The toughest lineup conflicts at Big Ears 2025

thefader.com:

From March 27–30, amid the University of Tennessee men’s and women’s basketball teams’ dominant runs in the 2025 NCAA tournament, downtown Knoxville will be overrun with experimental music, forcing fans in Tennessee Orange apparel to wade through a sea of vintage band tees.

Every year at Big Ears, genre-blurring giants perform across a dozen-odd venues. Unlike most festivals, here one can find these artists darting excitedly between shows alongside the dedicated fans who make the annual pilgrimage to the state capital.

Big Ears 2025’s lineup is especially stacked, featuring ANOHNI and the Johnsons, Beth Gibbons, esperanza spalding, Jessica Pratt, Lonnie Holley, Melvin Gibbs, Michael Hurley, Swamp Dogg, Vijay Ayer, Wadada Leo Smith, William Basinski, Yo La Tengo with Sun Ra Arkestra, and so many more icons and ascendant masters.

Unfortunately, the decision between basketball and music isn’t the only one the Big Ears faithful will need to make this weekend.