BIG EARS 2018 [Knoxville, TN]: Diamanda Galas, Wolfgang. Voigt, Milford Graves, ICE, Jaga Jazzist, GYBE, Tyshawn Sorey, Kid Koala, etc etc hype hype

Deets here: http://insideofknoxville.com/2017/11/big-ears-2018-lineup-announced-an-interview-with-ashley-capps/

Now with more Appalachia.

Also Lightning Bolt, Juana Molina, Julie Byrne, Susanna, Nels Cline, I can already tell I’m gonna have a lot of conflicts.

Line-up so far:

Abigail Washburn & Wu Fei
Aine O’Dwyer performs William Eggleston’s “Musik”
Algiers
Anna & Elizabeth
Anna Thorvaldsdottir: “In The Light Of Air” performed by International Contemporary Ensemble
Anoushka Shankar: “Land of Gold”
Arto Lindsay
Bang on a Can All Stars celebrate their 30th anniversary with works by David Lang, Michael Gordon and Julia Wolfe
Bang on a Can All Stars perform Julia Wolfe’s “Anthracite Fields”

Bang on a Can All Stars “Field Recordings”
Béla Fleck & Abigail Washburn

Béla Fleck & Brooklyn Rider
Bonnie “Prince” Billy

“Brimstone & Glory” live score performed by Nief-Norf and Wordless Music

Brooklyn Rider
Cleek Schrey & David Behrman
Craig Taborn Quartet
Cyro Baptista & The “Banquet of the Spirits”
Cyro Baptista presents “Vira Loucos”
Diamanda Galás
Duet for Theremin & Lap Steel
Evan Parker’s Electro-Acoustic Ensemble
Four Tet
GAS (Wolfgang Voigt)
Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Innov Gnawa

International Contemporary Ensemble
Jaga Jazzist

Jaga Jazzist featuring Ståle Storløkken & Jon Balke
Jason Moran Duo with Milford Graves
Jason Moran presents Fats Waller Dance Party
BANGS (Jason Moran, Mary Halvorson and Ron Miles)
Jenny Hval
Jenny Scheinman presents “Kannapolis: A Moving Portrait”
Jenny Scheinman’s “Mischief & Mayhem” with Nels Cline & Scott Amendola
Juana Molina

Julie Byrne
Kelly Lee Owens

Kid Koala (DJ Set)
Kid Koala’s “Satellite” Turntable Orchestra

Knoxville Symphony Strings performs “Were You There” with baritone Davoné Tines
Laurel Halo (DJ Set)

Laurel Halo (Live with Eli Keszler)
Lightning Bolt
Lucius
Medeski Martin & Wood
Milford Graves
Nels Cline: “Lovers” with the Knoxville Jazz Orchestra and guests
Peter Evans Ensemble
Rocket Science (Peter Evans, Sam Pluta, Craig Taborn, Evan Parker)
Roscoe Mitchell Trios
Rostam
Rova: “The Sound in Space Project”
Rova Channeling Coltrane: “Electric Ascension”
Sam Amidon
Steve Gunn

Steve Gunn & The Black Twig Pickers

Susanna
“Go Dig My Grave” featuring Giovanna Pessi, Frode Haltli, Cheyenne Mize and Susanna
SUUNS
Tal National
The Black Twig Pickers
The Ecstatic Music of Alice Coltrane Turiyasangitanda performed by The Sai Anantam Ashram Singers
The Jerry Douglas Band

The Thing
Tyshawn Sorey Trio

Oh yeah, ARTO LINDSAY

holy shit, can't miss this one

ok i am totally into this
will def go if my schedule permits -- gotta look at academic cal!

nice combo of bone shattering + mind melting acts!!
some i have seen before but they are experiences i would gladly repeat (could prob skip steve gunn again but am not going to turn down the chance to see him idly between other things)
agh! this is good news.

many unknowns for me bandwise but it's such a well-run festival in a great city.

almost double for "jump to the front" access eh
that wasn't there the last time i attended this festival
the "subject to capacity" warning in the general admission pass has me worried

how did these VIPs effect the experience for those of you who did not have VIP access?
(i know some of you are there on journalism visas -- do you automatically get "jump to the front" status?)

oops
affect

tbh, with a GA pass, if you just show up to things about five minutes earlier than you usually would, you'll probably be fine. watch the app for whatever is listed as "most scheduled" and that gives a good indication of what's gonna be crowded and what's gonna be less so

I had a GA pass last year and didn't really notice any inconvenience.

good info, thanks!
watch the app for whatever is listed as "most scheduled"
this is new to me too -- unless i just ignored it when i was there. i think i missed the last 2 years?

i just checked the academic calendar and it's the weekend before spring break!!!!!

yeah, there's a little tab on the app for "most scheduled" which is probably there for data mining and/or fun, but it's actually pretty useful once you go a day and can gauge "oh, x # of people were at this show, so I can estimate y # of people will be at this show"

biiiiiiiiiiiiiigggggg eaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrsssssssssss

I paid the extra for jump-line access this year and I don't think I needed it all weekend. So this time I probably won't bother and I'll end up wishing I did... But with so much stuff, I'm guessing there will usually be good second choices.

Looks fun. Might consider it, finally, but have to do some planning first.

i'm going! see you there, friends!

Less than a month. STOKED.

I’m so amped, I wish they would update the app!

yeah i am ready for this to happen
i am going to visit the highlander folk school while i am down there too!! so excited!!

pretty psyched about this, coming up soon!!!
who else is going?

I’ll be 2 1/2 hours away. :(

I had to cancel my SXSW trip, but Big Ears is ON

I had to pick one music festival, and I chose Marfa Myths... next year! Everybody have fun!

Missing it this year, I'm afraid.

i guess i will have to make some new friends! bummed i won't see old ones but there are always new friends to be made :)

...especially at a percussive dance workshop! i remember good times at the laughter workshop with crut & laraaji at my first BE :)

I just took a first pass at making a schedule for myself and as always it's hopelessly full of conflicts. Fortunately a bunch of people are doing multiple things, so if I don't see one Roscoe Mitchell or Milford Graves or Arto Lindsay thing, I can catch another. Also lots of great movies! I'm really going to try to see "Goodbye to Language" (in 3D) because who knows when I'll get another chance.

i'll be there!!!!

dammit i can't get off work saturday or sunday so uh i might be driving back and forth between atlanta and knoxville those days lol

lol
i just saw that i GY!BE is Thursday night, BE2018 will get started on the right foot!! (a loud foot)
looking forward to so many things, need to start working on my plan...

i just had to change my flight to miss the Noreaster :/

just looked at the weather forecast -- bring your rain gear!
does anyone have info about how strict they are with their bag policy? it seems unusually restrictive -- no pockets? are my pens and lip balm supposed to just float around at the bottom of my grocery tote?
i just want to bring my normal everyday bag (a small backpack)

i'm going to be able to go to the whole thing after all :-)

fwiw, this is what the FAQ on the website says:

https://bigearsfestival.org/faqs/

What can I bring and what is prohibited?
What’s ACCEPTABLE: Small purse or backpack, camera with non-removable lens. Please remember, everyone is subject to search.

What’s PROHIBITED: Drugs, controlled substances, alcohol, outside food or drink (including sealed water bottles), weapons, firearms, projectiles including glowsticks, video recording equipment, tri-pods, audio recording equipment and unauthorized merchandise.

Any person attempting to enter the venues with any of the prohibited item(s) above will be refused access, or at the venue’s discretion, allowed to give up the prohibited item(s) before entry. Confiscated items will be disposed of or given away at the venue’s discretion.

so yes a small backpack is ok!

bummed about the water bottles though.

yeah that sucks
also the food. i always have food in my purse.

friends -- i will not have ilx access while i am there so if there is a hangout, someone needs to text me!
that is all, see you soon!

have fun! go to rita's and get a giant ice cream cone!

on the agenda for today:

Trio Five
Ikue Mori
Rocket Science
Milford Graves
Innov Gnawa
Evan Parker
Jon Gibson's "Visitations"
GAS

Please report for those of us who couldn't be there!

report: the couple in front of me are passionately making out to Evan Parker, Peter Evans, Craig Taborn, and Sam Pluta

the topography of the tongues

my favorites:

Duet for Theremin & Lap Steel – I'm biased because these are my homies but this was an exceptionally great set even for them, v serene and otherworldly. I noticed a lot more of their instruments' "natural" sounds coming through than I'm used to from them, though there was plenty of electronic manipulation going on for sure.
Roscoe Mitchell, Junius Paul, Vincent Davis – I saw a lot of "free jazz" at this year's festival but this was the closest to the platonic ideal of the form in my mind. thunderous drum solo. cerebral upright bass solo. screamy sax solo. a monumental ensemble. it was good for my soul.
Milford Graves – amazing percussionist. I love the way he tunes his drums! he talked a lot in between his drum bits and it was so delightful! i loved how he drew people into his approach towards making music.
Evan Parker – the first piece was an unbroken 15-minute flurry of twisted arpeggiated melodic passages bouncing off the church walls. he only played for 40 minutes of his allotted hour but he crammed a lifetime's worth of musical greatness into that 40 minutes. Bach-like improvisational genius.
Jon Gibson's "Visitations" – this was pretty much everything good about droney and meditative music to me. i like bassy electric drones and whooshing clattering percussion sounds and flute solos so I was enthralled with this.
Wolfgang Voigt (GAS) – ego-shattering bliss. the accompanying video was most visually riveting thing I've ever seen.
Diamanda Galás – absolutely gripping, incredible voice, fantastic piano playing, an unrivalled presence. I couldn't tell if demons were entering or leaving my body during her performance but they were surely moving through me. great Johnny Paycheck cover!
Davóne Tines & the Knoxville Symphony Strings performing "Were You There" – amazing voice. beautiful and heart-wrenching. brilliantly conceived and flawlessly executed.
Kieran Hebden & Mats Gustafsson – so heavy and mindblowing and LOUD. it made me so happy!
Evan Parker Ensemble – so much energy. a whirlwind of sound but it was all so perfectly coordinated, violating all laws of entropy. I was standing there in complete and utter awe. I have no idea how these people do it.
Lightning Bolt – they did their thing (but on a stage) and it was exactly what I needed

seriously, if you have never been to this festival and have considered going for even a second, YOU SHOULD GO. treat yourself!

THANK YOU

great Johnny Paycheck cover!

OMFG

fwiw she released a studio version of it last year

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9YYv-oZfsk

but the performance at the Tennessee Theater was slower and more pensive

https://t.co/RfqFCxDKtV

^some of my fave things if anyone cares

I read that earlier this evening because I do care! Great work.

i haven't written mine up but i plan to
so glad i went

i reallllllllllly enjoyed Kieran Hebden/Mats Gustafsson's set -- I loved the Live at the South Bank album and honestly, I didn't miss the presence of a live drummer because 1) the beats were good and heavy already and 2) i could imagine a drummer's part in my mind which was really enjoyable. That set was smoldering and super gnarly.

i was so pooped at that point

i forgot where i was at least 4x during that set
it was amazing

i think the most important thing to remember if you have never been and plan to go is to come prepared with snacks to eat -- there are plenty of good restaurants (i ate at good golly tamale 2x!) but finding time for 1 meal/day seems the norm. i ran into someone i always see at local shows and he was like --starving-- and possibly dehydrated. it was his first time and he didn't realize there would be inevitable music/food scheduling issues.

FYI the bag people were cool about letting me bring in my snacks too. they were just looking for weapons afaict. one person made me open my bottle of advil (bring ibuprofen if you have achy feet!!) but there wasn't anything interesting in there aside from advil.

perhaps most importantly -- if you have a chance to see the doc MILFORD GRAVES FULL MANTIS you should definitely do so. no talking heads, artful editing and quality information about milford graves, who is completely awesome
it made me want to move more like an insect. his experiments making music with the nervous system/heartbeat were super interesting too. he said everyone who comes into his house has to have their heartbeat recorded
<3 <3 <3

my bud made this movie, it was a labor of love and is utterly captivating

it was really well done
i saw ilxor tarfumes' name in the credits too!!!

western mass power. jake and neil are tops. neil is an AMAZING editor. jake's set before the tal national show here in town a couple of weeks ago was amazing. lots of talent in so many arenas. tarfumes is an amazing percussionist in his own right, by the way. i still need to see the film. amherst showing is sold out. might have to sneak in the back.

ilxor geeta wrote a great thing on the film that i linked to on a music doc thread.

this knoxville fest seems so nice. would love to go to one.

it is so exactly what we are saying too -- i do not exaggerate! you should try to make it. every time i go i feel like i am ready to face the world again when i come home. the musical performances are that invigorating!

i could tell that the people who made the doc have solid sensibilities. they made interesting and good choices (like to make the film in the first place -- i really admire the archival footage being collected)

i also had an excellent time touring the highlander folk school -- it's an important and historical place and not far out of town. would recommend to anyone interested in education, civil rights, appalachia. bonus: my guide was an absolute delight.

Evan Parker Ensemble – so much energy. a whirlwind of sound but it was all so perfectly coordinated, violating all laws of entropy. I was standing there in complete and utter awe. I have no idea how these people do it.

lmao I meant the Peter Evans ensemble. I am constantly getting their names confused.

There a book coming out about the festival.

https://mailchi.mp/hatandbeard.com/ten-years-of-big-ears?e=cc35b368fe

This was the first one I went to. So much fun…