Big Ears Festival connects more than 40,000 music lovers of all ages throughout Knoxville, Tennessee from March 21-24. Founded in 2009, Big Ears curates music and art experiences with a mission to create joyful, meaningful, and transcendent cultural experiences. More than a dozen venues across Knoxville present nearly 200 concerts, talks, workshops, film screenings, residencies, and more during Big Ears.
This year’s Big Ears lineup features no shortage of illustrious musical talent including Herbie Hancock, John Paul Jones, Laurie Anderson, Andre 3000, and Charles Lloyd. Yet the beauty of a festival like Big Ears is often in discovering your new favorite artist. There’s no shortage of rising talent on the bill, so open your ears to these six artists to watch.
Read the Day One Recap
Read the Day Two Recap
Read the Day Three Recap
Read the Day Four Recap
Zsela
It’s no surprise that Zsela followed an artistic calling as she is the daughter of artist Kate Sterlin and musician Marc Anthony Thompson of Chocolate Genius. Zsela’s intimate R&B tracks feature her soaring, ethereal voice over minimal drum and synth arrangements. Her 2020 debut EP, Ache of Victory, recalls the vocal delivery of Sade on tracks like “Earlier Days.” The 29-year-old’s first full-length album is due out this year, co-produced by Daniel Aged and Gabe Wax. If the first single, “Fire Escape,” is any indication, expect to hear Zsela venturing into experimental Dirty Projectors-influenced territory. Here’s hoping she’ll share more from the upcoming album during her performance at Jackson Terminal.
Thursday, March 21 at Jackson Terminal at 6:30 p.m.
Yasmin Williams
How many of us thought our Guitar Hero skills would translate to the real thing? Yasmin Williams got hooked on the game and then taught herself to play guitar by ear. The Northern Virginia native released her first EP, Serendipity, in the tenth grade. Now 26, Williams’ fingerstyle acoustic guitar offers shining melodies woven with techniques like lap tapping, alternate tunings, and percussive hits. These techniques lend a fullness of sound that’s hard to believe is coming from one artist and her acoustic guitar. Her second album, Urban Driftwood, includes the West African kora and the hand drumming of Amadou Kouyate on the title track.
Friday, March 22 at the Standard at 12 p.m.
Claire Rousay
Experimental musician Claire Rousay embraced the term “emo ambient” to describe her work. She explores the emotions of everyday life through field recordings that capture daily minutiae like wind chimes, car doors, and whispers. This sound art is layered with drones and distorted vocals. Rousay’s upcoming album Sentient, is due out on April 19 from Chicago’s Thrill Jockey label and includes guests Lala Lala and Hand Habits. As demonstrated in the first single “Head,” Rousay is veering her experimental approach into pop territory. We look forward to hearing Rousay preview what’s in store on Sentient at Big Ears.
Friday, March 22 at the Point at 1:30 p.m.
Wyatt Ellis
What did you do during the pandemic? Wyatt Ellis honed his mandolin playing. In 2023, he made his debut on the Grand Ole Opry Stage at the age of 14. The Knoxville native is taking the bluegrass world by storm, releasing his debut album “Happy Valley” in February. The record features songs written when Ellis was just twelve. His debut single, “Grassy Cove” topped the Bluegrass Today charts. Ellis has already performed on stage with artists like Billy Strings, Dierks Bentley, and Peter Rowan. We can’t wait to see what he delivers on the Big Ears stage during two performances.
Saturday, March 23 at Jig and Reel at 9 p.m. and 11 p.m.
Jake Blount
Jake Blount is a scholar of Black folk music, interpreting African American roots music through an Afrofuturist lens. Wielding the banjo, fiddle, electric guitar, and synthesizer, Blount challenges the whitewashed, heteronormative narrative of folk music. The 29-year-old artist’s 2022 album, The New Faith, delivers an Afrofuturist story in a dystopian future and recalls the spirituals that have seen Black Americans through centuries of struggles. Prepare to be educated and moved by Blount’s picking, fingerstyle guitar, hand claps, and call and response.
Sunday, March 24 at Jackson Terminal at 3:15 p.m.
KMRU
Joseph Karamu, aka KMRU, is a Nairobi-born, Berlin-based ambient artist with a musical pedigree. His grandfather, also Joseph Kamaru, challenged the political establishment through his Kenyan benga and gospel songs. KMRU’s sparse soundscapes incorporate field recordings captured on a handheld recorder and reinterpreted through drones. He created his 2020 album, Peel, over two days using field recordings from Nairobi, Uganda, and Montreal. The 27-year-old artist’s experimental practice recalls the likes of William Basinski and Katie Gately delivering a complex emotional journey in a minimal, meditative package.
Sunday, March 24 at St. John’s Cathedral at 4:30 p.m.
