Big Ears, Big Knees, Big Fun

Here I am on a Saturday night with nothing to do. It’s inconceivable, given the rate at which KSO performances have been whizzing by, but totally welcomed. This weekend in Knoxville the Big Ears Festival is in town. Big Ears is a new music showcase founded by Ashley Capps in 2009, now in its third incarnation. This years Ears will be headlined by Steve Reich and will also feature (among many more) the So Percussion ensemble, John Cale (an original member of the Velvet Underground), The Wordless Music Orchestra, Ensemble Signal, and Nils Frahm.

As I stare out of my window (Sunday morning now), choosing the next words to type, I see runners. Running by our house. Lots of them. In 45-degree weather. In shorts. Oh yeah, it’s the Knoxville Marathon! I’m sure that some KSO members are running in it, although maybe only the half-marathon. I swore off distance running in my twenties; for whatever reason, my knees would stiffen up after about a mile of running, or about eight miles of hiking. It’s weird, I can play soccer or basketball pain-free until I pass out from exhaustion, but just straight running is too much of a muchness for my knees. I know that violinist Sean Claire doesn’t have that problem. He outlined his weekend schedule for me at the Tellico Village runout the other night. He was to play Carmina Burana with the Symphony of the Mountains in Kingsport last night, returning from that ‘round midnight, then awaken at 5:00 (AM) to warm up for the marathon. I feel like such a slacker. GO SEAN!!!! Here are some other KSO folks who were up way before me today. Left to right, Gordon Tsai, Rachel Loseke, Gray Ferris, Gabe Lefkowitz, Stacy Miller

The Knoxville scene continues to evolve next weekend, when the Dogwood Arts Festival unfurls its petals for the 52nd  time. This all-encompassing showcase of blooms, music and the arts in general will last throughout April and kick off in a big way next weekend with a festival within a festival, Rhythm and Blooms, which does for Roots and Americana music what Big Ears does for avant-garde music. Nine venues will host a who’s who of local and national talent, including Logan Brill, who, accompanied by the KSO, graced the Ijams Nature Center stage with her presence this past September, Four Leaf Peat, the house band of this past December’s Clayton Holiday Concerts, Knoxville’s own Black Lilies, who are taking the country music scene by storm, and cellist Ben Sollee, who I hope does not need any introduction.

The weekend after that, (April 12) will be the Knoxville Opera Company’s 13th annual Rossini Festival, which will take place at its original downtown venues. (There was talk of moving the Festival to World’s Fair Park, but KOC and City officials hammered out a deal to keep it where it has always been). The theme of this year’s festival will be sunshine, avenging last year’s day-long downpour which scared away quite a few (but by no means all) patrons.

The onslaught of upcoming festivals and events rolls out like this, although this list is far from thorough:

Earthfest, at World’s Fair Park, April 26
Market Square Farmer’s Market, starting May 3 and every Saturday morning through October
60th Annual Cosby Ramp Festival, May 4
Bloomsday, UT Trial Gardens, May 10
Vestival, May 10
International Biscuit Festival, May 15-18
Bob Dylan Birthday Bash, June 6
Bark in the Park, June 14
Pride Fest, June 21