This is probably the "safest" and most predictable Big Ears lineup I've seen yet. Many if not most of the performers have played Big Ears in the past, and Charles Lloyd, Marc Ribot, Shabaka Hutchings, Christian McBride, Mary Halvorson, Jason Moran, and Julian Lage have all played in the past two years, if not last March.
Biggest surprise: no Bill Frisell. I don't think I've been to a Big Ears festival without Frisell somewhere in the lineup (and who knows, he may be on a stage there somewhere supporting someone else).
This will be my fifth Big Ears, and if I've seen most of the headliners before, it's because they're among my favorites. Laurie Anderson is the only bucket-list artist I haven't yet seen live, although I'm also excited to see Henry Threadgill in the lineup.
I saw Herbie Hancock in NYC back in the mid-1970s during the Headhunters years. As an indication of how big a star Herbie was back then, Miles Davis opened for him.
In 1993, I saw Digable Planets at the club Rosebud in Pittsburgh's Strip District.
As for the undercard, I just recently discovered Ash Fure after she was included in Bang on a Can's Long Play festival (I didn't go, but I heard Fure's music when researching the lineup). Bitchin Bajas have been one of my favorite electronic bands ever since I first heard their album of highly original Sun Ra covers. Dave Holland is a jazz institution, and James Brandon Lewis is the future of jazz, especially after the passing of the great Jaimie Branch. Tomeka Reid is somewhere in between the two. I'm trying to resist name-dropping every performer ("Look! There's Roger Eno! And there's JG Thirlwell!"), but I would be remiss not to mention the post-rock band Horse Lords.
And then there's all those artists I haven't yet heard of, but I can't wait to start researching and listening to.
So after a few brief moments of indecision, I'll be going next year. It's who I am - it's what I do. It would be irresponsible of me to miss it.
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