1 00:00:05,600 --> 00:00:09,040 Welcome back to Big Ears conversations about music. 2 00:00:09,360 --> 00:00:13,200 I'm your host, Matt Marowitz. Today we're looking back at the 3 00:00:13,200 --> 00:00:16,960 singular, transformative, and ever surprising experience that 4 00:00:16,960 --> 00:00:25,560 is Big Ears, A convening where genres dissolve, curiosity 5 00:00:25,560 --> 00:00:28,720 reigns, and the faithful followers of Sonic adventure 6 00:00:28,960 --> 00:00:31,440 come together each spring in Knoxville, TN. 7 00:00:33,400 --> 00:00:37,120 Big Years 2025 may be behind us, but it's echoes linger. 8 00:00:38,120 --> 00:00:42,320 It's a festival I personally look forward to all year, a 9 00:00:42,320 --> 00:00:45,600 beacon for the musically adventurous, a sanctuary for 10 00:00:45,600 --> 00:00:48,840 seekers, and a reminder that music's possibilities are 11 00:00:48,840 --> 00:00:53,400 endless when borders are erased. This year, I made myself a 12 00:00:53,400 --> 00:00:55,960 promise. Go see what you don't know. 13 00:00:56,760 --> 00:01:00,320 I hobbled on a bum knee, battled the head cold, and endured the 14 00:01:00,320 --> 00:01:04,000 kind of FOMO that hits you not just from missing a festival, 15 00:01:04,280 --> 00:01:07,440 but from being there and still not scratching the surface of 16 00:01:07,440 --> 00:01:11,840 everything you hope to see. And yet, I witnessed sets of 17 00:01:11,840 --> 00:01:15,440 music and conversations that shifted my understanding of what 18 00:01:15,440 --> 00:01:21,480 music can do for listeners and communities 1. 212. 19 00:01:25,480 --> 00:01:28,840 Joining me today to process the magic, the madness and the 20 00:01:28,840 --> 00:01:32,280 missed connections are three of the sharpest music minds I could 21 00:01:32,280 --> 00:01:34,800 gather who attended this year's festival. 22 00:01:35,840 --> 00:01:39,680 Bill Parris, editor at brooklynvegan.com, who always 23 00:01:39,680 --> 00:01:43,160 brings a deep knowledge and understanding of indie music and 24 00:01:43,160 --> 00:01:47,320 underground culture. Natalie Weiner, journalist and 25 00:01:47,320 --> 00:01:50,760 Co creator of the broadly Country and Americana Substack 26 00:01:50,760 --> 00:01:54,520 newsletter Don't Rock the Inbox and a past contributor to 27 00:01:54,560 --> 00:01:58,600 Billboard, The New York Times, Pitchfork and Texas Monthly. 28 00:01:59,520 --> 00:02:02,600 And finally, Jenny Punter, a long time contributor and 29 00:02:02,600 --> 00:02:06,360 publisher of Music Works magazine from Toronto, Canada, 30 00:02:06,680 --> 00:02:10,240 who brings a vital international perspective and a keen year for 31 00:02:10,240 --> 00:02:14,120 the experimental. Together we unpacked what made 32 00:02:14,120 --> 00:02:18,760 Big Ears 2025 S unforgettable. From free jazz blowouts to 33 00:02:18,760 --> 00:02:23,240 mystical bagpipes, from deep backstage hangs to late night 34 00:02:23,240 --> 00:02:26,760 revelations. The music we saw, the artist we 35 00:02:26,760 --> 00:02:30,920 missed, the genre defined performances that linger on in 36 00:02:30,920 --> 00:02:33,600 our minds. And yes, all the ways this 37 00:02:33,600 --> 00:02:37,880 festival continues to push us out of our comfort zones and 38 00:02:37,880 --> 00:02:41,360 into something transcendent. Let's take a listen. 39 00:02:47,000 --> 00:02:49,800 I'm Bill Paris, and I'm a senior editor at brooklynvegan.com. 40 00:02:50,200 --> 00:02:53,440 I guess I can go with the thing that I was most excited to see 41 00:02:53,880 --> 00:02:55,600 this year, which was Tinder Sticks. 42 00:02:55,720 --> 00:02:58,080 And they played on Sunday at Tennessee Theatre. 43 00:02:58,840 --> 00:03:05,120 It was their first US tour in like 1313 or 16 years, one of 44 00:03:05,120 --> 00:03:07,520 those. And they were supposed to play 45 00:03:07,520 --> 00:03:09,920 big years in 2020, which didn't happen. 46 00:03:09,920 --> 00:03:15,240 And Front End Stewart Staples said that Ashley Caps had been 47 00:03:15,240 --> 00:03:18,040 trying to get them to play basically since the festival 48 00:03:18,040 --> 00:03:20,320 started. And they finally got it to 49 00:03:20,320 --> 00:03:23,160 happen this year. And I've been a big fan since 50 00:03:23,160 --> 00:03:27,720 the 90s. And their record from last 51 00:03:27,720 --> 00:03:30,720 year's Soft Tissue was one of my favorite albums of the year. 52 00:03:31,760 --> 00:03:33,960 And really, they didn't disappoint. 53 00:03:33,960 --> 00:03:36,400 I mean, the Tennessee Theatre is just a great place to see a band 54 00:03:36,400 --> 00:03:38,840 like that. The very like lush, like dark 55 00:03:38,840 --> 00:03:43,600 cabaret if you if you've never heard them before, they're a 56 00:03:43,600 --> 00:03:46,720 little bit like Nick Cave in the Bad Seeds without the violence, 57 00:03:47,160 --> 00:03:49,040 I feel like or the threat of violence. 58 00:03:50,880 --> 00:03:55,800 Just gorgeous stuff. Sounded great, looked great. 59 00:03:56,320 --> 00:03:59,760 Wonderful show all around. Very happy to have gotten to see 60 00:03:59,760 --> 00:04:16,640 them. My name is Jenny Punter and I'm 61 00:04:16,640 --> 00:04:21,120 the editor of music works and magazine from Canada, Tinder 62 00:04:21,120 --> 00:04:22,840 Sticks. You can't, you can't win them 63 00:04:22,840 --> 00:04:24,840 all. I was a huge fan from way back 64 00:04:24,840 --> 00:04:27,000 the original day, so I'm sorry I missed that. 65 00:04:27,000 --> 00:04:30,840 But I did have an old days hit I'll mention as sort of my hit 66 00:04:31,160 --> 00:04:33,040 because it was off the radar for me. 67 00:04:33,040 --> 00:04:36,720 I had lots of shows that I knew, you know, I planned out to see, 68 00:04:37,800 --> 00:04:41,800 but I hadn't really read the description of immersion, which 69 00:04:42,600 --> 00:04:48,360 featured Colin Newman from Wire. And I'm a huge was a huge fan of 70 00:04:48,360 --> 00:04:50,840 Wire. I still listen to the band from 71 00:04:50,840 --> 00:04:53,080 time to time. You know, they continued to make 72 00:04:53,080 --> 00:04:56,640 albums for quite a while. And so it was pretty exciting to 73 00:04:57,080 --> 00:04:59,120 go into that space and see the show. 74 00:04:59,120 --> 00:05:03,080 The duo show that they put on. It was like very much the same 75 00:05:03,080 --> 00:05:09,000 kind of rhythms and bubbly drone vibe that Wire had, and not 76 00:05:09,000 --> 00:05:15,600 quite the eloquently verbose lyrics of Wire, but but still 77 00:05:15,600 --> 00:05:18,360 very meaningful. And it was a packed room. 78 00:05:18,360 --> 00:05:22,480 So I was actually quite excited to see that was a short set, had 79 00:05:22,480 --> 00:05:28,080 fantastic visuals. That was actually in Regis 80 00:05:28,080 --> 00:05:32,800 Square. So yeah, that was definitely a 81 00:05:32,800 --> 00:05:45,680 highlight for me. My name is Natalie Weiner, and I 82 00:05:45,880 --> 00:05:48,480 wrote about figures for Don't Rock the Inbox. 83 00:05:49,800 --> 00:05:53,480 I mean, for me, I think the highlight, honestly, was 84 00:05:54,480 --> 00:06:00,080 Emmanuel Wilkins, Blues Blood. I mean, I'd seen him before, you 85 00:06:00,080 --> 00:06:03,280 know, going back a long time at, you know, different winter jazz 86 00:06:03,280 --> 00:06:09,040 fests and whatever. But I was just so impressed by 87 00:06:09,280 --> 00:06:11,680 the way that the set came together. 88 00:06:11,680 --> 00:06:15,520 I mean, it was just, it felt like right in that sweet spot of 89 00:06:15,520 --> 00:06:19,200 like super ambitious, you know, conceptually because it is kind 90 00:06:19,200 --> 00:06:22,120 of like, you know, a concept album for him. 91 00:06:23,000 --> 00:06:26,760 The the chef on stage was obviously like such a unexpected 92 00:06:26,760 --> 00:06:29,360 element. I hadn't seen him perform this 93 00:06:29,360 --> 00:06:32,960 music before, so I I hadn't seen that aspect of it. 94 00:06:33,600 --> 00:06:37,560 And yeah, it's definitely just, I found it like, such a 95 00:06:37,560 --> 00:06:41,360 wonderful way to make literal the idea of like, cooking in 96 00:06:41,360 --> 00:06:43,440 jazz, you know? I mean, that's like jazz slang, 97 00:06:43,440 --> 00:06:44,400 right? Like, they're cooking. 98 00:06:44,400 --> 00:06:46,480 They sound good. And like, here was a guy 99 00:06:46,480 --> 00:06:48,760 actually cooking, you know, with like a hot plate and he's like 100 00:06:48,760 --> 00:06:50,800 chopping in and putting stuff in a pot. 101 00:06:50,800 --> 00:06:54,240 And, you know, the smell of what he was cooking started to like 102 00:06:54,240 --> 00:06:57,320 waft over you, you know, like 1520 minutes into the set. 103 00:06:57,720 --> 00:07:01,360 And it was just, you know, making that kind of a multi 104 00:07:01,360 --> 00:07:05,800 dimensional experience, you know, multi sensory experience. 105 00:07:06,760 --> 00:07:08,640 I don't know. And the music itself, I mean, it 106 00:07:08,640 --> 00:07:14,560 was just so like emotional and heartfelt and it didn't, didn't 107 00:07:14,560 --> 00:07:18,320 at all feel like, you know, playing to play. 108 00:07:18,320 --> 00:07:20,640 It felt like he was really conveying something. 109 00:07:30,280 --> 00:07:33,520 What did the chef cook on stage? That, I don't know. 110 00:07:33,520 --> 00:07:38,240 They didn't like say. I think one of the things I love 111 00:07:38,240 --> 00:07:43,160 about Big Ears, this was also my third time too, I came last year 112 00:07:43,160 --> 00:07:47,840 and then in 2016 is like how it is been adding all these really 113 00:07:47,840 --> 00:07:51,840 sort of appropriate things like conversations and art and it all 114 00:07:51,840 --> 00:07:55,800 really works. And on the food side, kind of 115 00:07:55,800 --> 00:07:58,080 like a like sort of a last minute decision. 116 00:07:58,280 --> 00:08:04,440 I went on Sunday morning to see Daca Braca, the Ukrainian group 117 00:08:04,920 --> 00:08:09,320 who were who I'd seen here in Toronto before, but they, I 118 00:08:09,480 --> 00:08:12,400 missed them the night before and they and they were set up in the 119 00:08:12,400 --> 00:08:14,560 tent at the mill and mine making borscht. 120 00:08:15,640 --> 00:08:19,720 And so there was a guy from a local Ukrainian restaurant who 121 00:08:19,720 --> 00:08:23,640 told this amazing story about how he gone foraging for 122 00:08:23,640 --> 00:08:26,640 mushrooms. And as he was, he and and his 123 00:08:26,760 --> 00:08:29,240 colleagues were kind of making this enormous pot of borscht, 124 00:08:29,240 --> 00:08:33,240 which would they were going to be serving to folks later. 125 00:08:33,240 --> 00:08:34,679 I missed that. I missed the soup. 126 00:08:34,679 --> 00:08:40,320 But and then in between, members of the band would would get up 127 00:08:40,320 --> 00:08:43,200 and sort of sing traditional song from local ceremony. 128 00:08:43,200 --> 00:08:47,280 So this was the kind of thing where it's not just us being in 129 00:08:47,280 --> 00:08:51,600 a room watching artists on a stage, but like, like getting 130 00:08:51,600 --> 00:08:54,800 into their lives a little bit more and things that inspire 131 00:08:54,800 --> 00:08:59,880 them, like whether it's visual art or video or, or even just 132 00:08:59,880 --> 00:09:02,280 when they play with other artists and you're not expecting 133 00:09:02,280 --> 00:09:05,400 to see them on stage. Like that is such a special 134 00:09:05,400 --> 00:09:08,440 vibe. And food now is now an extra 135 00:09:08,440 --> 00:09:12,120 element, I guess. So maybe we'll see more more 136 00:09:12,120 --> 00:09:14,840 cooking on stage in future years. 137 00:09:21,880 --> 00:09:23,720 This was my first figures actually. 138 00:09:23,720 --> 00:09:27,000 And so it was like learning to navigate all the different 139 00:09:27,000 --> 00:09:31,040 venues around Knoxville, you know, and kind of like, I 140 00:09:31,920 --> 00:09:34,480 probably the most similar festival I've been to is Winter 141 00:09:34,480 --> 00:09:38,200 Jazz Fest, you know, And so I'm used to sort of like bouncing 142 00:09:38,200 --> 00:09:42,440 between venues in that context. But it it's just, if you're not 143 00:09:42,440 --> 00:09:45,000 familiar with the lay of the land, like how long do I have to 144 00:09:45,000 --> 00:09:47,160 get to this place? But you can't walk everywhere. 145 00:09:47,160 --> 00:09:48,920 Yeah, exactly. Jazz for the first time. 146 00:09:49,640 --> 00:09:53,960 I mean, I, I, yeah, like sometimes in in big cities, you 147 00:09:53,960 --> 00:09:56,000 might get a super local festival. 148 00:09:56,000 --> 00:10:00,280 But Toronto, we've got a a bunch of them and they're mostly kind 149 00:10:00,280 --> 00:10:03,960 of rocket pop type festivals where there's multiple venues 150 00:10:04,360 --> 00:10:06,800 and just you can't, you can ride your bike around, I guess. 151 00:10:06,800 --> 00:10:09,320 But I think this is this is definitely attraction, 152 00:10:10,400 --> 00:10:12,240 especially for the 60 plus crowd. 153 00:10:12,760 --> 00:10:18,680 Those original big years folks is like you can walk everywhere 154 00:10:18,680 --> 00:10:21,120 there's a bus. But and I think that is 155 00:10:21,120 --> 00:10:24,160 something that it makes it closer to like a European 156 00:10:24,160 --> 00:10:27,200 festival. Some of the European festivals 157 00:10:28,200 --> 00:10:33,760 where you can, well, you can't really take in everything 158 00:10:33,760 --> 00:10:37,000 anymore, which which I think you could almost do in the early 159 00:10:37,000 --> 00:10:39,920 days, but. But the nice thing is that there 160 00:10:39,920 --> 00:10:42,800 might be another venue on your way to what you're going to see. 161 00:10:43,000 --> 00:10:46,560 And then you think, oh, I'm going to drop in and then you're 162 00:10:46,560 --> 00:10:51,760 like, you see, maybe you stay and you miss the thing or, or 163 00:10:51,760 --> 00:10:55,200 maybe it's a solo artist and you stand at the back and you see a 164 00:10:55,200 --> 00:10:56,680 few and you're like, this is really good. 165 00:10:56,680 --> 00:11:00,280 I'm going to keep moving on. So I went to the Susan Alcorn 166 00:11:00,280 --> 00:11:03,120 tribute and I was really happy I did. 167 00:11:03,120 --> 00:11:07,560 So there was a huge number of her former collaborators and 168 00:11:08,280 --> 00:11:13,080 she'd been at Big Ears before and magazine I edit had done a 169 00:11:13,080 --> 00:11:15,560 story on her and she played up here in Canada a number of 170 00:11:15,560 --> 00:11:17,360 times, had collaborators up here. 171 00:11:17,800 --> 00:11:21,560 But it was really interesting to hear the music with a without 172 00:11:21,560 --> 00:11:24,200 her in a way. And it was, it was really 173 00:11:24,200 --> 00:11:25,640 beautiful. I didn't stay for the whole 174 00:11:25,640 --> 00:11:28,920 thing, but but I thought that was really special for the for 175 00:11:28,920 --> 00:11:32,280 the festival to be able to respond in that way as they as 176 00:11:32,280 --> 00:11:33,920 they did with at least one other show. 177 00:11:33,920 --> 00:11:36,960 I know, I know of. So rather than cancelling 178 00:11:36,960 --> 00:11:40,000 something that they had planned, to be able to celebrate 179 00:11:40,000 --> 00:11:45,200 someone's music in that way, it was really quite wonderful. 180 00:11:59,020 --> 00:12:01,540 I was also at the Alcorn Tribute and it was really. 181 00:12:02,420 --> 00:12:04,740 Yeah, there you go. Great taste, guys. 182 00:12:04,780 --> 00:12:06,620 We were all in the in the same room. 183 00:12:07,480 --> 00:12:10,320 No, it was so good. And I wanted to like reinforce 184 00:12:10,320 --> 00:12:13,920 also what Bill said before. Just like the longer the 185 00:12:13,920 --> 00:12:17,160 festival went on, the more I was like, I think I'm actually just 186 00:12:17,160 --> 00:12:20,320 going to not like try and hustle over and catch half of 1 and 187 00:12:20,320 --> 00:12:22,800 half of the other or whatever. I'm just going to like enjoy 188 00:12:23,520 --> 00:12:27,800 this and really try and let myself like immerse myself in 189 00:12:27,800 --> 00:12:30,480 what I'm hearing, you know, because it's like, obviously 190 00:12:30,480 --> 00:12:33,520 your eyes are bigger than your ears almost or something. 191 00:12:33,520 --> 00:12:35,320 You know, you're like, your eyes are bigger than your stomach. 192 00:12:35,320 --> 00:12:38,440 You want to go see everything. And I realized I had walked like 193 00:12:38,440 --> 00:12:41,440 24 miles at the end according to my phone. 194 00:12:41,760 --> 00:12:45,160 And it's like, OK, I can just, I'm here already. 195 00:12:45,160 --> 00:12:47,720 I can just like, listen to what I'm listening to. 196 00:12:55,200 --> 00:12:57,640 I loved going to see anything at the Tennessee Theatre. 197 00:12:58,680 --> 00:13:03,400 It's just AI mean. It's a comfortable, nice, great 198 00:13:03,400 --> 00:13:08,120 sounding, great staff venue. I don't know. 199 00:13:08,120 --> 00:13:09,920 I was at I was at Mill and mine a lot. 200 00:13:10,000 --> 00:13:12,840 I think just because I'm kind of like an indie rock guy and 201 00:13:12,840 --> 00:13:15,440 that's the indie rock venue at at Big Ears really. 202 00:13:15,440 --> 00:13:19,080 And like some bands are are better suited for that place 203 00:13:19,080 --> 00:13:22,600 than others, like Lancome and Explosions in the Sky, like have 204 00:13:22,600 --> 00:13:25,040 the right kind of sound for the acoustics there. 205 00:13:25,040 --> 00:13:28,200 But it's a nice, it's a nice place also because you've got 206 00:13:28,200 --> 00:13:32,000 like a few restaurants and stuff right by there that are easy to 207 00:13:32,000 --> 00:13:35,120 like pop into if if you need to eat something quick or whatever. 208 00:13:35,440 --> 00:13:38,440 Sometimes like I, I think like even though we were just talking 209 00:13:38,440 --> 00:13:42,480 about how it's so easy to walk anywhere that you want to go, I 210 00:13:42,480 --> 00:13:46,760 think, you know, halfway through the festival, you're aware that 211 00:13:46,760 --> 00:13:48,120 you're halfway through the festival. 212 00:13:48,120 --> 00:13:51,120 And I found myself kind of going like, OK, I'm going to pack it 213 00:13:51,120 --> 00:13:53,200 in. So I'm going to stay in the, you 214 00:13:53,200 --> 00:13:59,800 know, Regis Millen mine standard in the Jackson Terminal kind of 215 00:13:59,800 --> 00:14:04,080 area and the point maybe and just kind of stay there and 216 00:14:04,080 --> 00:14:07,800 resist temptation even though the walk isn't that bad. 217 00:14:07,800 --> 00:14:12,000 Like you know you can maybe kind of catch 2 sets that are at the 218 00:14:12,000 --> 00:14:15,720 same time and 1st part of 1 and the second part of another one. 219 00:14:15,920 --> 00:14:19,040 I was just shocked by the number of like cool venues in 220 00:14:19,040 --> 00:14:20,560 Knoxville. I was like, how? 221 00:14:20,840 --> 00:14:23,280 How did these all survive like all year long? 222 00:14:23,280 --> 00:14:26,640 I mean, the Bijou Theatre was really cool. 223 00:14:27,280 --> 00:14:29,000 I mean, I love the Tennessee Theatre too. 224 00:14:29,000 --> 00:14:30,920 I mean, that's like jaw-dropping when you walk in. 225 00:14:30,920 --> 00:14:34,560 It's unbelievable, you know, like, how does that exist? 226 00:14:36,480 --> 00:14:39,000 But yeah, they were all pretty great in their own way. 227 00:14:39,000 --> 00:14:42,040 I mean, the Jackson terminal space is cool too, you know, 228 00:14:42,040 --> 00:14:46,040 just for like a, a chill vibe, you know, But yeah, I, I don't 229 00:14:46,040 --> 00:14:48,440 know, kind of no, no duds. I would say. 230 00:14:48,840 --> 00:14:51,640 It's all just cool, and in different ways. 231 00:15:02,920 --> 00:15:06,240 On Sunday, I don't know, I was doing a bunch of things and I I 232 00:15:06,240 --> 00:15:11,680 heard like field work with BJ and Tyshawn and Steve was like 233 00:15:11,680 --> 00:15:15,720 really amazing. And I was like, you know, it's 234 00:15:15,720 --> 00:15:21,640 one of those I did see, but, you know, I've seen DJ like tons of 235 00:15:21,640 --> 00:15:25,960 times before, but I I saw Tyshawn Trio, which I just never 236 00:15:25,960 --> 00:15:28,840 seen, you know, I don't, you know, get down to New York too 237 00:15:28,840 --> 00:15:30,360 much. And and there's a lot of jazz 238 00:15:30,360 --> 00:15:32,880 artists that don't make it up to Toronto. 239 00:15:33,920 --> 00:15:37,560 We just have a bit of a problem up here with that. 240 00:15:37,600 --> 00:15:42,720 And so, you know, I think that that probably like some people, 241 00:15:42,720 --> 00:15:47,440 you know, a lot of folks, you know, mostly Americans who are 242 00:15:47,600 --> 00:15:50,920 who are going to the festival where certain artists just don't 243 00:15:50,920 --> 00:15:54,040 come to their city. So sometimes that's a priority. 244 00:15:55,400 --> 00:15:59,360 But yeah, like quite a few people told me about that one 245 00:15:59,360 --> 00:16:04,160 and it was a bummer for me. Ambrose solo set, I kind of wish 246 00:16:04,160 --> 00:16:06,480 that I had been able to go to that, but it was like full by 247 00:16:06,480 --> 00:16:10,720 the time I got over there. But yeah, similar to what you're 248 00:16:10,720 --> 00:16:13,160 saying, like I live in Dallas now. 249 00:16:13,160 --> 00:16:15,920 I did used to live in New York, so I had kind of like, you know, 250 00:16:16,200 --> 00:16:19,240 the run of any kind of stuff I wanted really. 251 00:16:19,600 --> 00:16:25,280 But living in Dallas, like most jazz etcetera, improvised music, 252 00:16:25,360 --> 00:16:28,640 art music artists, like, really don't come through here at all. 253 00:16:29,040 --> 00:16:33,680 And it was my husband's first, like any kind of Jazz Festival. 254 00:16:33,680 --> 00:16:36,280 So there were a lot of people that like, I had seen previously 255 00:16:36,280 --> 00:16:38,920 and I really wanted him to get to see, you know, and that kind 256 00:16:38,920 --> 00:16:41,080 of thing. Or just people that, you know, I 257 00:16:41,080 --> 00:16:44,040 hadn't gotten to see in a long time, you know, since I moved 258 00:16:44,040 --> 00:16:45,840 and I wanted to see them and that kind of thing. 259 00:16:45,840 --> 00:16:50,000 So yeah, definitely is a treat, a special treat if you live in a 260 00:16:50,000 --> 00:16:52,680 place where you don't have access to like most of the stuff 261 00:16:52,680 --> 00:17:03,520 all the time. I like Knoxville because it 262 00:17:03,840 --> 00:17:07,319 feels like a small town, but it's like the one that's invaded 263 00:17:07,319 --> 00:17:12,480 by, you know, a whole bunch of of weird artie weirdos, you 264 00:17:12,480 --> 00:17:16,880 know? And yeah, just to tie with 265 00:17:16,880 --> 00:17:20,119 everything we've talked about so far, just the experience of just 266 00:17:20,480 --> 00:17:24,359 being in this, you know, on the same streets and you're just 267 00:17:24,359 --> 00:17:29,400 running into like strange people and are are famous people and 268 00:17:29,800 --> 00:17:34,640 they're just out and about. And Knoxville is a very 269 00:17:34,640 --> 00:17:37,760 welcoming place. And I've enjoyed all three years 270 00:17:38,080 --> 00:17:39,800 that I've gone and I hope to continue. 271 00:17:40,160 --> 00:17:41,880 It's definitely a really cool city. 272 00:17:41,880 --> 00:17:45,120 I had no idea what to expect. I mean, besides like UT college 273 00:17:45,120 --> 00:17:48,840 town, but no, I I really enjoyed it. 274 00:17:48,840 --> 00:17:51,400 I was honestly I think I want to echo. 275 00:17:51,400 --> 00:17:55,120 I can't remember who said it, but just, I think it was Jenny 276 00:17:55,480 --> 00:17:59,640 like about it feeling like European, you know, because to 277 00:17:59,640 --> 00:18:04,560 me the shows did really feel like just the level. 278 00:18:04,560 --> 00:18:06,840 This isn't about Knoxville specifically, but I guess about 279 00:18:06,840 --> 00:18:10,320 the festival, but just like the level of attentiveness and the 280 00:18:10,320 --> 00:18:13,720 level of fullness at like every single set. 281 00:18:14,200 --> 00:18:18,520 It really did feel like European like and I like I studied abroad 282 00:18:18,520 --> 00:18:20,200 in Paris. So this is a long time ago at 283 00:18:20,200 --> 00:18:22,800 this point, but but I did go to a lot of shows when I lived 284 00:18:22,800 --> 00:18:27,440 there and I was so shocked by how, you know, people. 285 00:18:27,440 --> 00:18:30,680 Obviously we all know like people in Europe like Revere, 286 00:18:30,680 --> 00:18:33,360 like American jazz and improvise music, like it's much more 287 00:18:33,360 --> 00:18:35,680 respected there and plenty musicians like make all of their 288 00:18:35,680 --> 00:18:38,040 living like touring Europe, et cetera. 289 00:18:38,040 --> 00:18:41,560 But it did have that feeling, that same feeling of like, oh, 290 00:18:41,560 --> 00:18:43,800 these are a bunch of people who are really like treasuring this 291 00:18:43,800 --> 00:18:47,720 experience and like listening extremely attentively. 292 00:18:48,040 --> 00:18:52,520 And like I, I saw Allison Degroote and Tatiana Hargraves 293 00:18:53,120 --> 00:18:56,040 together, which was like a really wonderful kind of old 294 00:18:56,040 --> 00:18:59,280 time music set and they were like, you guys are being too 295 00:18:59,280 --> 00:19:02,600 respectful, you know, because it's really kind of like it's a 296 00:19:02,600 --> 00:19:06,280 folky dancy music, you know, and everyone's just like, so like 297 00:19:06,280 --> 00:19:08,520 reverent, you know, which is good. 298 00:19:08,520 --> 00:19:11,920 And I think like, I especially recently in my concert 299 00:19:11,920 --> 00:19:13,920 experiences, I feel like people have been honestly like 300 00:19:14,240 --> 00:19:16,320 increasingly rude. And I don't know if that's just 301 00:19:16,320 --> 00:19:20,720 like our era or something, but it was, it did feel like I'm not 302 00:19:20,720 --> 00:19:23,640 in America right now. Like with the level of just like 303 00:19:24,440 --> 00:19:28,480 just packed rooms for like out jazz, you know, like lines out 304 00:19:28,480 --> 00:19:31,200 the door for like super avant-garde stuff that would 305 00:19:31,200 --> 00:19:34,760 normally be in like a really, really tiny club somewhere. 306 00:19:35,000 --> 00:19:39,000 And everyone just like completely like so excited about 307 00:19:39,000 --> 00:19:42,040 it, you know? So yeah, that was that was 308 00:19:42,040 --> 00:19:46,320 surprising and definitely invigorating for me personally. 309 00:19:55,000 --> 00:19:58,440 Before we go, we want to take a moment to honor someone who's 310 00:19:58,440 --> 00:20:02,800 quiet magic has long rippled through American Music and who 311 00:20:02,800 --> 00:20:05,320 gave us one final gift at this year's festival. 312 00:20:06,080 --> 00:20:09,600 Michael Hurley, the legendary folk musician, storyteller, 313 00:20:09,960 --> 00:20:14,280 cartoonist and true American original, passed away just days 314 00:20:14,280 --> 00:20:18,640 after forming 2 deeply memorable sets at Big Ears 2025. 315 00:20:19,640 --> 00:20:22,840 His final show was on Sunday at the Jig and Reel, the most 316 00:20:22,840 --> 00:20:24,760 intimate venue in the entire festival. 317 00:20:25,280 --> 00:20:29,680 I was there, standing alongside Natalie Weiner, surrounded by 318 00:20:29,680 --> 00:20:33,120 friends and strangers, drawn in by that same quiet magnetism. 319 00:20:33,680 --> 00:20:36,680 It was my first time seeing him live, same for Natalie. 320 00:20:37,120 --> 00:20:40,520 And I remember thinking how surreal it felt finally hearing 321 00:20:40,520 --> 00:20:44,120 that voice in the room after Jim Mcnee and Ashley Capps had 322 00:20:44,120 --> 00:20:47,480 talked him up to me for years. They spoke of him with such 323 00:20:47,480 --> 00:20:49,960 reverence, like a secret you carry close. 324 00:20:50,760 --> 00:20:53,120 None of us could have known it would be one of his last 325 00:20:53,120 --> 00:20:56,280 performances, but in hindsight, it felt like the perfect 326 00:20:56,280 --> 00:20:59,480 goodbye. No grand stage, no spotlight. 327 00:20:59,880 --> 00:21:02,400 Just Michael, his songs and a room full of love. 328 00:21:03,160 --> 00:21:05,680 This episode is dedicated to his memory. 329 00:21:06,280 --> 00:21:09,000 Rest easy, snob. Thank you for the music. 330 00:21:12,440 --> 00:21:14,520 And the heart of the Forsaken world. 331 00:21:14,520 --> 00:21:18,400 He ain't like you and I, with bones always breaking and no 332 00:21:18,440 --> 00:21:21,800 place to go live. He's in the box, so dark and 333 00:21:21,800 --> 00:21:24,720 wet. He got so much time he ain't 334 00:21:24,720 --> 00:21:27,440 even worried yet. The hog of the Forsaken. 335 00:21:27,760 --> 00:21:33,160 He is the important crime. Big Ears Conversations about 336 00:21:33,160 --> 00:21:35,320 Music is a production of Big Ears Festival. 337 00:21:35,560 --> 00:21:37,680 The show is produced by me, Matt Merrill. 338 00:21:38,320 --> 00:21:41,760 Trevor Smith is our editor. Ashley Capps is the executive 339 00:21:41,760 --> 00:21:43,760 and artistic director of Big Ears Festival. 340 00:21:44,360 --> 00:21:47,440 For more information, visit bigyearsfestival.org. 341 00:21:47,440 --> 00:21:50,240 Forsaken. He'll leave you one more chance, 342 00:21:50,560 --> 00:21:53,400 which if you won't be taken, you'll leave it for the end. 343 00:21:54,280 --> 00:21:57,680 It sings out in the wilderness. He sings for friend and foe. 344 00:21:58,080 --> 00:22:03,440 He sings of these and those times as well as the time to go.