Big Ears Festival has announced their 2027 edition, taking place on April 1 – 4, 2027, in downtown Knoxville, TN. The annual event will take over two dozen venues throughout the 4-day weekend.

This year’s festival includes, violinist Jennifer Koh, pianist Ursula Oppens and cellist Maya Beiser; jazz artists, including Brad Mehldau and Bill Frisell to David Murray, Robert Glasper and Chucho Valdés; singer/songwriters Norah Jones, Jeff Tweedy, Natalie Merchant, Nathaniel Rateliff, Rosanne Cash, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings; electronic pioneers Oneohtrix Point Never, Mouse on Mars, Tyondai Braxton, and Tristan Perich; exciting critically acclaimed indie artists like Wednesday, Weyes Blood, Kevin Morby, and U.S. Girls; international legends like Gustavo Santaolalla, Yasuaki Shimizu, and Midori Takada; and newer voices like Yilian Canizares, Fabiano do Nascimento, Tim Bernardes, and El Khat; and sonic explorers like Kali Malone, Pamela Z, and Valentina Magaletti.

Other highlights from the festival include:

The Bang On A Can All-Stars will present six concerts, including Philip Glass’ Glassworks, Steve Reich’s masterpiece Music for 18 Musicians, and Ryuichi Sakamoto’s 1996.

The Big Star Quintet – featuring Jon Auer, Mike Mills, Pat Sansone, Chris Stamey, and Jody Stephens – brings the spirit of the legendary Memphis band to life.

Trio of Bloom – brought together for a very special Pyroclastic Records release, the trio of guitarist Nels Cline, keyboardist Craig Taborn, and drummer Marcus Gilmore will perform in concert for the first time.

Evan Ziporyn and Maya Beiser perform the dazzling symphonic reimagining of David Bowie’s final work, Blackstar, with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra.

Argentine composer, producer, musician Gustavo Santaolalla – winner of numerous Grammy Awards as well as Academy Awards for his celebrated soundtrack work – will present his stunning 1998 Nonesuch Recording, Ronroco, in concert.

Penguin Cafe – Arthur Jeffes’ group in tribute to his late father Simon Jeffes’ legendary Penguin Cafe Orchestra (whose debut record was released 50 years ago via Brian Eno’s Obscure label) — brings new compositions as well as that of the original group’s to Big Ears.

Building on its 8-hour-long Big Ears debut last year, Ragamala (A Garland of Ragas) will expand to 12 hours this year, a sequence of concerts featuring legends and masters of Indian classical traditions.

Melvin Gibbs’s will bring his, How Black Music Took Over the World, to life with a series of curated events, including a celebration of the Gullah Geechee traditions of the Georgia Sea Islands and South Carolina’s Low Country – that will also include performances by the Grammy-winning Charleston band, Ranky Tanky.

Singer Petra Haden returns to reimagine the music of King Crimson for acapella voices / choir.

Order early bird tickets for Big Ears 2027 HERE