Knoxville's Big Ears fest caters to adventurous audience

There's yet another reason to save up your hard-earned cash and travel to the musical state of Tennessee. Only this time, don’t expect bars full of cover bands, hippies or the CMT headquarters.

Living up to its name, Knoxville’s Big Ears festival truly is suited for those with, well, big ears. World-renowned composer Philip Glass is attending, as is Baltimore-based electro dude Dan Deacon, the Mercury prize-winning cabaret act Antony and the Johnsons and a trio including Mark Linkous and Scott Minor of Sparklehorse (plus many many more boundary-pushing artists). Not a bad line-up for a debut festival.

It shouldn't come as a surprise, though. With Ashley Capps, co-founder of mega-festival Bonnaroo, as the main force behind the music, it seems only natural that the line-up includes some of the most legendary and innovative names in the music.

In a statement Capps said, “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.”

Current list of confirmed performers:

Philip Glass, Dan Deacon, Antony and the Johnsons, Fennesz solo and with Mark Linkous and Scott Minor, Neil Hamburger, Burning Star Core (C Spencer Yeah), San Agustin, Luminescent Orchestrii with Sxip Shirey, Tim Harbison, Nicholas Collins, Larkin Grimm, Shaking Ray Levis, Ned Rothenberg, Jon Hassell, Maarifa Street, The Necks, Michael Gira, Negativland, Matmos and Pauline Oliveros.

Weekend festival passes are $195 and include admission to all shows. For more information about how to purchase a pass, visit the Big Ears website.

Related links:
BigEarsFestival.com
PhilipGlass.com
Big Ears Myspace

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