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Big Ears announces 2023 lineup

Knoxville, TN’s Big Ears festival has announced the lineup for its 2023 edition which is also its 10th edition, happening March 30 – April 2Festival passes go on sale to the general public on Wednesday, September 14.

The 2023 lineup includes: Amadou & Mariam, Devendra Banhart, Andrew Bird, Grouper, Charles Lloyd, Arooj Aftab, The Weather Station, Kevin Morby, Makaya McCraven, Vijay Iyer, Terry Allen & the Panhandle Mystery Band, Bonny Light Horseman, The Mountain Goats, Pino Palladino, Blake Mills, Sam Gendel, Charlotte Adigéry & Bolis Pupul, and more.

As usual there are unique programs and collaborations at Big Ears, and John Zorn will be back for a second year in a row, this time celebrating his 70th birthday with a host of special, curated shows featuring Bill Laswell, Dave Lombardo, John Medeski, julian Lage, Gyan Riley, Mary Halvorson, Kenny Wollesen, and many more.

Other special programs: the North American premiere of guitarist Bill Frisell and his trio with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, with arrangements by Michael Gibbs; a series of special concerts highlighting composers Éliane Radigue & Annea Lockwood; and the Mivos Quartet performing Steve Reich’s complete string quartets.

There’s also Calexico, Steve Gunn, Lonnie Holley, James “Blood” Ulmer, Xylouris White, Marc Ribot y Los Cubanos Postizos, Rickie Lee Jones, Los Lobos, and more. Check out the announced lineup below; Big Ears will have more announcements still to come.

Big Ears 2023 Lineup

BIG EARS 2023 LINEUP:
700 Bliss
Adia Victoria
Allison Russell
Amadou & Mariam
Andrew Bird
Antonio Sanchez & Bad Hombre
Arooj Aftab, Vijay Iyer, & Shahzad Ismaily: Love in Exile
Ava Mendoza w/ SUE-C
Bela Fleck: My Bluegrass Heart w/ Bela Fleck, Michael Cleveland, Sierra Hull, Justin Moses, Mark Schatz, & Bryan Sutton
Bill Frisell Four w/ Jonathan Blake, Gerald Clayton, & Gregory Tardy
Bill Frisell Trio and the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra (North American Premier)
Bill Orcutt Guitar Quartet (Bill Orcutt, Shane Parish, Ava Mendoza, and Wendy Eisenberg)
Bonny Light Horseman
Calexico
Carl Stone with Ned Rothenberg & Soo Yeon Lyuh
Caroline
Caterina Barbieri
Cecile McLorin Salvant
Charles Lloyd Chapel Trio with Bill Frisell & Thomas Morgan
Charlotte Adigéry & Bolis Popul
Christian McBride’s New Jawn w/ Christian McBride, Marcus Strickland, Josh Evans, & Nasheet Waits
David Moore
Devendra Banhart
Edgar Meyer Trios w/ Tessa Lark & Joshua Roman
Fuji||||||||||ta
Gatos do Sul
Grouper
Ibeyi
Ichiko Aoba
Iron & Wine
JACK Quartet plays Catherine Lamb’s divisio spiralis
James “Blood” Ulmer
Joe Lovano Trio Tapestry featuring Marilyn Crispell & Carmen Castaldi
Josephine Foster
Kali Malone
Kevin Morby
Los Lobos
Maeve Gilchrist: The Harpweaver w/ Aizuri Quaret
Makaya McCraven: In These Times
Marc Ribot y Los Cubanos Postizos
Mary Halvorson Amaryllis
Mary Halvorson Belladonna w/ Mivos Quartet
Mayan Space Station (William Parker w/ Ava Mendoza & Gerald Cleaver)
Nate Smith + Kinfolk
Orrin Evans Tarbaby (w/ David Murray)
Pino Palladino and Blake Mills with Sam Gendel and Abe Rounds
Rafiq Bhatia
Reid Anderson
Rich Ruth
Rickie Lee Jones
Sam Gendel & Sam Wilkes
Sam Gendel Concert Group with Gabe Noel & Phil Melanson
Sierra Ferrel
Sierra Hull
Son Lux
Sona Jobarteh
Steve Gunn
Steve Reich’s Complete String Quartets performed by Mivos Quartet
Tarta Relena
Terry Allen & the Panhandle Mystery Band
The Bad Plus
The Jazz-Bins
The Mountain Goats
The Music of Annea Lockwood performed Nate Wooley & Yarn/Wire
The Music of Eliane Radigue performed by Nate Wooley & Carol Robinson
The Weather Station
Tyshawn Sorey Trio with Joe Lovano & Bill Frisell
Vijay Iyer Trio (Vijay Iyer, Linda May Han Oh, & Tyshawn Sorey)
Vinicius Cantuaria
William Parker In Order to Survive
Xylouris White
Zoh Amba w/ Tyshawn Sorey & Thomas Morgan

John Zorn 70th Birthday Celebration
Nove Cantici
• Bill Frisell, Julian Lage, & Gyan Riley
Bagatelles Pt. 1
• Brian Marsella Trio (Brian Marsella, Trevor Dunn, & Kenny Wollesen) & John Medeski Trio (John Medeski, Dave Fluczyski, & G. Calvin Weston)
Bagatelles Pt. 2
• Mary Halvorson Quartet (Mary Halvorson, Miles Okazaki, Drew Gress, Tomas Fujiwara) Trigger (Will Greene, Simon Hayes, & Aaron Edgcomb)
Gnostic Trio
• Bill Frisell, Kenny Wollesen, & Carol Emanuel
Painkiller
• John Zorn, Bill Laswell, & Dave Lombardo
Chamber Music
• Jack Quartet (Christoper Otto, Austin Wulliman, John Pickford Richards, & Jay Campbell) plus Yura Lee, Michael Nicolas, & Sae Hashimoto)
Cobra
• Bill Frisell, Mary Halvorson, Will Greene, Brian Marsella, John Medeski, Mike Nicolas, Trevor Dunn, Simon Hanes, Sae Hashimoto, Dave Lombardo, Aaron Edgcomb, & Kenny Wollesen
John Zorn: A Capella Vocal
• Kirsten Sollek, Eliza Bagg, Elizabeth Bates, Sarah Brailey, & Rachel Calloway

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