Big Ears Festival Shares Daily Schedules and Lineup Additions: The Avett Brothers & Mike Patton, Chris Thile, Thurston Moore, Tune-Yards and More

Big Ears Festival, photo by Andy Feliu

Big Ears Festival has shared daily schedules and lineup additions for its 2026 staging, returning to downtown Knoxville, Tenn., from March 26-29. Today’s announcement splits the pioneering musical institution’s stacked program of over 250 acts across its four days and more than 20 venues, allowing attendees to chart their paths through the litany of genre-defying performances. 

Beyond the schedule information and a new app for building personalized weekend plans, the latest dispatch from Big Ears Festival bolsters its bill with many new additions unveiled piecemeal since the event’s initial announcement. At the top of this extended roster is The Avett Brothers & Mike Patton, who will premiere their AVTT/PTTN collaborative project on Saturday, March 28, as one of four additionally-ticketed concerts; the other special reserved-seating affairs are two performances of David Byrne’s Who Is The Sky? and the premiere of Robert Plant’s Saving Grace, both of which recontextualize the artists’ legendary careers with bold new strides.

Other newcomers to the Big Ears 2026 lineup include Chris Thile, Thurston Moore, Tune-Yards, William Tyler & Yasmin Williams, Jeff Parker’s Expansion Trio, Dave McMurray’s Grateful Deadication, Fred Frith’s Fremakajo, Darrell Scott and Miles Electric Band, which will present a centennial tribute to Miles Davis. In line with its tradition of hosting rare collaborations, the festival will also welcome trailblazing duo sets from Carlos Niño & Sam Gendel and Mary Lattimore & Walt McClements.

These artists join a cast that already includes a litany of icons and rising stars. Many of next year’s leading acts offered projects sure to be recognized among 2025’s finest, including Tunde Adebimpe’s Thee Black Boltz, Mary Halvorson’s About Ghosts, S.G. Goodman’s Planting by the Signs, Marc Ribot’s Map of a Blue City, Pino Palladino & Blake Mills’ This Wasn’t a Dream, Adrian Sherwood’s The Collapse of Everything, Cécile McLorin Salvant’s Oh Snap, Bill Orcutt, Steve Shelley and Ethan Miller’s Orcutt Shelley Miller, Don Was & The Pan-Detroit Ensemble’ self-titled debut, Alan Sparhawk and Trampled By Turtles’ self-titled collaboration and Cymande’s 50-year reunion record, Renascence.

Further standouts on the bill include Pat Metheny, Flying Lotus, Laurie Anderson, John Zorn, MJ Lenderman & The Wind, John Scofield Trio, Taper’s Choice, Cécile McLorin Salvant, Tim Heidecker with his Very Good Band, Shabaka, Dirty Three, Model/Actriz, Tom Skinner, Chicago Underground Duo, Dave Harrington’s Pranksters South, Hand Habits, Mary Lattimore, Nate Smith Trio and YHWH Nailgun, among many more.

Find tickets and more information on next year’s Big Ears Festival at bigearsfestival.org.