Big Ears Reveals a Wide-Ranging 2027 Festival Lineup

Big Ears Festival has unveiled a 2027 lineup led by Jeff Tweedy, Jim James, Thundercat and a broad mix of artists from jazz, rock, electronic music and contemporary composition. The festival is scheduled to return to Knoxville, Tennessee, from April 1 through April 4.

More than a standard festival bill

The official Big Ears site lists Courtney Barnett, Mavis Staples, Natalie Merchant, Sylvan Esso, Weyes Blood, Rosanne Cash and John Leventhal among the performers. It also includes the Brad Mehldau Trio, Chucho Valdés Royal Quartet, Oneohtrix Point Never, Kronos Quartet and Robert Glasper, underscoring the event’s deliberately open-ended programming.

Consequence reported that the four-day edition is expected to feature more than 100 artists and 250 concerts across two dozen venues. That scale helps explain why the announcement reads less like a conventional headliner poster and more like a map of overlapping musical scenes.

Special programs widen the scope

Beyond individual sets, the official lineup includes artist residencies and curated programs. Big Ears plans to celebrate Bang on a Can’s 40th anniversary, host a 75th-birthday residency for William Parker and present residencies centered on Bill Frisell and Vijay Iyer. A returning 12-hour raga program and a curation titled “How Black Music Took Over the World” are also listed.

Several performances are identified as reserved-seat, separately ticketed events. Those include Nathaniel Rateliff, Norah Jones, and Gillian Welch with David Rawlings performing music connected to the Grateful Dead’s acoustic catalog. Festivalgoers will need to distinguish those shows from the broader pass-based program when planning their schedules.

The lineup’s range is the central story. Thundercat can sit on the same bill as avant-garde ensembles, veteran songwriters, electronic artists and genre-crossing commissions without any one lane defining the weekend. That mix has long been part of Big Ears’ identity, and the 2027 roster pushes it forward with both marquee names and specialized collaborations.

With dates and the initial roster now public, the practical focus shifts to passes, venue schedules and individual performance times. The official site presents the announcement as the 2027 lineup, leaving room for the festival to publish more detailed planning information closer to April.