All good things must come to an end, and Big Ears Festival had a picture-perfect day to close out the 2024 edition. Venues filled up around Knoxville as attendees savored every last moment of Big Ears. Kenny Wollesen’s Wolle-Sonic Massage, Evan Lurie, Matt Mitchell, Joseph Allred, Nadah El Shazly, Finom, Ahleuchatistas, and Son Rompe Pera all hit capacity.
While many attendees waited more than an hour for a delayed Thurston Moore and John Paul Jones set in a line that wrapped around both sides of Mill & Mine, others skipped the line in favor of conflicting sets on a bill bursting with talent. Knoxville locals and visitors swapped stories as they waited in line, and the delayed start became another charming moment in a festival centered around the music community.
Read the Day One Recap
Read the Day Two Recap
Read the Day Three Recap
Ches Smith: Laugh Ash
Drummer Ches Smith appeared in several sets at Big Ears and Secret Chiefs 3: Ishraqiyun. For the Sunday afternoon set at the Standard, Smith led an ensemble of nine musicians in his Laugh Ash project. The esteemed group included bassist Shahzad Ismaily (also seen performing with Secret Chiefs 3, Sam Amidon, and more throughout the festival) and tenor saxophonist James Brandon Lewis who performed on the same stage the previous night with The Messthetics. Laugh Ash’s chamber compositions got the low-fi treatment. The sonic experience ranged from the scratching of Jennifer Choi’s violin strings to the clamor of trumpet, clarinet, cello, violin, and flute together while Shara Lunon gave jazzy vocals an experimental twist. Performing from their self-titled album released just last month, we hope to see more of Laugh Ash soon.
Henry Threadgill’s Air
While the Chicago free jazz ensemble Air disbanded in the 1980s, three musicians stepped into the roles of original members Henry Threadgill, Fred Hopkins, and Steve McCall for a set at Jackson Terminal. As part of a tribute to Threadgill’s work throughout the festival, an Air repertory band formed. Marty Ehrlich took over saxophone duties, Pheeroan AkLaff reprised his role as drummer, and Hilliard Greene took up duties on the bass. The trio swung to Threadgill’s Air compositions “Air Song,” “Difda Dance,” “Tragedy on a Thursday Afternoon,” “Side Step,” and “Children’s Song.” After resounding applause, they treated the crowd to an encore with another Threadgill number called “Midnight Sun.”
Thurston Moore and John Paul Jones
The Big Ears website instructed attendees to “expect the unexpected” for Sunday’s collaboration between bassist, keyboardist and composer John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin and Sonic Youth guitarist Thurston Moore. After a delayed start time, the two icons took the stage at Mill & Mine and delivered a noisy, improvised instrumental set.
The first forty-ish minutes featured the pair manipulating their respective instruments with their hands, a drumstick, a piece of wood, and a bit of metal producing droning over Jones’ synthesizer sounds. Moore dropped to his knees and turned his guitar upside down to grate the strings and then rubbed it on the amps for reverb effects. Next, Jones took a seat at the piano pounding out tunes that took a jazzy turn at one point while Moore scratched at his guitar strings with the instrument in his lap and continued his experimental take.
According to Big Ears, the collaboration was Jones’ idea. He also played a solo set on Friday and performed with cellist Anssi Kartunnen as Sons of Chipotle on Saturday. The performance may not have been what the audience was expecting, but Big Ears once again delivered a musical moment that we won’t hear again.
Medeski Russo Ribot
One last supergroup took the stage on Sunday night to close out Big Ears Festival. John Medeski, Joe Russo, and Marc Ribot reunited for only their second appearance together ever. Marc Ribot was fresh off his performance a day prior with Ceramic Dog. Bent over his instrument, the guitarist provided bluesy riffs. Pianist and organist John Medeski took to the keys. Rounding out the trio, drummer Joe Russo is known for his Grateful Dead tribute band Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, but his jazz project Selcouth Quartet played Big Ears on Saturday. Their spin on jazz and rock was the kind of joyful collaboration that makes Big Ears Festival such a delight both for musicians and the fans who love to hear them play.
Jessica Mlinaric founded Urban Explorer in 2010 to inspire curious travelers by highlighting history, culture, and hidden gems in Chicago and beyond. She is the author of ‘Secret Chicago’ and ‘Chicago Scavenger.’ Jessica has visited 20+ countries and 30+ U.S. states. She has more than 16 years of experience as a marketing strategist and works as a freelance writer and photographer.
