Big Ears 2016 - initial lineup

[battema]

Since some folks seemed to be interested in this fest...

http://lineup.bigearsfestival.com/?sort=day

Composer in residence is John Luther Adams.

Other highlights:

Faust, Tony Conrad, Sunn O))), The Necks, Wadada Leo Smith, Philip Glass/Laurie Anderson, Yo La Tengo, Anthony Braxton, Phantom Orchard, Wolf Eyes, Marc Ribot...I think there may be additional bands but this is the initial.

Some of the lineup will also perform together (Faust + Tony Conrad doing Outside the Dream Syndicate), plus folks like Phantom Orchard will also have separate sets with Zeena Parkins and Ikue Mori respectively.

I'm pretty excited.

[walt]

Mother of Pearl!!.What a lineup!!...........

I'm going.

[battema]

Yeah, it should be a fun year.

[Steve F.]

It's a good lineup.

some questions.

The $165 (or whatever) tix gets you into everything EXCEPT those 3 theater shows?

Does everyone get in to the general admission events? or are some 'sold out' ??

What hotel(s) do you recommend?

thanks!

[flytomars]

Great lineup!
For those who are closer to Europe than the US, there is a festival that has some similarities in lineup in Utrecht:
It is called Le Guess Who, and this year has (amongst many others) :
Faust, Magma, Sunn O))), The Necks, Keiji Heino, The Pop Group, Annette Peacock (!!), The crazy world of Arthur Brown, Charlemgne Palestine, Oz Mutantes, Dungen, Kamasi Washington and many, many more.
Am very excited

[WHORG]

This completely dovetails with the kids spring break this year - we'll spin over and check out Knoxville for that long weekend and attend the fest in some capacity. It's a 4.5 hour drive for us too, not bad.

The line-up is sick.

[Steve F.]

The line-up is sick.

It really is. Lots of bucket list folks on it.

[walt]

It's a good lineup.

some questions.

The $165 (or whatever) tix gets you into everything EXCEPT those 3 theater shows?

Does everyone get in to the general admission events? or are some 'sold out' ??

What hotel(s) do you recommend?

Steve,as to your first query,yes.Your second query:as far as i know(correct me if i'm wrong, John Battema),also, yes.If you have your official wristband,that gets you in.

I stayed at Holiday Inn Downtown.Superbly located.Easy walking to many(not all) venues.I'll try to book a room there again(if they give the same festival discount they did last year)

[NogbadTheBad]

Will be signing up tonight, this looks like a no brainer

[Supersonic Scientist]

It really is. Lots of bucket list folks on it.

Yeah, like Marc Ribot & Eight Blackbird.....Damn, I need to really consider this.

[battema]

It's a good lineup.

some questions.

The $165 (or whatever) tix gets you into everything EXCEPT those 3 theater shows?

Does everyone get in to the general admission events? or are some 'sold out' ??

What hotel(s) do you recommend?

thanks!

Yes...in past years it was "all in, all included" but this year, it looks like the 3 "main" events are not part of the main pass. You buy each of those separately, assuming you want to see all three. Or go for the big honking VIP Pass if you are feeling super hardcore. I've never done any of the secret invite stuff that they allude to...the main lineup events were, to be honest, MORE than enough to keep me engaged and entertained the whole time.

Everything else is included...now, some of the venues are a tad smaller than the Tennessee Theater so it can get crowded (for example, last year Max Richter's set at the Bijou was literally a packed house, with people standing/sitting in aisles and wherever else they could). But these are mostly the exception...one of the things I really like about Big Ears is the quality and size of the various venues. And my impression is that they do everything possible to ensure anyone who wants to see a particular set, CAN see it

For myself, I stayed at the Hilton the last two years. I definitely like it, it's almost equidistant from everything except the Knoxville Museum of Art (which to be honest, is pretty far from just about everything except Walt's Holiday Inn ). If you go to the Big Ears webpage, they have links for all the nearby hotels; several offer special Big Ears rates that help with the "hit."

Hope this helps, Steve! Great to see folks (other than myself and Walt) getting excited about the next fest

[Dok]

Listen Up: The 2016 Lineup is Here!

Are you ready? Besides last week's announcement of John Luther Adams as our 2016 Composer-in-Residence, we've got plenty more in store for you! First up, we will present at least two very special rare performances during the weekend. New music icons and Big Ears alumni Laurie Anderson and Philip Glass will present the American debut of their unique collaboration, thus far heard only once this past summer in Italy. In addition, the legendary 1972 minimalist/industrial rock creation by violinist/filmmaker Tony Conrad with German “Krautrock” legends Faust, Outside the Dream Syndicate, will be heard live in its only concert performance in 2016.

The remainder of the weekend will see dozens of concerts by a virtual who's who of the world's most iconoclastic and visionary music artists. Composer / saxophonist Anthony Braxton will perform with two of his ensembles – a ten piece group and a trio; his former associate, composer/trumpet virtuoso Wadada Leo Smith will perform duos with leading jazz pianist, Vijay Iyer; while the wildly acclaimed young saxophonist Kamasi Washington - collaborator with Kendrick Lamar and Flying Lotus - will present his soulful, spiritual jazz.
The Irish supergroup, The Gloaming, will perform, along with young British folksinger, Olivia Chaney; leading American folk and alternative rock artists like Andrew Bird, Yo La Tengo, Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Angel Olsen, Joe Henry, Lambchop, and Circuit des Yeux will be in attendance as well. Icelandic producer/composer Valgeir Sigur∂sson will be bringing his Bedroom Community compatriots Nico Muhly, Ben Frost, and Sam Amidon for a show commemorating their 10th Anniversary as a label and musician’s collective; and fellow Iceland native composer Ólafur Arnalds will present his electronica collaboration with Janus Rasmussen, Kiasmos. Widely acclaimed new music ensemble eighth blackbird will make their Big Ears debut, presenting Bryce Dessner’s new work Murder Ballades during their performance, and Australia’s musical shamans, the Necks, will return to lead Big Ears on another kaleidoscopic musical journey.

There will be groundbreaking electronics from Nicolas Jaar, Ikue Mori, and Andy Stott; maximum minimalism from drone legends Sunn O))); future thinking hip-hop and beyond with Shabazz Palaces and Hieroglyphic Being; Saharan Desert electric guitar jams from Bombino; and even more musical exploration with avant-garde sonic explorers Phantom Orchard and Wolf Eyes.

There’s more to come, including other special performances and details to be revealed in the coming weeks. One thing is certain: Big Ears fans will be fully immersed in an unforgettable weekend of astonishing music-making of all kinds.
Tickets On Sale Friday, 10/23 at Noon ET!

Ticketing for Big Ears this year is also a bit different than before. The festival will still be offering a Weekend Pass as well as Daily Tickets to the festival. Those passes – as before – will give festival goers access to shows at all venues during weekend – EXCEPT for the Tennessee Theatre.

The Tennessee Theatre will present three programs, one each evening, and these will be separately ticketed and all seats will be reserved, with the goal of offering the optimal concert experience – for the audience and the artists alike – for each of these special presentations.

Those programs will be Knoxville Symphony Orchestra with Steven Schick performing the music of John Luther Adams, Bryce Dessner, & Philip Glass on Thursday, March 31; Andrew Bird & eighth blackbird with Bonnie “Prince” Billy and Bryce Dessner on Friday, April 1; and An Evening with Laurie Anderson & Philip Glass on Saturday, April 2. Tickets for each of these performances will only be available to those who have purchased a weekend pass or daily ticket for that particular day’s performance.

Our newly-minted Sonic Explorer VIP Weekend Pass grants you not only premium ticket and priority seating at all Tennessee Theatre events, but also perks like exclusive artist experiences at private VIP events, priority seating at the Bijou Theatre, priority entrance at all other venues, and a commemorative gift package.

Full ticketing details can be found here. Don't forget to secure yours this Friday!

[walt]

For myself, I stayed at the Hilton the last two years. I definitely like it, it's almost equidistant from everything except the Knoxville Museum of Art (which to be honest, is pretty far from just about everything except Walt's Holiday Inn ).

Hmmm.On second thought, maybe the Hilton is a somewhat better located joint than my Holiday Inn.Tough call.

[battema]

The Hilton also have a Starbucks in the lobby, which is a plus

The bulk of the performances happen in a set of venues that are all roughly 4-5 blocks from one another, from one end of downtown Knoxville to the other. The biggest halls are pretty close; one of the smaller venues (where most of the electronica/smaller acts like Zu played) is a bit further away, and the Knoxville museum is a bit of a hike from everything else.

Something else that is kind of cool about Big Ears (and I know I talked about this @ the Necromonkey show with you Steve)...the city really supports this fest. I mean, you're walking between venues in the heart of downtown Knoxville, and there are Big Ears banners hanging on all the streets. Apparently the mayor of Knoxville comes out to the kickoff to speak. It's a little crazy but also very, very cool.

[battema]

Yeah, like Marc Ribot & Eight Blackbird.....Damn, I need to really consider this.

Ribot was there the first year I went, performing a live soundtrack to Chaplin's "The Kid." It was really quite cool.

[Steve F.]

Ribot's gonna be in baltimore in november doing the Chaplin "The Kid" thing.

Creative Alliance.

[battema]

Cool...I might try and catch that show. Worth a repeat viewing

[WHORG]

All of the hotels seem reasonably priced too - - - considering I'll be dragging the fam along.

I will attend the fest proper, and (probably) one headliner show on Saturday night - very interesting as I've seen both LA and PG separately numerous times, but this collaboration will be crazy (I bet). This may change of course . . . since I thirst for ABird.

Really looking forward to this event . . . and hope to see many of you there !!!

[battema]

All of the hotels seem reasonably priced too - - - considering I'll be dragging the fam along.

I will attend the fest proper, and (probably) one headliner show on Saturday night - very interesting as I've seen both LA and PG separately numerous times, but this collaboration will be crazy (I bet). This may change of course . . . since I thirst for ABird.

Really looking forward to this event . . . and hope to see many of you there !!!

Yeah...Laurie Anderson was there last year doing a collab with Kronos Quartet that was rather interesting. This will be my first opportunity to see Glass in the flesh, so I'm pretty jazzed about that.

It'll be great to see you there as well, Josef

[walt]

I'd like to see,Tony Conrad,with or without Faust,Kamasi Washington,Vijay Iyer and Wadada Leo Smith,The Necks,Anthony Braxton Trio(especially if he's in the traditional sax/bass/drums setting,which he doesn't do very often)Bombino,perhaps an electronica group or two,(i'm not familiar with any of 'em except Ikue Mori)...........As usual, i'm staying away from the ultra decibel stuff.The Bedroom Community group may be too loud for me,even though Ben Frost is amazing.

Decisions......decisions.

[battema]

I suspect the Bedroom Community set will not be as governed by Frost's decibal-crushing volume, but more likely will be a bit more subdued. I'm actually quite excited to see what they have in store.

[Steve F.]

Anthony Braxton Trio(especially if he's in the traditional sax/bass/drums setting,which he doesn't do very often)

nope:

Anthony Braxton Tentet
Anthony Braxton: alto, soprano, sopranino saxophones, composer

Taylor Ho Bynum: cornet, flugelhorn, trumpbone

Nate Wooley: trumpet

Vincent Chancey: French horn

James Fei: alto, sopranino saxophones, clarinet

Ingrid Laubrock: tenor, soprano saxophones

Mary Halvorson: guitar

Brandon Seabrook: guitar

Tomeka Reid: cello

Carl Testa: bass

Tim Feeney: percussion



Anthony Braxton Trio
Anthony Braxton: alto, soprano, sopranino saxophones

Taylor Ho Bynum: cornet, flugelhord, trumpbone

Kyoko KItamura: voice

[walt]

I figured a sax/bass/drums lineup for the Braxton trio performance was a long shot.The posted trio lineup doesn't interest me..The Tentet sounds promising.I haven't heard any recent Braxton music,save for his Tzadik trio cd with William Parker and Milford Graves,and even that's not so recent.

[markwoll]

I suspect the Bedroom Community set will not be as governed by Frost's decibal-crushing volume, but more likely will be a bit more subdued. I'm actually quite excited to see what they have in store.

They will be playing at Lisner 3/29/16. Sam Amidon may be a moderating influence. Although you can amp up just about anything.
It looks to be a killer weekend. I will try and make this work.
It looks more interesting than Rosfest ( for me ) this year.

[battema]

They will be playing at Lisner 3/29/16. Sam Amidon may be a moderating influence. Although you can amp up just about anything.
It looks to be a killer weekend. I will try and make this work.
It looks more interesting than Rosfest ( for me ) this year.

Yeah, I saw the DC date as well. I might try and sneak out for that one as well, what with being local and all