Big Ears: Conversations About Music

At Big Ears 2026, legendary producer  Joe Boyd  sat down with Big Ears & Bonnaroo founder Ashley Capps and filmmaker Robert Gordon for a conversation around festival culture, prompted by Gordon’s documentary  Newport and the Great Folk Dream , which centers on the night Bob Dylan went electric at Newport in 1965.   Boyd, who was production manager at Newport that summer at age 22, offers a fir...

In this episode of  Big Ears: Conversations About Music , Big Ears founder  Ashley Capps  sits down with saxophonist, composer, and producer  Josh Johnson  to explore his inspired guest curation for this year’s festival.  Josh and Ashley dig into their feelings on context, discovery and the irreplaceable human element of curation. They discuss the constellation of creative artists Johnson describe...

Flutist and taiko drummer Kaoru Watanabe discusses Bloodlines Interwoven , a multi-year project exploring heritage, immigration, and diaspora through music and storytelling. The son of Japanese immigrants and symphonic musicians, Watanabe’s path has included formative time on a remote Japanese island, years touring with the taiko ensemble Kodo, and collaborations with Yo-Yo Ma, Laurie Anderson, Ja...

Today we have an incredibly rare interview with NEA Jazz Master Pat Metheny , who appears for the first time ever at Big Ears 2026 with his Side-Eye project. One of the most prolific and influential guitarists, bandleaders and composers, Metheny has spent the last 50 years making music with the likes of Gary Burton, Ornette Coleman, Chick Corea, Joni Mitchell, David Bowie, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Jo...

Guitar legend Marc Ribot in dialogue with guest host, cultural critic Larry Blumenfeld (WSJ, The Nation). A true original, Ribot has always gone his own way, recording over two dozen records as a leader, while appearing on an estimated 600 or so albums by others - from Tom Waits’ singular Rain Dogs to Alison Krauss & Robert Plant’s Raising Sand; plus the likes of Elvis Costello, Henry Grimes, John...

In this special edition of  Big Ears: Conversations About Music , four deeply engaged listeners - Ayana Contreras, Piotr Orlov, Liz Pelly,  and  Steve Smith  - survey the sounds that moved them in 2025—offering a preview of just a few of the highlights in store for Big Ears 2026. The conversation encompasses a fiercely prolific Downtown innovator ( John Zorn ), a wide embrace of the contemporary c...

On this episode of  Big Ears: Conversations About Music , journalist and author  Marcus J. Moore  sits down with the formidable LA-based saxophonist, composer and producer  Josh Johnson , a ubiquitous presence in today’s jazz scene. Big Ears' Ashley Capps was so taken by Johnson’s many performances at Big Ears 2025 that he asked him to curate a series of seven concerts at our 2026 festival. He’ll...

Wild Up makes their Big Ears debut as one of the most innovative forces in contemporary music. Led by artistic director Christopher Rountree , the Los Angeles-based ensemble has spent more than a decade reshaping the possibilities of classical performance—merging composed and improvised music, conceptual art, minimalism, and audience-focused experimentation. Violinist-vocalist Darian Donovan Thoma...

In this episode, journalist and author Liz Pelly ( Mood Machine: The Rise of Spotify and the Costs of the Perfect Playlist ) brings together two singular songwriters — Hayden Pedigo and S.G. Goodman — for a candid exploration of songwriting, place, and authenticity. From the wide-open stillness of West Texas, where Pegido draws inspiration from Sacred Harp singing and the power of silence, to Kent...

Journalist  Piotr Orlov  (of Dada Strain) speaks with  Brian Carpenter  of  Ghost Train Orchestra  and collaborator  Joan Wasser  (a.k.a.  Joan As Police Woman)  about interpreting the works of  Moondog —the blind composer, poet, and New York street icon whose rhythmic inventions, unforgettable melodies, and striking persona (not to mention an iconic Viking costume) made him an underground legend...

Composer, vocalist, and project-maker Lisa Bielawa joins renowned classical and new music journalist Steve Smith to discuss her extraordinary Broadcast works, with a spotlight on Knoxville Broadcast , a large-scale site-specific “spatial symphony” commissioned by Big Ears Festival. The project gathers Appalachian musicians, choirs, orchestras, and community ensembles who gradually expand outward i...

Two time GRAMMY winner, vocalist and MacArthur Fellow  Cécile McLorin Salvant  joins critic Natalie Weiner to unpack what it means to be called a jazz singer. Salvant reflects on her musical upbringing in both classical and jazz traditions, contrasting the discipline of one with the freedom of the other. She also shares her excitement about moving beyond "jazz," previewing her brand new...

Big Ears Festival founder Ashley Capps joins NPR Music critic Ann Powers (a longtime friend of the festival and fellow Tennessee resident) to discuss the recent unveiling of the 2026 festival lineup. From legends like David Byrne , Laurie Anderson , John Zorn and Pat Metheny to trailblazers like  Flying Lotus , Marc Ribot , Wild Up , and Hania Rani , along with a smorgasbord of today’s most compel...

Hear a panel discussion from Big Ears 2025 titled 1965: Sound, Fire & Revolution, where guitarist Nels Cline , bassist Melvin Gibbs , and drummer Chad Taylor , join critic and author Nate Chinen to reflect on a landmark year in music and culture. 1965 gave us works like A Love Supreme , Complete Communion , and Fire Music —that reshaped jazz and echoed broader upheaval. Sixty years later, thes...

Hear a deep and searching live conversation from Big Ears 2025 between NPR Music critic and author  Ann Powers  and three remarkable artists whose practices reach far beyond the boundaries of genre — vocalist, double bassist and composer  ganavya , multi-instrumentalist and scene-connector  Carlos Niño,  and British poet, saxophonist and troubadour  Alabaster DePlume .  In this wide-ranging interv...

At our 2025 festival, NPR critic and author Ann Powers sat down with legendary producer and music historian Joe Boyd for a wide-ranging conversation about his life in music. Boyd reflects on his recently published opus The Roots of Rhythm Remain , and a life at the intersection of sound and history in this intimate and revealing podcast episode.

On this episode, we listen in on a rare exchange between Charles Lloyd — the legendary saxophonist, bandleader, composer, and NEA Jazz Master — and Don Was — President of Blue Note Records — recorded live at the Blue Note Lounge in Jackson Terminal during Big Ears 2025.

Three sharp-eared critics who attended Big Ears 2025—Bill Pearis (BrooklynVegan), Jennie Punter (Musicworks Magazine), and Natalie Weiner (Don't Rock the Inbox)—gather to reflect on the vast sonic and interdisciplinary arts landscape they encountered. From singular encounters to shared moments of awe, they explore the music, the food and the spirit of Knoxville. This talk reveals how Big Ears offe...

Get ready for Big Ears 2025 with this special roundtable featuring Nate Chinen, Ann Powers, Marcus J. Moore, and Ashley Kahn. Our panel of top critics shares favorite moments, past surprises, must-see picks, and even culinary highlights. Whether you’re a first-timer or a seasoned veteran, this lively, insightful conversation is the perfect aperitif to kick off your festival week with the spirit an...

Critic and author Nate Chinen speaks with banjo trailblazer Béla Fleck about Big Ears' place in the music scene, his early days in New Grass Revival, taking the leap into new projects, the "ancient tones" of bluegrass and even Charlie Parker. Fleck also picks some of his must-see artists on the Big Ears 2025 lineup. You just might be surprised!

Journalist and music critic Larry Blumenfeld (Wall Street Journal, Chamber Music Magazine) sits down with legendary trumpeter and composer Wadada Leo Smith and genre-defying composer Tyshawn Sorey. The discussion delves into the deep connections between sound and silence, the evolution of “creative music,” and the social and political impact of their work. Smith reflects on his early influences, h...

Music critic and author Ann Powers (NPR Music) sits down with singer-songwriter Cassandra Jenkins, who appears at Big Ears 2025, for an intimate conversation on storytelling through sound, the interplay of nature and technology in music, and the creative process behind  My Light, My Destroyer . A deep dive into sonic intimacy, collaboration, and the art of drawing from life — Jenkins even shares t...

For the second episode of Big Ears: Conversations About Music , we convened a group of three writers (Vanessa Ague, Grayson Currin, Peter Margasak) and one broadcaster (J. Greg Bryant) to discuss some creative triumphs of 2024 and what they're looking forward to in 2025, both at Big Ears and beyond.

For the first episode of Big Ears: Conversations About Music , critic Nate Chinen speaks with Big Ears co-founder Ashley Capps to talk about the history of the festival and Ashley's own history as a listener, radio host, and presenter. We'll also hear from three musicians who are intimately familiar with the vibe of Big Ears: banjoist Béla Fleck, guitarist Bill Frisell, and electronics artist Yuka...

Big Ears: Conversations About Music is a podcast that brings together cutting-edge musicians, journalists, and community leaders in discussions about the creative process, collaboration, and the transformative power of music. Big Ears: Conversations About Music will offer one-on-one talks between artists, roundtables and interactions with fans offering a behind-the-scenes look at the stories and c...