big ears Archive

Festival Review: Big Ears Festival 2015, Part 2

Continued from Part One… Next, it was drone time. The minimalist work of the duo A Winged Victory for the Sullen (joined by three additional musicians) was delivered in the […]

Festival Review: Big Ears Festival 2015, Part 1

Typically, I don’t make a point of attending “kickoff events” at the start of music festivals. My thinking is that they’re generally an opportunity to spotlight the event sponsors and […]

Best of 2014: Concerts

One of the many pleasures associated with living in the small mountain city of Asheville NC is access to great live music. I grew up in the 70s and 80s […]

Festival Review: Big Ears 2014, Day 3 (Part Two)

The final set of performances we took in at Big Ears 2014 were all centered around the work of minimalist composer Steve Reich. It was all deeply thrilling, visceral, emotional […]

Festival Review: Big Ears 2014, Day 3 (Part One)

Dean and Britta I had already seen Dean Wareham and his wife/collaborator Britta Phillips on Day One of Big Ears 2014. But what was advertised for their Sunday performance – […]

Festival Review: Big Ears 2014, Day 2 (Part 2)

After getting (respectively) a headache and a power nap, my sweetheart and I headed back to the Tennessee Theatre, remarking all the while how well-thought-out Big Ears 2014 is as […]

Festival Review: Big Ears 2014, Day 2 (Part 1)

Marc Ribot (Again) The second day of Big Ears 2014 kicked off with a most unusual event: Marc Ribot seated in total darkness, armed with only a classical acoustic guitar. […]

Festival Review: Big Ears 2014, Day 1

Dean Wareham We arrived in Knoxville in plenty of time to grab front-row seats in the beautiful Tennessee Theatre. It certainly helped that attendance for Wareham’s set was light (the […]

Preview: Big Ears 2014

There’s little doubt that AC Entertainment are some serious heavy hitters when it comes to the organization and execution of festivals. While the long-running Bonnaroo is the biggest and best […]