Big Ears: Conversations About Music

Curious Listening In the Streaming Era

What does it mean to be a curious listener?  In this episode, recorded live at Big Ears 2026, author and music journalist Liz Pelly joins legendary WNYC radio host John S

“He Made the World Bigger”: John Zorn’s Musical Universe

John Zorn’s musical world resists any sort of tidy summation. A constellation of projects that refuse genre’s pull, a deeply-embedded philosophy of artistic risk, and an

Festival Culture: Joe Boyd, Ashley Capps & Robert Gordon

At Big Ears 2026, legendary producer Joe Boyd sat down with Big Ears & Bonnaroo founder Ashley Capps and filmmaker Robert Gordon for a conversation around festival cultur

Talking Curation (Josh Johnson with Ashley Capps)

In this episode of Big Ears: Conversations About Music, Big Ears founder Ashley Capps sits down with saxophonist, composer, and producer Josh Johnson to explore his inspi

Kaoru Watanabe's Bloodlines Interwoven

Flutist and taiko drummer Kaoru Watanabe discusses Bloodlines Interwoven, a multi-year project exploring heritage, immigration, and diaspora through music and storytellin

Pat Metheny

Today we have an incredibly rare interview with NEA Jazz Master Pat Metheny, who appears for the first time ever at Big Ears 2026 with his Side-Eye project. One of the mo

Marc Ribot

Guitar legend Marc Ribot in dialogue with guest host, cultural critic Larry Blumenfeld (WSJ, The Nation). A true original, Ribot has always gone his own way, recording ov

12 Highlights of 2025: A 2026 Big Ears Preview

In this special edition of Big Ears: Conversations About Music, four deeply engaged listeners -Ayana Contreras, Piotr Orlov, Liz Pelly, and Steve Smith - survey the sound

Josh Johnson

On this episode of Big Ears: Conversations About Music, journalist and author Marcus J. Moore sits down with the formidable LA-based saxophonist, composer and producer Jo

Wild Up Celebrate Julius Eastman & Arthur Russell

Wild Up makes their Big Ears debut as one of the most innovative forces in contemporary music. Led by artistic director Christopher Rountree, the Los Angeles-based ensemb

Reconsidering Americana: Hayden Pedigo & S.G. Goodman

In this episode, journalist and author Liz Pelly (Mood Machine: The Rise of Spotify and the Costs of the Perfect Playlist) brings together two singular songwriters — Hayd

Songs & Symphonics: Celebrating Moondog at Big Ears

Journalist Piotr Orlov (of Dada Strain) speaks with Brian Carpenter of Ghost Train Orchestra and collaborator Joan Wasser (a.k.a. Joan As Police Woman) about interpreting

Lisa Bielawa on Knoxville Broadcast

Composer, vocalist, and project-maker Lisa Bielawa joins renowned classical and new music journalist Steve Smith to discuss her extraordinary Broadcast works, with a spot

Cécile McLorin Salvant

Two time GRAMMY winner, vocalist and MacArthur Fellow Cécile McLorin Salvant joins critic Natalie Weiner to unpack what it means to be called a jazz singer. Salvant refle

Big Ears 2026 Lineup Reveal

Big Ears Festival founder Ashley Capps joins NPR Music critic Ann Powers (a longtime friend of the festival and fellow Tennessee resident) to discuss the recent unveiling

1965: Sound, Fire & Revolution (Nels Cline, Melvin Gibbs, Chad Taylor) Live at Big Ears 2025

Hear a panel discussion from Big Ears 2025 titled 1965: Sound, Fire & Revolution, where guitarist Nels Cline, bassist Melvin Gibbs, and drummer Chad Taylor, join critic a

ganavya, Carlos Niño, Alabaster DePlume with Ann Powers: Live at Big Ears 2025

Hear a deep and searching live conversation from Big Ears 2025 between NPR Music critic and author Ann Powers and three remarkable artists whose practices reach far beyon

Joe Boyd with Ann Powers: Live at Big Ears 2025

At our 2025 festival, NPR critic and author Ann Powers sat down with legendary producer and music historian Joe Boyd for a wide-ranging conversation about his life in mus

Charles Lloyd with Don Was: Live at Big Ears 2025

On this episode, we listen in on a rare exchange between Charles Lloyd — the legendary saxophonist, bandleader, composer, and NEA Jazz Master — and Don Was — President of

Critics Reflection on Big Ears 2025

Three sharp-eared critics who attended Big Ears 2025—Bill Pearis (BrooklynVegan), Jennie Punter (Musicworks Magazine), and Natalie Weiner (Don't Rock the Inbox)—gather to