Knoxville festival Big Ears has announced some exciting lineup additions to their 2025 edition. Chief among them is Portishead‘s Beth Gibbons, who released her fantastic debut solo album earlier this year. This is her first announced North American solo date (she only did a handful of UK/EU shows this past summer), and no word on whether she will play others while here. For those keeping score, Beak>, which includes Geoff Barrow, were already announced for the festival — now if Big Ears can just book Adrian Utley‘s jazz group 137, we’ll have all three Portishead members there.
Also added to the 2025 lineup: Julien Baker & TORRES (who have a collab album on the way), Edsel Axle, Eiko Ishibashi, Swamp Dogg, Wayne White’s Username Password, more eaze, Thor Harris, Darian Donovan Thomas, and Lia Kohl.
Other recent Big Ears 2025 additions include William Tyler, Laraaji, Tucker Zimmerman, Merce Lemon, Mivos Quartet, Wendy Eisenberg, Arushi Jain, Carlos Niño & Friends Salons, ganavya, Kramer, One Leg One Eye, Tall Tall Trees, and Carla Kihlstedt & Present Music.
Big Ears happens March 27-30 at venues all over downtown Knoxville and the lineup also includes previously announced acts ANOHNI and the Johnsons, Waxahatchee, Yo La Tengo & Sun Ra Arkestra (playing together and separately), Jessica Pratt, Lankum, Explosions in the Sky, Tindersticks, Alabaster DePlume, Cassandra Jenkins, Dawn Richard & Spencer Zahn, Helado Negro, Julia Holter, Meshell Ndegeocello, Béla Fleck, Bill Frisell, Tortoise, Mabe Fratti, ML Buch, Rufus Wainwright, Arooj Aftab, Carlos Niño & Friends, Joan as Police Woman, Les Claypool’s Bastard Jazz, Marissa Nadler, Still House Plants, Michael Hurley, múm, Rachika Nayar, Taj Mahal, Vijay Iyer & Wadada Leo Smith, and more.
Festival passes are on sale now; single day passes and lineups will be available on December 3. More artists are still to be announced but check out the full Big Ears 2025 lineup as it stands below.
BIG EARS 2025 LINEUP
Adam Rudolph’s Sunrise Quartet
Adam Rudolph’s Hu Vibrational
[Ahmed]
Alabaster DePlume
Alan Sparhawk
Allison de Groot & Tatiana Hargreaves
Amaro Freitas
Ambrose Akinmusire: Honey from a Winter Stone
Ambrose Akinmusure (Solo)
ANOHNI and the Johnsons
Anoushka Shankar
Antipop Consortium
Arooj Aftab
Arushi Jain
Asha Puthli
Astrid Sonne
Axiom 5
Barry Altschul’s 3 Dom Factor
Beak>
Béla Fleck, Edmar Castañeda, Antonio Sánchez Trio
Beth Gibbons
Bia Ferreira
Bill Frisell: In My Dreams
Brìghde Chaimbeul
Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino
Carla Kihlstedt & Present Music: Into the Wild
Carlos Niño & Friends
Cassandra Jenkins
Chanel Beads
Chuck Johnson
Claire Chase
Clarice Jensen
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Cowboy Sadness
DakhaBrakha
Dan Weiss Even Odds Trio
Darian Donovan Thomas
David Grubbs
Dawn Richard & Spencer Zahn
Dedicated Men of Zion
Edsel Axle
Eiko Ishibashi
EMEL
esperanza spalding
eucademix (Yuka Honda)
Explosions In The Sky
Fay Victor: Herbie Nichols SUNG
Fieldwork (Vijay Iyer / Steve Lehman / Tyshawn Sorey)
Flore Laurentienne
Free Form Funky Freqs (Jamaaladeen Tacuma / Vernon Reid / Calvin Weston)
ganavya
Helado Negro
Ibelisse Guardia Ferragutti & Frank Rosaly MESTIZX
Immanuel Wilkins’ Blues Blood
Jeff Parker ETA IVtet
Jenny Scheinman: All Species Parade
Jessica Pratt
Joan as Police Woman
Joe Lovano’s Paramount Quartet with Julian Lage, Santi Debriano, and Will Calhoun
Joel Harrison’s Free Country
Joseph Keckler
Josh Johnson
Joy Guidry: AMEN
Jules Reidy
Julia Holter
June McDoom
Kahil El’Zabar Ethnic Heritage Ensemble
Kalia Vandever
Kelly Moran
Knoxville Opera Gospel Choir
Kokayi
Kramer
Kris Davis Trio featuring Robert Hurst & Jonathan Blake
Lankum
Lara Somogyi
Laraaji
Les Claypool’s Bastard Jazz
Lia Kohl
Luke Stewart Silt Trio
Mabe Fratti
Macie Stewart
Magic Tuber Stringband
Maria Chavez + Victoria Shen + Mariam Rezaei
Marisa Anderson
Marissa Nadler
Mark Guiliana
Maruja
Mary Lattimore
Merce Lemon
Meshell Ndegeocello: No More Water – The Gospel of James Baldwin
Michael Hurley
Mike Reed’s Separatist Party featuring Ben LaMar Gay, Bitchin Bajas & Marvin Tate
Mivos Quartet
ML Buch
Modney
more eaze
múm
Nanocluster (Immersion | SUSS)
Nels Cline: Concentrik Quartet
The Nels Cline Singers
One Leg One Eye
Peni Candra Rini
Phantom Orchard
Phil Cook
R.B. Morris & William Wright: The Mockingbird
Rachika Nayar
Rich Ruth
Rufus Wainwright
Sam Bush Band
Shelley Hirsch
SML
Squanderers
Steve Coleman and Five Elements
Steve Lehman Trio + Mark Turner: The Music of Anthony Braxton
Steven Schick
Steve Roach
Still House Plants
Sun Ra Arkestra
Sun Ra Arkestra & Yo La Tengo
Sunny War
Susan Alcorn
Swamp Dogg
Sylvie Courvoisier Chimaera
Tall Tall Trees
Taj Mahal
Tara Clerkin Trio
Tarta Relena
Tessa Lark, Joshua Roman & Edgar Meyer
Thor Harris
Tigran Hamasyan: The Bird of a Thousand Voices
Tilt
Tindersticks
Tortoise
Tucker Zimmerman
Tyshawn Sorey, King Britt & Friends featuring Melz & Meshell Ndegeocello
Tyshawn Sorey Trio
Vijay Iyer & Wadada Leo Smith
Water Damage
Wayne White’s Username Password
Waxahatchee
Wendy Eisenberg
William Basinski
William Tyler
Yaya Bey
Yo La Tengo
Zakir Hussain and Masters of Percussion
Zeena Parkins
Special Programming (Alphabetical)
Across the Horizon: Ambient & Americana Soundscapes
Curated by Bob Holmes & SUSS
Blacktronika: Afrofuturism in Electronic Music
Curated by King Britt
Jonny Greenwood’s 133 Years of Reverb (North American Premiere)
Performed by James McVinnie & Eliza McCarthy
Kate Soper’s Ipsa Dixit
Performed by Wet Ink Ensemble
Michael Rother: The Music of NEU! & Harmonia
Philip Glass Music in Twelve Parts (50th Anniversary)
Performed by the Philip Glass Ensemble
Tyshawn Sorey: Monochromatic Light (Afterlife)
Wadada Leo Smith: CREATE
RedKoral Quartet • Wadada Leo Smith Quartet • Orange Wave Electric • Revolutionary Love & More