2024 Big Ears Festival in Knoxville, TN – March 22, 2024

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The following is a conversation between a middle-aged father and his 21-year old daughter overheard at on Friday, March 22, 204 at the 2024 Big Ears Festival:

Daughter: “I don’t mind free jazz, as long as it’s good.”

Father: “But all free jazz is good!”

This exchange reflects the attributes of typical Big Ears attendees: smart, playful, open to adventure, and a little obsessive about discovering new artists. Friday at Big Ears presented many opportunities to do so, while also revisiting old musical friends. My Big Ears Friday consisted of taking in nine different musical acts. I also visited the exhibition of Steve Keene’s work.

I bought a new Steve Keene! Dolly!

I plan on visiting the gallery further on Sunday, so stay tuned for more! The day also included two Thurston Moore sightings, one of which allowed me to confirm that Thurston Moore does not jaywalk. The rest of the highlights are shared below in an increasingly diaristic form.

Yasmin Williams
The Standard
Friday, March 22, 2024
12:00 PM – 1:15 PM
After stepping onstage and seeing the full house, Williams exclaimed, “Wow, this is cool!” She was impressed by the responsive audience and the feeling was mutual towards her consistently beautiful music. Presented on banjo and guitars — both holding upright or lying on her lap — William’s set showcased solo performances that were intricate, driving, and dreamy. At one point, Williams showed off a shiny, double-necked, Stairway to Heaven-style Gibson guitar, which she said she received after playfully daring the company to give her one. Williams shared that the guitar isn’t built to have both necks of the guitar played at the same time. Of course, she ignores that belief. The song she subsequently played with was grandly epic and stirring. Keyboardist Rich Ruth and guitar player William Tyler joined as Williams’ guests, playing both as duos and a trio, to present gorgeous and cosmic soundscapes.

Christian McBride & Edgar Meyer
St. John’s Cathedral
Friday, March 22, 2024
1:00 PM – 2:15 PM
One principle to follow while enjoying Big Ears is accepting that one is in the hands of a musical leader and allowing oneself to be led by them. Such is the case with two musical innovators as McBride and Meyer are both maestros of the bass. This duo performance seemed as much of a dance as a musical performance. They moved towards and away from each other throughout the performance, trading solos and bowing and picking in an ongoing musical conversation. Somehow the music reflected the setting of the old-world beauty of St. John’s Cathedral itself. 

Fred Frith & Ikue Mori
The Point
Friday, March 22, 2024
3:45 PM – 4:45 PM
This duo presented an improvisatory performance of chance operations with Frith playing an array of percussion instruments. Calling these items “instruments” normally would seem curious outside of Big Ears weekend, since Firth created sound from a range of different household items, auto parts, and other bric-à-brac that could be found in the dark part of one’s garage. No matter what kind of object, Firth showed off his ability to transform noises generated by a series of thrumming and clatter into musical expression. Meanwhile, Mori utilized her computer to process Frith’s sounds in real-time while also presenting washes and other effects to provide context for Frith’s prattle and noise-making. Sometimes, the two would match up and find a groove, allow it to happen, and then discard it after an unspoken yet still suitable amount of time. Listening to their steampunk soundscapes, I enjoyed the knowledge that the Friday pairing of Fred Frith and Ikue Mori was the only opportunity on this planet to hear this unique sound.

Hermanos Gutiérrez
Tennessee Theatre
Friday, March 22, 2024
4:30 PM – 5:45 PM
A few times in my past, I have been rightfully called-out for being a tad over-exerubient in my rush to share my excitement about the discovery of a new artist. I’ve even been known to wonder out loud, “Do you think they would want me as a manager?” Knowing that this would be highly unrealistic in so many ways, Hermanos Gutiérrez is the type of act that made me wonder if there was a way to volunteer for a band, similar to volunteering for a favorite politician’s political campaign. This is a long way of saying that I loved the music of Hermanos Gutiérrez! This pair of guitar players presented a tapestry of gorgeous grooves and spaghetti western soundtracks that evoked favorite memories set in a desert landscape. I will be visiting their Bandcamp page to purchase music for the drive home on Sunday night. 

André 3000: New Blue Sun Live
Bijou Theatre
Friday, March 22, 2024
5:30 PM – 7:00 PM
I admit to feeling a little trepidation going into the performance of New Blue Sun by André 3000 and company. Why was the André 3000 of Outkast fame into playing the flute? Big Ears also had a separate ticketing option to see this performance, so I wondered if all of it would be worth it. Andre answered those questions, by verbally sharing the backstory of his heavy connection to the flute. Any further questions were responded to by his mastery of the instrument. Live, the music is much heavier than on the album. Instrumentation complementing André 3000’s flute included keyboards, bass, and multiple percussion sounds, producing music that was stormy, blissful, meditative, intense, and as if you had stepped onto the spaceship from the end of Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The impressive lighting of the set played into the performance as André 3000 lit a piece of incense by holding it long enough in the laser that diagonally split the stage, all while he and the band played a monstrous sound. YOU READ THAT CORRECTLY; LASERS WERE USED. Afterwards, I wondered if I would be able to make it to the rest of Big Ears because André 3000 and the rest of the starship crew left me stranded on a planet on the Outer Rim of the galaxy. 

Brad Mehldau
Tennessee Theatre
Friday, March 22, 2024
7:00 PM – 8:30 PM
Mehldau’s offerings sounded straight out of the Great American Songbook, while also utilizing classical, jazz, and rock themes and riffs throughout his performance. One song even included a nod to “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.” After the song’s completion, he admitted to only remembering part of the melody as a way to explain the repetition of that passage. Nevertheless, Mehldau’s speed, dexterity, and problem-solving was demonstrated throughout the set. Like a great dribbler in soccer who is able to improvise through an ever-changing context of challenges, Mehldau resolves the restrictions and problems that are placed within the inherent structure of the song, and turns it inside-out. Plus, he played Neil Young’s “Old Man” and Jimi Hendrix’s version of “Hey Joe,” so that was pretty cool. 

Chocolate Genius, Inc.
Bijou Theatre
Friday, March 22, 2024
8:15 PM – 9:30 PM
It began raining at this point, so movement between venues became increasingly difficult to navigate without swearing out loud. Despite the weather adversity, the artistry on display at Big Ear remained excellent. Case in point, the musical vision of singer and songwriter Marc Anthony Thompson appearing as Chocolate Genius. Joined by other notable members of the 80s downtown New York scene such as guitar player Marc Ribot and keyboardist John Medeski, Thompson’s approach and delivery helped transformed these veterans of insurgent free jazz into the soul music of the Muscle Shoals Sound as well as shitty-kicking, roadhouse rock and roll. 

MAVI
The Standard
Friday, March 22, 2024
9:15 PM – 10:30 PM
By this time in the evening, thoroughly soaked and weary, I was fading fast, so my notetaking and observational skills weren’t quite as disciplined as earlier in the day. Soldering on, I took in MAVI’s generous hip-hop set filled with thoughtful, provocative and playful emotions.

Bitchin Bajas
Old City PAC
Friday, March 22, 2024
10:30 PM – 11:30 PM
There’s not much I can report from this last show of the day beyond saying these soundscapes were meditative, beautiful, and powerful.

See? Not much left in the tank at that point. We’ll fortify today and return back tomorrow to report on Saturday at the 2024 Big Ears Festival.  

Image courtesy of Eli Johnson.