Big Ears Festival 2009
So this is very intriguing, a festival going down the first weekend in February in Knoxville, TN. Via their website:
The weekend of February 6 – 7 – 8, 2009 will see the maiden voyage of a new “boutique” music festival concept called BIG EARS in Knoxville, Tennessee. The mission of BIG EARS is to create a dynamic cross-genre music and arts festival experience. Spearheaded by Ashley Capps, president of AC Entertainment and longtime fan of cutting edge music, the BIG EARS experience will include concerts by legendary innovators along with young cutting edge visionaries and experimentalists crossing a variety of genres. The festival will also include art installations, exhibitions, performance art, seminars with artists, and interactive experiences.
Perhaps best known as a founder and producer of the acclaimed mega-festival, Bonnaroo, Capps envisions a very different experience at Big Ears, “Big Ears is conceived as a boutique festival, appealing to a very focused audience of music fans with adventurous tastes. We’re hoping to sell a thousand tickets to our inaugural event, but we intend for everyone who attends to have an extraordinary experience.”
Capps envisions BIG EARS as happening several times a year in different cities – with each festival loosely defined by a unifying thread. In keeping with its moniker – BIG EARS is a term often used to describe especially gifted and insightful listeners- the inaugural festival’s concept is about listening. “I have a compelling interest in music that demands your complete attention, that quietly insists that you slow down and listen – and that transports you into another world. It seems that there are others who long for that experience as well. And this is a quality common to the music of many of the artists performing at BIG EARS in February,” says Capps.
Ok, sounds pretty cool, here is the initial line-up:
Antony And The Johnsons
Fennesz (solo)
Fennesz/Linkous/Minor
Michael Gira (Swans, Angels of Light)
Phillip Glass
Jon Hassell & Maarifa Street
Matmos
The Necks
Negativland
Pauline Oliveros
Wendy Sutter
I wasn’t very familiar with most of the names on this list upon first glance, but after looking into these acts, I am impressed (I put links for each act and I urge you to check all of them out). Festival passes are on sale now for $195, which seems a bit high, but I have a feeling this is going to be a truly special event.
- Posted by Davy Minor on December 11, 2008 at 2:53 am
