Missed Big Ears Festival? See the downtown event's most memorable moments

Another Big Ears Festival is in the books, and the experience was as stimulating as ever.

The adventurously programmed festival in downtown Knoxville, Tennessee, was again attended by music fans from far and wide who share a common craving for an unparalleled listening and cultural experience.

With Knoxville venues on display for the world to see, the sonic experience delivered diverse doses of musical moments captured in time by Knox News.

Continue scrolling through the photographs and read their captions to experience Big Ears Festival, held March 30 through April 2.

The math seems off. How could a festival founded in 2009 be celebrating 10 years in 2023? At a welcoming ceremony held at the Knoxville Museum of Art, founder Ashley Capps shared a part of Big Ears Festival history. Most recently, the downtown Knoxville event took two years off in 2020 and 2021 due to challenges caused by COVID-19. Another three years were taken off between 2011 and 2013 until the festival was reorganized with the help of local partners who understood the deep cultural value offered by an event of this magnitude and diversity. "This is our 14th anniversary, I guess you might say, but it's the 10th festival. So, we're calling it 10 years," Capps said. "The festival, in many ways, started in this very room. ... I have to pinch myself sometimes to think about how from that very small first year, how the festival has continued to grow and gain momentum year after year after year − very organically, very steadily and, since COVID, very, very quickly. It's been quite an exciting wave to ride."

Big Ears Festival takes place across 18 venues in downtown Knoxville, from cathedrals to theaters to the Mill & Mine, pictured here. One of the beauties of Big Ears is not just the quality of these venues but their proximity to each other. Attendees are able to pop in and out of performances with ease, making the festival more of an exhibition where music lovers can choose their own adventure. Don't feel like using a ride share? Knoxville offers free parking on weekends and after 6 p.m. The city also has a free downtown trolley, which was expanded and ran every 15 minutes during the festival to connect all the downtown venues.

Knoxville native Adeem the Artist has been riding their own wave since "White Trash Revelry" began appearing on "best-of" lists by Rolling Stone and Billboard. Their music has been praised by Brandi Carlile, a queer country musician in her own right, while artists including Jason Isbell, Josh Ritter, American Aquarium and fellow Big Ears Festival artist the Mountain Goats have invited them to open at their respective shows. Adeem took the Mill & Mine stage wearing a dress March 30, the same day a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order against Tennessee's impending "drag ban." Adeem addressed the issue during their set March 31 at Southern Railway Station, noting that the previous night's attire was not a political statement. "I just like to wear dresses," they said. "I believe that things will get better because we're here. I love being trans. I love being trans because what I mean when I say I'm trans is that I am myself. Nothing else. Trans is the word that somebody else gave me to differentiate myself from them. I didn't come up with that. I'm just Adeem."

Even though Talking Heads founder David Byrne was not booked for a musical set, his talk at the Tennessee Theatre on March 31 was one of the most-anticipated performances of the weekend. That's according to the Big Ears Festival app, which regularly alerted attendees throughout the weekend of at-capacity venues and secret shows. The focus of the talk: "Reasons to be Cheerful," Byrne's nonprofit online magazine whose focus is on "smart, proven, replicable solutions to the world's most pressing problems," according to its website. "We want to make sure (our stories) are not unique to a specific person, place or culture" Byrne said at Big Ears. "We don't want to write about something that could only happen in this one village or town or city or whatever. The unspoken idea is the things that we write about will, maybe − this is the dream − that maybe somebody will read about it and say, 'Oh, we should do that in my town.'"

One of the biggest changes at Big Ears Festival 2023 was the addition of Knoxville Civic Auditorium as a venue. Typically, the more popular acts perform at the largest, most notable venue. In previous years, that was the Tennessee Theatre, with a capacity of roughly 1,600 people. But Andrew Bird took the Knoxville Civic Auditorium stage on March 31 in front of 2,500 seats − mostly full − with a violin in hand, a revolving gramophone and an entrancing light show. Improvisation and collaboration are among the cornerstones of Big Ears Festival, and Bird continued the long tradition of working with other artists on the festival bill. Bird performed "Left Handed Kisses," recorded with Fiona Apple, during his captivating set. While Fiona Apple was not in attendance, he invited to the stage Sam Beam, whose Iron & Wine set took place at the auditorium earlier in the day. Similarly, Beam had invited Joey Burns of Calexico to the stage during his performance.

While standing in line to enter venues, it's hard not to notice the conversations among attendees − people from all over the world who regularly repeat the belief that Big Ears Festival is one of the most uniquely programed musical events in the country. Tank and the Bangas, a New Orleans hip-hop, soul and funk collective, graced the same Mill & Mine stage as bluegrass mandolist Sierra Hull and Italian electronic composer Caterina Barbieri, among others, throughout the weekend. Tank and the Bangas, who rose to stardom by winning the 2017 NPR Tiny Desk competition, made their return to Knoxville for Big Ears after performing at the final Rhythm N' Blooms festival held downtown in 2019. The group also performed a stripped-down Big Ears set at Jackson Terminal, which served as festival headquarters and offered free performances open to the public throughout the weekend.

The price of a $400 ticket breaks down to $100 a day, which is right in line with the price of a single ticket to a single touring show. But Big Ears has made a point to offer free programming for locals and those who can’t afford that price, expanding the exposure of arts in downtown Knoxville. Los Lobos was among the bands on the festival bill that also played a free set at Southern Railway Station, the stopping point for the Big Ears Parade — also free. “We have so many wonderful artists with us this weekend, and already planning is going into 2024,” Capps said March 30. “During COVID, we had a moment to pause and really think about what we were doing and why we were doing it. And It was during that time that our relationships in the community and the importance of those relationships really came into focus. … That is really what keeps me going at this particular point.”

While Big Ears is known for hosting musicians who are masters of their craft, the festival also has a reputation for what some might generally call “weirdness” — though, often, those descriptors go hand in hand. Prime example: Shara Nova, who performed as My Brightest Diamond at The Point church March 30. The performance began as Nova walked in wearing a Britney Spears shirt and mask while towing a trunk of costumes. She enticed the crowd to laugh and cry in unison, even offering a box of tissues for those who played along. Changing costumes between nearly every song — a raincoat, a bikini shirt and a disco ball hat — she sang over prerecorded songs and offered goodies in the form of sheep masks and rainbows. This performance represents the essence of Big Ears Festival, where outside-the-norm artistry is profoundly celebrated.

Big Ears Festival 2022 experienced record attendance and had a $36.1 million impact on the Knoxville economy. The 2022 event was the first sell-out festival that wasn't canceled, with 5,000 ticket attendees each day – roughly 2,000 more per day than 2019 when people from 48 states and 22 countries visited Knoxville for the weekend. Festival organizers said prior to the 2023 event that sales were outpacing last year, and we’ll soon have a breakdown of attendance. In the meantime, one thing is for certain: “I like to tell people that we bring the world to Knoxville, but we showcase Knoxville to the world,” Capps said.

Knox News photo journalist Caitie McMekin contributed to this photo story.

Ryan Wilusz is a downtown growth and development reporter. Phone 865-317-5138. Email ryan.wilusz@knoxnews.com. Instagram @knoxscruff. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Big Ears Festival photos from musical acts in downtown Knoxville