--- lang: en type: Event record_kind: entity-profile title: "Big Ears Festival 2027 in Knoxville — Dates, Venues & Passes" description: Big Ears Festival returns April 1–4, 2027 across downtown Knoxville venues. Founded in 2009 by Ashley Capps; genre-crossing music, film, and talks on a walkable multi-venue campus. llms_summary: "Big Ears Festival. (Knoxville, Tennessee, United States). Event. Age Policy Not published as a single festival-wide age rule on the pages verified; individual venue policies may apply. Duration 4 days. Edition Year 2027. End Date 2027-04-04. Format In-person · multi-venue downtown campus. Founded Year 2009. Genre Focus Experimental · contemporary classical · jazz · indie · multi-genre discovery. Organizer Big Ears Festival (501(c)(3)); founded by Ashley Capps. Season Spring (March–April). Start Date 2027-04-01. 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. Venue Downtown Knoxville multi-venue campus (Tennessee Theatre, Bijou, churches, clubs, galleries). Festival & creative conference directories. Big Ears Festival returns April 1–4, 2027 across downtown Knoxville venues. Founded in 2009 by Ashley Capps; genre-crossing music, film, and talks on a walkable multi-venue campus. canonical profile on High-Velocity Content Engine" canonical: "https://hypersonicseo.com/big-ears-festival/?format=md" og_image: "https://hypersonicseo.com/images/big-ears-festival.webp" primary_image: /images/big-ears-festival.webp hvce_version: 1 site: high-velocity-content-engine slug: big-ears-festival record_kind: entity-profile content_sha256: a5752acd941ad5212d7c6e9d62d4c7d89cc508b932cdc87e5f76f17268927642 indexed_at: 2026-07-22 date_modified: 2026-07-22 license: Facts compiled from public official and secondary sources; festival trademarks remain with their owners. entities: - role: subject slug: big-ears-festival name: Big Ears Festival type: Event profile_url: "https://hypersonicseo.com/big-ears-festival/?format=md" --- # Big Ears Festival Big Ears Festival is a four-day, genre-crossing music and arts festival in downtown Knoxville, Tennessee. The next edition is scheduled for April 1–4, 2027, with performances, films, conversations, and installations spread across more than twenty walkable downtown venues. *Last updated: 2026-07-22* ## Record - **Title**: [Big Ears Festival](https://hypersonicseo.com/big-ears-festival/?format=md) - **Place**: Knoxville, Tennessee, United States - **Range**: united-states · tennessee · knoxville - **Use case**: Festival & creative conference directories - **Website**: https://bigearsfestival.org/ - **Contact address**: 530 S. Gay Street (2026 box office: Hyatt Place), Knoxville, Tennessee, 37902, United States - **Coordinates**: 35.9642, -83.9175 - **CTA**: [Get Big Ears passes](https://bigearsfestival.org/passes/) - **CTA note**: Confirm 2027 pass tiers and pricing on the official site ### Summary Big Ears Festival is a four-day, genre-crossing music and arts festival in downtown Knoxville, Tennessee. The next edition is scheduled for April 1–4, 2027, with performances, films, conversations, and installations spread across more than twenty walkable downtown venues. ### Description ## 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]]. ### Categories - festival - music - experimental - jazz - contemporary classical - indie ### Attributes | Property | Value | | --- | --- | | Age Policy | Not published as a single festival-wide age rule on the pages verified; individual venue policies may apply. | | Duration | 4 days | | Edition Year | 2027 | | End Date | 2027-04-04 | | Format | In-person · multi-venue downtown campus | | Founded Year | 2009 | | Genre Focus | Experimental · contemporary classical · jazz · indie · multi-genre discovery | | Organizer | Big Ears Festival (501(c)(3)); founded by Ashley Capps | | Season | Spring (March–April) | | Start Date | 2027-04-01 | | 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. | | Venue | Downtown Knoxville multi-venue campus (Tennessee Theatre, Bijou, churches, clubs, galleries) | ## 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/.