The Big Ears Festival is one of Knoxville’s largest music and entertainment festivals. With performances from nearly 200 artists that cover over eight different genres, the festival offers a sound for everyone. This year, the festival will take place from March 30 to April 2, in over a dozen different venues downtown. Passes range from single day, 4-day general admission, 4-day premier and 4-day VIP.
The non-profit organization’s mission, as stated on its website, is “To create joyful, meaningful, and transcendent cultural experiences that defy boundaries, fuel curiosity, ignite the spirit, and nourish the soul.”
“I love music festivals and 4-nights in my backyard, with all these artists, is going to be incredible,” Senior journalism major Jean-Pierre Vasquez said.
Big Ears has gained international recognition with attendees coming from all around the world. The New York Times has even considered it to be “one of the world’s greatest music bashes”.
Ashley Capps, a member on the board of directors for the festival, has much to say about what to expect for this year. Capps has worked as a producer for Bonnaroo for seven years and decided it was time to launch a new project in a new city.
“It’s a gathering of some of the finest and most accomplished musicians on the planet,” Capps said. “From rock or alternative artists like Andrew Bird, to last year’s Grammy nominee for ‘Best New Artist’ Arooj Aftab, killer international bands from South America and Africa, like Meridian Brothers, and that’s just a small sampling.”
Capps’s company “AC entertainment” is responsible for both the Bijou Theater and the Tennessee Theater. The company is constantly looking for new ways to bring downtown Knoxville to life and is confident that Big Ears has done, and will continue to do just that.
“The germ of the idea was to bring past, present and future music history to our downtown community, and it has grown steadily year after year. The Festival has doubled in size every three years or so,” Capps said.
Since 2009, the festival has rocked Knoxville and all its inhabitants. Although there were a few years where Big Ears didn’t run due to unforeseen conflict, it remains on the rise to continue to grow.
“We took 2011-2013 off because we were busy with other projects elsewhere. It returned in 2014 and has been an annual event every year, except 2020 and 2021 when we were sidelined by COVID.” Capps said.
Big Ears is proud to show off Knoxville and all it has to offer during the festival. There is a tab on the website titled “Explore” which lists things to do, suggested places to stay, venues around Knoxville and what to see while you’re in town. The importance of showcasing Knoxville’s beauty is evident in the foundation of Big Ears and the music only helps to bring it to life.
“I think as a young person it’s exciting to see this type of entertainment brought to Knoxville,” senior Journalism major Garrett Wright said.
“I’m most excited for the entire experience,” Capps said. “I’m as excited about the music as anyone coming, but ultimately it’s the community that is created around the festival that makes it such an unforgettable experience. There’s nothing quite like it”.
Although the festival gets a large sum of investments and donations from local businesses, the non-profit is always accepting donations as well. Donations can be made on the website and certain amounts unlock exclusive access to the festival and a donor status.
