This sounds like a fun fest. Press release:
KNOXVILLE, TN The second Big Ears Festival in Knoxville, Tennessee, during the weekend of March 26 28, 2010, continues to expand with Sufjan Stevens, Adrian Belew, William Basinski, Liturgy, Konk Pack, Abe Vigoda, and Ches Smith now slated to join the lineup.
In addition the festival has unveiled some of the unique and rare performances to be experienced this year.
Sufjan Stevens along with Matt Berninger and Aaron Dessner of The National and Shara Warden (My Brightest Diamond) will be joining Clogs in their performance of the new song cycle The Creatures in the Garden of Lady Walton. Big Ears 2010 will feature the only live performance of the piece currently scheduled with all of the guest vocalists from the recording, which is slated to be released in early March.
Electronic ambient composer Tim Hecker will be collaborating for the first time with composer/performer Ben Frost, each of whom will also be performing separately during the weekend.
The Bang on a Can All-Stars will perform a program of pieces written for them by the Dirty Projector¹s Dave Longstreth and Thurston Moore as well as Michael Gordon and Evan Ziporyn.
In addition, Bang on a Can will perform Brian Eno’s Music for Airports in a special show with The Books and Tim Hecker. Rock guitar legend Adrian Belew (Frank Zappa, David Bowie, Talking Heads, King Crimson) will introduce his new solo work during the festival.
The Big Ears Festival also marks a couple of other exciting firsts:
It will be the first time the Dutch punk anarchists The Ex have ever performed south of the Mason Dixon line in their 30-year historyŠand the festival finale will feature the long-awaited return of The National, who will debut new material from their much anticipated new album to be released in May.
The full schedule of concerts will be announced today, Wednesday, February 17, and tickets for the new shows will go on sale Friday, February 19, at 10 a.m. Tickets are already on sale for many of the major concert events of the weekend, and a limited number of Inner Ear all access weekend festival passes are still available as well.
Tickets are available through www.bigearsfestival.com or by calling 865-684-1200 ext. 2 between the hours of 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern.