Big Ears Festival, Knoxville, Tennessee's annual weekend celebration of experimental music, is announcing the initial lineup for their 2018 edition, being held March 22nd through 25th. For their seventh year, the fest leans heavily toward the heavyweights of avant-garde jazz, including performances by Medeski Martin & Wood, piano luminaries Jason Moran and Craig Taborn, drummer Milford Graves, free improv pioneer Evan Parker, a performance of Alice Coltrane's "ecstatic music," Nels Cline with the Knoxville Jazz Orchestra, downtown icon Arto Lindsay, Scandinavian avant-jazz trio the Thing, sax quartet Rova, trumpet radical Peter Evans, violinist Jenny Scheinman and recent McArthur Genius Grant recipient Tyshawn Sorey. Legendary saxophonist-composer Roscoe Mitchell, co-founder of the Art Ensemble of Chicago, will be performing in the trio configurations heard on his recent double-disc ECM release, Bells for the South Side. "Well, you know, I've been a jazz fan for almost as long as I can remember," says Big Ears artistic director Ashley Capps, who was also responsible for bringing Ornette Coleman to the 2007 edition of the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival. "I discovered Miles Davis and Duke Ellington and Lee Konitz and Thelonious Monk in my father's record collection before I was a teenager. I played saxophone when I was growing up, so I been a jazz fan for a long time. ... I brought the Art Ensemble of Chicago here in 1980. … To me, if there's a surprise about the jazz on the lineup it's that it took it this long to get here." Big Ears also continues its dedication to modern classical with veteran new-music diplomats Bang on a Can as this year's "composers in residence." Over three performances, they will focus on works from artistic directors Michael Gordon, Julia Wolfe and David Lang. The International Contemporary Ensemble Ensemble will perform Icelandic composer Anna Thorvaldsdottir's multi-disciplinary piece/installation In the Light of Air. Other highlights of this year's festival include performances from artists working at the nexus of experimental music and the alternative rock and electronic undergrounds, including Diamanda Galás, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Lightning Bolt, Kid Koala, Four Tet, Jaga Jazzist, Laural Halo and Jenny Hval. In what Capps calls "probably the biggest expansion in the Big Ears experience," this years will also feature what the they are calling the "Appalachian Homecoming," a celebration of the music heritage of the American South curated by Anna Roberts-Gevalt of Brooklyn-Virgina roots duo Anna & Elizabeth. Artists include bluegrass icon Béla Fleck, Jerry Douglas, Abigail Washburn, the Black Twig Pickers and more. "Ultimately, we're going to have a Big Ears fiddler's convention this year, probably a square dance, there's gonna be some jam sessions and a lot of surprises in the realm of exploring the indigenous music of the region and Appalachia and how that connects to these other musical traditions," says Capps. "It's gonna be woven in through the experience of the festival all weekend long but some of it'll be on the streets, actually." Tickets go on sale on Friday and the full initial line-up is below. Visit the https://bigearsfestival.com/" rel="nofollow - Big Ears site for more info. Abigail Washburn & Wu Fei Aine O'Dwyer performs William Eggleston's Musik Algiers Anna & Elizabeth Anna Thorvaldsdottir: "In the Light of Air" performed by International Contemporary Ensemble Anoushka Shankar: "Land of Gold" Arto Lindsay Bang on a Can All Stars celebrate their 30th anniversary with works by David Lang, Michael Gordon and Julia Wolfe Bang on a Can All Stars perform Julia Wolfe's "Anthracite Fields" Bang on a Can All Stars "Field Recordings" Béla Fleck & Abigail Washburn Béla Fleck & Brooklyn Rider Bonnie "Prince" Billy Brimstone & Glory live score performed by Nief-Norf and Wordless Music Brooklyn Rider Cleek Schrey & David Behrman Craig Taborn Quartet Cyro Baptista & the Banquet of the Spirits Cyro Baptista presents "Vira Loucos" Diamanda Galás Duet for Theremin & Lap Steel Evan Parker's Electro-Acoustic Ensemble Four Tet Gas Godspeed You! Black Emperor Innov Gnawa International Contemporary Ensemble Jaga Jazzist Jaga Jazzist featuring Stĺle Storlřkken & Jon Balke Jason Moran Duo with Milford Graves Jason Moran presents Fats Waller Dance Party Bangs (Jason Moran, Mary Halvorson and Ron Miles) Jenny Hval Jenny Scheinman presents "Kannapolis: A Moving Portrait" Jenny Scheinman's "Mischief & Mayhem" with Nels Cline & Scott Amendola Juana Molina Julie Byrne Kelly Lee Owens Kid Koala (DJ Set) Kid Koala's "Satellite" Turntable Orchestra Knoxville Symphony Strings performs "Were You There" with baritone Davoné Tines Laurel Halo (DJ Set) Laurel Halo (Live with Eli Keszler) Lightning Bolt Lucius Medeski Martin & Wood Milford Graves Nels Cline: "Lovers" with the Knoxville Jazz Orchestra and guests Peter Evans Ensemble Rocket Science (Peter Evans, Sam Pluta, Craig Taborn, Evan Parker) Roscoe Mitchell Trios Rostam Rova: "The Sound in Space Project" Rova Channeling Coltrane: "Electric Ascension" Sam Amidon Steve Gunn Steve Gunn & the Black Twig Pickers Susanna "Go Dig My Grave" featuring Giovanna Pessi, Frode Haltli, Cheyenne Mize and Susanna Suuns Tal National The Black Twig Pickers The Ecstatic Music of Alice Coltrane Turiyasangitananda performed by the Sai Anantam Ashram Singers The Jerry Douglas Band The Thing Tyshawn Sorey Trio from http://www.rollingstone.com
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