Led Zeppelin bassist and legendary jazz pianist top Big Ears Festival lineup

Following two years of considerable growth, Big Ears Festival is taking time to improve the existing experience with a diverse 2024 lineup topped by jazz pianist Herbie Hancock, multimedia artist Laurie Anderson and Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones.

The downtown Knoxville festival has doubled its attendance since 2019, founder Ashley Capps told Knox News, and organizers will be using last year’s number as a barometer: 8,000 attendees per day.

“It’s never been an objective to be in continual growth mode,” Capps said. “This year, we’ve decided to really stay in that space. … It’s a great footprint, and we also want to take a moment to nurture that particular experience – that character of the festival.”

But describing the character of Big Ears is like trying to describe a Picasso. Yes, it has familiar features, following an urban festival format that places artists on a variety of downtown’s most notable stages. But the colorful details – rather, the unique performances – are often once-in-a-lifetime experiences that can’t be replicated, earning the festival a reputation as one of the most uniquely programmed musical exhibitions in the world.

The internationally attended festival returns March 21-24, and tickets go on sale 9 a.m. Sept. 14.

Here are some additional highlights from the lineup, which is available in its entirety below and at bigearsfestival.org: Adrianne Lenker, Charles Lloyd, Digable Planets, Henry Threadgill Retrospective, King Britt presents Blacktronika, Kurt Vile & The Violators and Rhiannon Giddens in residence.

Big Ears also will celebrate the 70th birthday of Marc Ribot and the 60th anniversary of Nonesuch Records.

Changes to 2024 Big Ears Festival in downtown Knoxville

The 2024 festival will not have an outdoor venue, Capps said. In recent years, Southern Railway Station has hosted free performances, but the weather is just too hard to predict.

As a nonprofit, the festival is planning for other ways to bring Big Ears to the community.

Another major difference: The lineup is almost 100% finalized.

"Because of the way the festival's grown, I've been able to book the festival earlier than ever before," Capps said. "I'm not going to have to be in booking mode beyond this point. It will give us a lot of opportunities to focus on other facets of what Big Ears is all about."

Big Ears Festival lineup for 2024

Longtime attendees probably notice a handful of musicians from recent lineups who have played Big Ears before.

"The depth and breadth of their work − and its embrace of Big Ears’ own dynamic vision − sometimes serves to provide a thread of continuity running through the festival year after year and serves to shape the festival’s identity as well," Capps said via email. "However, I don’t think we have ever actually repeated a program from past years; there’s always a fresh, new dimension every performance."

This year, like most years, between 75% and 80% of artists on the lineup have never performed at Big Ears.

Here's the full lineup:

• Adrianne Lenker

• Aja Monet

• Angelic Brothers (John Medeski and Kirk Knuffke)

• Anna Webber and Matt Mitchell

• Aoife O’Donovan

• Armand Hammer

• Ash Fure: ANIMAL

• Beth Orton

• Billy Woods

• Bitchin Bajas

• Brad Mehldau

• Brandon Coleman

• Brandon Ross Phantom Station

• Carl Craig

• Cedric Burnside

• Charles Lloyd Quartet

• Charlie Dark MBE

• Chocolate Genius, Inc.

• Christian McBride

• Claire Rousay

• Colin Stetson

• Colleen

• Colloboh

• Computer Jay

• Cyro Baptista

• Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society

• Dave Holland Quartet

• David Virelles

• Davóne Tines

• Dibia$e

• Digable Planets

• DJ Heather

• Dragonchild x Sunken Cages

• Drawing Sound (Fred Frith Trio with Heike Liss and Susana Santos Silvia)

• Edgar Meyer

• Elliott Sharp & Eric

• Mingus: Songs From a Rogue State

• Elsa M’Bala

• Eyvind Kang and Jessika Kenney

• Fatoumata

• Diawara

• Faun Fables

• FlySiifu

• Fred Frith (solo)

• Fred Frith and Ikue Mori

• Gustavo Santaolalla

• Hatis Noit

• Helen Gillet

• Henry Threadgill, Vijay Iyer and Dafnis Prieto

• Henry Threadgill’s ZOOID

• Herbie Hancock

• Hermanos Gutiérre

• Hooray for the Riff Raff

• Horse Lords

• Jake Blount

• James Brandon Lewis

• Jason Moran and the Harlem Hellfighters

• JG Thirlwell + Ensemble

• Jlin

• Joan Shelley

• Joanna Sternberg

• Julian Lage

• Kassa Overall

• King Britt

• KMRU

• Knoxville Symphony Orchestra

• Kokoroko

• Kurt Vile and the Violators

• Laurie Anderson

• Low Leaf

• Make A Move

• Marc Ribot’s Ceramic Dog

• Mary Halvorson

• MAVI

• The Messthetics

• Molly Lewis

• Molly Tuttle and Golden Highway

• Mr. Sun

• Myra

• Melford’s Fire and Water

• Nik Bärtsch’s RONIN

• Rhiannon Giddens

• Ringdown (Caroline Shaw and Danni Lee)

• Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe

• Robin Holcomb

• Roc Marciano

• Sam Amidon

• Samora Pinderhughes

• Secret Chiefs 3

• Sexmob

• Shabaka Hutchings

• Sleepytime Gorilla Museum

• Sofía Rei and Jorge Roeder

• Son Rompe Pera

• Sons of Chipotle (John Paul Jones and Anssi Karttunen)

• Suzi Analogue

• Third Coast Percussion

• Titan to Tachyons

• Tomeka Reid Quartet

• Tord Gustavsen Trio

• Tredici Bacci

• Trevor Dunn’s Trio-Convulsant

• Trio Mediæval

• Tyondai Braxton

• Unwound

• Very Very Circus

• Void Patrol

• Wayne Horvitz Gravitas Quartet

• Yvette Janine Jackson

• Yasmin Williams

• Zsela

Downtown Knoxville businesses prep for busy weekend

Capps repeats the same message each year, and it still holds true: While Big Ears brings the world to Knoxville, the festival also showcases Knoxville to the world.

The 2022 event had a $36.1 million impact on the Knoxville economy, according to outside analysts, and attracted visitors from 47 states and 16 countries. More than 72% of people came from out of town in 2022 and on average spent more than four nights in the Knoxville area.

Not only is Big Ears Festival one of the biggest musical weekends of the year, it's also one of the most beneficial to downtown businesses.

"The economic impact that the festival has is a wonderful thing; it's not why we do the festival," Capps previously told Knox News. "There were literally dozens of concerts, there was a parade – a lot of free activity that I feel like is integral to the character and the experience of the festival as a whole. ... And the Big Ears Festival will continue to be an extraordinary part of what Knoxville has to offer to the world."

Ryan Wilusz is a downtown growth and development reporter. Phone 865-317-5138. Email ryan.wilusz@knoxnews.com. Instagram @knoxscruff. 

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Big Ears Festival 2024 lineup led by Herbie Hancock, John Paul Jones