Nestled in Knoxville’s intimate and historic downtown, festival goers are offered nearly 200 performances during the festival—at restored historic theaters, soaring churches, refurbished warehouse spaces, museums, galleries, and clubs—with pop-up events and performances, exhibitions, films, literary readings, workshops, markets and talks taking place in cafes, bars, hotels, restaurants, in alleyways and other nooks and crannies of the city. The festival experience is full of surprises.

A festival pass offers access to all publicly announced performances—enabling festival goers to not only see familiar artists that they know and love, but also to explore the music of artists with whom they are not already familiar.

Big Ears presents extraordinary performances and arts experiences to connect more than 40,000 locals and visitors of all ages throughout the Knoxville community each year.

Founded in 2009, the Big Ears Festival is the flagship event of our organization. It explores the influences that inspire and connect musicians and artists, crossing the boundaries of musical genres as well as artistic disciplines. Every spring, Big Ears presents nearly 200 concerts, talks, workshops, film screenings, residencies, and more in over a dozen venues across downtown Knoxville. With a program budget of $3.5 million and a local annual economic impact of $68.9 million, the Big Ears Festival is one of the highest-profile arts events in the Southeastern U.S., garnering regular national media coverage, hosting numerous world premiere performances, and helping to define the cultural character of the region for many across the country.

Performing will be:

Lonnie Holley was born on February 10, 1950 in Birmingham, Alabama. From the age of five, Holley worked various jobs: picking up trash at a drive-in movie theatre, washing dishes, and cooking. He lived in a whiskey house, on the state fairgrounds, and in several foster homes. His early life was chaotic and Holley was never afforded the pleasure of a real childhood.

Since 1979, Holley has devoted his life to the practice of improvisational creativity. His art and music, born out of struggle, hardship, but perhaps more importantly, out of furious curiosity and biological necessity, has manifested itself in drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, performance, and sound. Holley’s sculptures are constructed from found materials in the oldest tradition of African American sculpture. Objects, already imbued with cultural and artistic metaphor, are combined into narrative sculptures that commemorate places, people, and events. His work is now in collections of major museums throughout the country, on permanent display in the United Nations, and been displayed in the White House Rose Garden. In January of 2014, Holley completed a one-month artist-in-residence with the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation in Captiva Island, Florida, site of the acclaimed artist’s studio.

Lee Bains will also join us this day!