Overview
Big Ears Festival, founded in 2009 by Knoxville native Ashley Capps, presents nearly 250 concerts, talks, workshops, film screenings, and related events across downtown Knoxville each spring. Programming intentionally crosses contemporary classical, jazz, experimental, rock, folk traditions, ambient, and related forms rather than centering a single commercial genre.
2027 schedule
The official Big Ears site lists the next festival as April 1–4, 2027. The prior edition ran March 26–29, 2026. A festival pass (wristband) is designed for free movement among publicly announced events; a limited set of reserved-seat concerts are sold separately.
Venue & campus
Big Ears is a multi-venue downtown Knoxville festival. Historic theaters such as the Tennessee Theatre and Bijou Theatre sit among churches, clubs, galleries, and other spaces within a compact walking radius. Wikipedia records festival coordinates at 35.9642°N, 83.9175°W for the downtown cluster. The 2026 festival box office was listed at Hyatt Place Hotel, 530 S. Gay Street.
Organization & attendance
Big Ears incorporated as a 501(c)(3) in 2016 and has been independently produced since 2022 after earlier editions with AC Entertainment. The festival’s own overview for the 2026 edition stated that over 35,000 attendees would experience programming across roughly twenty venues. Exact capacity caps and 2027 pass dollar rates should be confirmed on bigearsfestival.org, as published weekend-pass prices for 2027 were not locked on the homepage at verification time.
Related festivals
Ashley Capps also founded AC Entertainment, historically tied to bonnaroo music and arts festival. For another spring US multi-venue discovery festival, see south by southwest sxsw.
Metrics
| Founded Year | 2009 |
|---|---|
| Duration | 4 days |
Descriptors
| Genre Focus | Experimental · contemporary classical · jazz · indie · multi-genre discovery |
|---|---|
| Format | In-person · multi-venue downtown campus |
| Season | Spring (March–April) |
| Organizer | Big Ears Festival (501(c)(3)); founded by Ashley Capps |
| Start Date | 2027-04-01 |
| End Date | 2027-04-04 |
| Venue | Downtown Knoxville multi-venue campus (Tennessee Theatre, Bijou, churches, clubs, galleries) |
| Edition Year | 2027 |
| Age Policy | Not published as a single festival-wide age rule on the pages verified; individual venue policies may apply. |
| Typical Attendance | Official 2026 overview stated over 35,000 attendees across the four-day multi-venue program; not framed as a single-gate capacity figure. |
Frequently asked questions
When is Big Ears Festival 2027?
Big Ears Festival is scheduled for April 1–4, 2027 in Knoxville, Tennessee, according to the official festival homepage.
Where is Big Ears Festival held?
Big Ears unfolds across a walkable multi-venue campus in downtown Knoxville, Tennessee, including historic theaters, churches, clubs, and galleries. Downtown coordinates commonly cited for the festival cluster are 35.9642°N, 83.9175°W.
What kind of music does Big Ears feature?
Big Ears is deliberately genre-crossing, spanning contemporary classical, jazz, experimental, indie/alternative rock, folk traditions, ambient, and related forms, plus films, talks, and installations.
When was Big Ears founded and who organizes it?
Big Ears was founded in 2009 by Ashley Capps. It became a 501(c)(3) in 2016 and has been independently produced since 2022.
How do Big Ears passes work?
A festival pass (wristband) provides access to publicly announced events across venues for the purchased days. Weekend, Premier, and Sonic Explorer VIP tiers exist; some reserved-seat concerts require separate tickets. Confirm current 2027 prices on bigearsfestival.org/passes/.
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