Big Ears 09: Pitchfork Chimes In

Such conviviality proved to be one of Big Ears' central assets last weekend. The first-year festival gathered two dozen fringe music performers in the surprisingly (to most festival attendees, at least) vibrant downtown of Knoxville, a city of nearly 200,000 situated near the Great Smoky Mountains. The international cast of performers--from Baltimore's Dan Deacon and Matmos to Australia's the Necks and Austria's Christian Fennesz-- shared hotels, restaurants, and coffee shops with one another and with the festival's several hundred ticketholders. For music scenes (noise, experimental, avant-classical) generally castigated for their aloof and esoteric natures, the sense of kinship and community at Big Ears came as an inspiration and relief. Artists shared advice. Fans shared gratitude. Collaborations abounded. Surprises happened.