Big Ears Festival Beckons David Byrne, Robert Plant

David Byrne and Robert Plant will anchor the lineup for the 2026 edition of the Big Ears festival, which will bring more than 250 concerts, films, workshops and experiences to downtown Knoxville, Tn., from March 26-29, 2026.

New York experimental music legend John Zorn will present 12 works throughout the event, including Love Songs with Petra Haden, Awakening Ground with John Medeski and Dave Lombardo and a project with Laurie Anderson. Anderson herself will re-team with Sexmob for  X², the sequel to the 2024 Big Ears performance of Let X=X, while Wild Up will perform Julius Eastman’s Femenine and Arthur Russell’s 24 to 24.

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The Big Ears bill is rounded out by Flying Lotus, Richard Thompson, MJ Lenderman & the Wind, Terry Allen, Pat Metheny’s Side-Eye III+, Cécile McLorin Salvant, John Scofield Trio, Marc Ribot, Mary Halvorson, Isaiah Collier & the Chosen Few, Brittany Davis, Orchestra Baobab, Cymande, TV on the Radio’s Tunde Adebimpe, Model/Actriz and Ghost Train Orchestra’s tribute to blind New York street musician Moondog.

On the comedy front, the festival will host Tim Heidecker, Reggie Watts and even Neil Hamburger “in a multimedia mix of song and stand-up,” per organizers. Click here for ticket details.

To see our running list of the top 100 greatest rock stars of all time, click here.