoustic. The highlight of the night was during this “old timey” set when Bird brought out Sam Beam (Iron & Wine) to perform “Left Handed Kisses.” As the song originally was a duet between Bird and Fiona Apple, Beam sang Bird’s part and Bird sang Apple’s part.
Iron & Wine shows generally consist of just Sam Beam and his Big Ears set was no different. However, even though the stage was mostly empty, Beam fills up the empty space with his personality. Joking and bantering with the crowd, Beam was having as good a time as anyone else there. His set consisted of a selection of songs spanning his entire career as well as rarities like “Why Hate the Winter” which Beam explained was one of the first songs he ever wrote. The highlight of the night was when Beam brought out Joey Burns of Calexico to perform “Father Mountain” from their collaborative album Years to Burn.
Rica Chicha did Knoxville proud as they took the stage on Sunday at the street party at Southern Railway Station. Fronted by Andrea Kukuly Uriarte, who is a Peruvian immigrant, she injects her culture into the energetic Latin American/Appalachian sound of the band. Throughout their set the members took turns performing solos which showcased each musician’s talent. The energy that Rica Chicha brought to the stage was contagious and many of those in attendance could be seen dancing along. Their Cumbia rendition of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” was definitely a crowd favorite.
Devendra Banhart is unique, to say the least. Banhart was joined on stage by a woman playing pedal steel and a man on guitar as Banhart played his own guitar and sang. Taking the stage in a colorful dress, Banhart explained that it was in support of all the drag queens and kings that are being targeted by hateful laws. Interspersed by jokes and stories, Banhart played a beautiful set full of songs mostly from his last two albums, Ma and Ape in Pink Marble.
Caroline didn’t take the stage at Bigs Ears, but instead set up in a large area of the floor at the Jackson Terminal. It didn’t take long to realize the reason, as the eight members of the band from London would’ve been hard pressed to fit on the stage. Surrounded by the audience, caroline played songs in their unique style. Many songs started out in a folk style and devolved into dissonant noise before reforming back to their original sound.
Justin Adams & Mauro Durante put on an excellent, intimate show at Mill & Mine on Sunday. Justin Adams has worked with many musicians over the years including Robert Plant in the Sensational Space Shifters. For this tour he teamed up with Italian musician Mauro Durante to create a truly unique set of songs. While Adams sang and played guitar, Durante accompanied him singing and playing violin and frame drums. The range of sounds that Durante was able to achieve on the frame drums was truly astounding.
Kevin Morby’s set at the Mill & Mine on Saturday was a highlight of the weekend. Currently touring on his latest album, This is a Photograph, Morby brought high energy to the stage with his band. The set largely consisted of songs from his new album including “Bittersweet, TN” and “Campfire,” both joined by Nashville songwriter Erin Rae. He also brought out his girlfriend, Katie Crutchfield of the band Waxahatchee, to sing his song “Beautiful Strangers” which is song that benefits gun control advocacy. The set also included fan favorites like “City Music” and “Harlem River.”
With so many amazing acts taking place over the weekend it is impossible to see everything that you want to see and sometimes you have to make a hard decision. The fact that everyone that you see is handpicked by the festival makes it easy though to feel like you made the right choice when every band and artist were playing their hearts out. Every act mentioned how cool the festival was and how honored they were to be a part of it. This respect was paid back by the crowd who were enraptured by the performances and at times so quiet that Sam Beam joked “Settle down!” That is how you know that you are at a festival where everyone in attendance is there to enjoy the music and not just there to hang out with their friends. For true fans of music, this is the festival to be at!
