For years now, some of my most trusted friends in music have had the same refrain: “you have to get to Big Ears.” The annual festival, founded in 2009, takes place in the heart of lovely downtown Knoxville and showcases acts that range from jazz to folk to rock and many things in between. A defining characteristic of almost every act that plays, though, is a penchant for the experimental. It’s become known as a haven for some of the most forward-thinking minds in music, and this year’s festival did not disappoint. Here are five acts, in a very crowded and talented field, that made an impression on me.
Shrunken Elvis
I had Shrunken Elvis circled on my schedule from the get. Their 2025 self-titled album, full of spacious and subtle grooves and textures, was an oft-played selection of mine this past fall. The Nashville-based group featuring Rich Ruth and Sean Thompson on guitar and Spencer Cullum on pedal steel played night 1 at one of the festival’s most unassuming venues, Barley's (the back of a pizza bar and restaurant is not exactly where you expect to hear other-worldly psychedelia). No matter, Shrunken Elvis had the entire audience swaying and nodding to their set. A perfect way to ease into the weekend.
Ghost Train Orchestra: The Music of Moondog
My Friday afternoon opened at the festival’s second-largest venue, the ornate Tennessee Theater. It’s hard to overstate how lovely of a setting the building, constructed in 1928, provides; it was the perfect backdrop for the Ghost Train Orchestra's tribute to the idiosyncratic genius of composer and musician Moondog. While a larger ensemble was slated for the second of two sets later that afternoon, the first largely consisted of a string quartet with an occasional rhythm section and special guests David Byrne, Sam Amidon, Joan As Police Woman and Karen Mantler. And while everyone’s contributions were meaningful, my personal highlight was GTO leader Brian Carpenter’s reading of “Choo Choo Lullaby,” complete with a spot-on imitation of a train whistle via harmonica that evoked the sparse Kansas landscape where Moondog spent his early childhood.
Pino Palladino & Blake Mills feat. Sam Gendel & Chris Dave
Their resumes speak for themselves: Pino Palladino has played with The Who, Nine Inch Nails, Adele and D’Angelo; Blake Mills has produced or performed with Bob Dylan, Fiona Apple, John Legend and Bruce Hornsby. Their collaborative albums Notes with Attachments and That Wasn’t a Dream have showcased their deep musical connection with one another, which was enhanced at Big Ears by saxophonist Sam Gendel and drummer Chris Dave (who have both been featured on Palladino/Mills recordings). The set, at the spacious, standing-room venue Mill & Mine, was at once slinky and funky as it was dense and complex, with Dave’s deep rhythms complementing his fellow musicians’ head-turning interplay masterfully.
William Tyler & Yasmin Williams
You would be hard-pressed to find two more unique guitarists, especially in the fields of folk and Americana, than William Tyler and Yasmin Williams. Of course, as is the case with so many artists at Big Ears, those genre labels only tell part of the story, as both Tyler and Williams have created a universe of sound that is all their own. Joined by Bartees Strange on bass and Megan Coleman on drums, the band’s debut performance consisted of new compositions alongside those of Tyler and Williams’ solo catalogues. Complete with a setting sun alongside the unique backdrop of the Knoxville Museum of Art, it was a rare treat to watch these two great guitarists not only perform alongside one another, but also witness the growth of a collaboration that I can only hope will be the first of many.
SML
And then there was the six set SML residency at The Greyhound (as its name would indicate, a bus station turned venue that sat on the outskirts of the festival’s footprint). Featuring Jeremiah Chiu on synthesizer, Booker Stardrum on drums and percussion, Anna Butterss on bass, Gregory Uhlmann on guitar and Josh Johnson on saxophone, the LA-formed experimental jazz supergroup released their critically acclaimed sophomore album, How You Been, in 2025. Performing in-the-round with Big Ears attendees surrounding the stage, the band performed two sets each night from Thursday through Saturday, including an “XL” set featuring special guests Rob Mazurek (trumpet) and John Dieterich (guitar) on night 1, Marquis Hill (trumpet) and Ben Lumsdaine (drums) on night 2 and Jeff Parker (guitar) and Mikel Patrick Avery (percussion) on night 3. Each set was nothing short of revelatory. The six hours of improvisation shifted between the ethereal and the ecstatic, with each member of SML exhibiting endless patience and deep communication. Time and again, SML built an immense landscape using Chiu’s rhythmic constructions and Uhlmann’s dense sonic patterns. Butterss’ deep grooves, often drifting out of the abyss at the perfect moment, set the stage for Stardrum and Johnson, who carried many of the performances into the stratosphere with their ability to build and sustain a remarkable amount of energy and emotion. Night after night, the Greyhound was transformed into a portal where SML and their audience found themselves on a new plane, utterly exhilarating and unforgettable.
