big ears in k-town

Early February should be very exciting for the Knoxville music scene. The weekend of February 6 - 8 brings us what is being billed as a boutique music festival, Big Ears Festival.

It's a cross-genre music and arts festival experience, bringing Knoxville some legendary performers as well as up and coming young musicians. The experimental music festival will also include art installations, exhibitions, performance art, seminars and interactive experiences.

And it's hitting up a lot of the downtown venues: The Bijou, The Pilot Light, the Knoxville Museum of Art, The Square Room, The 5th Floor of the Woodruff Building and The Catalyst.

Big Ears is AC Entertainment's newest festival, and I expect that it will have the same energetic feel as all other AC endeavors. And it's pretty cool that this festival is coming to Knoxville. Here's what AC is saying about Knoxville and the festival:

“We wanted to create a ‘getaway’ event, outside of the usual major cultural centers, and Knoxville is a great choice. There are two fabulous historic theaters with extraordinary acoustics (including the 750-seat Bijou which celebrates its 100th Anniversary in 2009) along with a variety of other great venues, including the legendary experimental music outpost, The Pilot Light, and the Knoxville Museum of Art; excellent restaurants, and downtown hotels…and they’re all within a short walk of one another…plus, it’s our hometown and we want to show it off!”

It's pretty awesome that Philip Glass is coming for a show and a Q&A. And I'm most excited for Antony and the Johnsons, a cabaret act that I've never had the chance to see but that I've heard are amazing. A complete list of artists and venues is on the Big Ears site.

I guess I'm most excited about Big Ears because it's something new and different for Knoxville. A way for us to show off. And a way for us to see some great shows.