John Zorn, Kim Gordon and Sparks are among the artists set to play the 2022 Big Ears Festival, taking place March 24th through 27th in Knoxville, Tennessee.
The festival, which was last held in 2019, will also feature performances from Animal Collective, Moses Sumney, Arooj Aftab, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Bill Callahan, Mdou Moctar, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Bill Frisell, Sons of Kemet, Low, Yves Tumor, Terry Allen and the Panhandle Mystery Band, Nubya Garcia, Shabaka Hutchings and the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, Dawn Richard and Saul Williams.
Big Ears will also feature an array of unique performances and collaborations. For instance, the Kronos Quartet will present their new piece with filmmaker Sam Green, A Thousand Thoughts; and composer and vocalist Meredith Monk will collaborate with Bang On a Can All-Stars for the live world premiere of Memory Games. Zorn, meanwhile, will present eight concerts during the festival, with his pieces being performed by groups like the guitar trio Bill Frisell, Julian Lage and Gyan Riley, the “heavy metal” Hammond B-3 organ trio fronted by John Medeski, and the New Masada Quartet.
A full lineup of artists and programming is available on the Big Ears website, with additional performances, films, readings, talks, exhibitions and other events to be announced soon. Tickets for Big Ears 2022 will go on sale September 16th at 12 p.m. ET.