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Artwork for Big Ears: Conversations About Music

Big Ears: Conversations About Music

Big Ears Festival
Big Ears Festival
Music
Jazz
Big Ears
Pat Metheny
John Zorn
Knoxville
My Light, My Destroyer
New York City
Knoxville Broadcast
Moondog
Ghost Train Orchestra
Community
Jazz Music
Classical Music
Wild Up
Lovers
Bloodlines Interwoven
Bonnaroo
Ashley Capps

Big Ears: Conversations About Music is a podcast that brings together cutting-edge musicians, journalists, and community leaders in discussions about the creative process, collaboration, and the transformative power of music. The podcast features one-on-one talks and roundtable discussions hosted by expert music critics with the artists who make Big Ears unique, offering a behind-the-scenes look a... more

PublishesTwice monthlyEpisodes26Foundeda year ago
Number of ListenersCategories
Music InterviewsMusic

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Artwork for Big Ears: Conversations About Music

Latest Episodes

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 appetite for assembling untested combinations.

Recorded during Big Ears 2026, ... more

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 culture, prompted by Gordon’s documentary Newport and the Great Folk Dream, which cent... more

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 inspired guest curation for this year’s festival. Josh and Ashley dig into their feel... more

Flutist and taiko drummer Kaoru Watanabe discusses Bloodlines Interwoven, a multi-year project exploring heritage, immigration, and diaspora through music and storytelling. The son of Japanese immigrants and symphonic musicians, Watanabe’s path has i... more

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Recent Guests

Barbara Hannigan
Classical soprano collaborating with John Zorn
Classical/Opera world
Episode: “He Made the World Bigger”: John Zorn’s Musical Universe
Dave Lombardo
Drummer known for Slayer and avant-garde projects
Metal/Experimental music
Episode: “He Made the World Bigger”: John Zorn’s Musical Universe
John Medeski
Pianist/organist, collaborator with Zorn across formats
Medeski, Martin & Wood
Episode: “He Made the World Bigger”: John Zorn’s Musical Universe
Jorge Roeder
Bassist and Zorn collaborator
Musician
Episode: “He Made the World Bigger”: John Zorn’s Musical Universe
Robert Gordon
Filmmaker and co-director of Newport and the Great Folk Dream
Film subject
Episode: Festival Culture: Joe Boyd, Ashley Capps & Robert Gordon
Joe Boyd
Legendary producer and author, production manager at Newport Folk Festival 1965
Author/Producer
Episode: Festival Culture: Joe Boyd, Ashley Capps & Robert Gordon
Josh Johnson
Saxophonist, composer, and producer invited to curate artists for Big Ears 2026
Independent artist, Big Ears curator
Episode: Talking Curation (Josh Johnson with Ashley Capps)
Ashley Capps
Festival founder and executive/artist director of Big Ears Festival
Big Ears Festival
Episode: Talking Curation (Josh Johnson with Ashley Capps)
Kaoru Watanabe
Flutist and taiko drummer; creator of Bloodlines Interwoven
Bloodlines Interwoven/Big Ears residency
Episode: Kaoru Watanabe's Bloodlines Interwoven

Host

Sara Gioletti
Host of Big Ears Conversations About Music

Chart Rankings

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Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Festival Culture: Joe Boyd, Ashley Capps & Robert Gordon
Q: So, Ashley, how conscious were you of Newport and the folk world when you started thinking about festival models?
Ashley explains that he was aware of Newport from childhood and that his goal was to bring esoteric, world-class artists to Knoxville by curating a festival that Knoxville and its audience could support, drawing inspiration from European models and Bonnaroo's example.
Pat Metheny
Q: Do you feel that your recent solo performances have deepened your playing in some way?
Metheny shares that it has been an incredible growing experience that transformed his musicianship.
Marc Ribot
Q: Can you talk a little bit about what it means to create and organize in these ever-changing times?
Ribot emphasizes the need for consent and bargaining rights for musicians regarding their work in the age of AI and streaming.
Marc Ribot
Q: Can you talk a little bit about what that realization and what that time was like?
Ribot discusses how he wanted to play anything but weddings or bar mitzvahs and sought gigs to pay rent while exploring the New York music scene.
Josh Johnson
Q: How would you say you've evolved over the years creatively?
Josh Johnson reflects that his mind is much more open and he has become more curious, stating that curiosity is vital for evolution, encouraging exploration of interests that spark his curiosity.

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Frequently Asked Questions About Big Ears: Conversations About Music

What is Big Ears: Conversations About Music about and what kind of topics does it cover?

This show defines itself through in-depth conversations with curators, festival leaders, composers, and performers who are shaping contemporary music scenes. Episodes frequently center on curation philosophy, founder vision, and the lived practice of making festivals and projects that foreground collaboration, heritage, storytelling, and audience experience. Guests range from legendary improvisers to up-and-coming artists, with a strong emphasis on crossing genres, community involvement, and the evolving role of live performance in a fractured, media-driven era. A standout pattern is the focus on process over persona: how decisions behind programming, commissioning, and collaboration translate into transformative listening and living room–t... more

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Which podcasts are similar to Big Ears: Conversations About Music?

These podcasts share a similar audience with Big Ears: Conversations About Music:

1. Transmissions
2. A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
3. Kreative Kontrol
4. The New Yorker Radio Hour
5. Song Exploder

How many episodes of Big Ears: Conversations About Music are there?

Big Ears: Conversations About Music launched a year ago and published 26 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

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What guests have appeared on Big Ears: Conversations About Music?

Recent guests on Big Ears: Conversations About Music include:

1. Barbara Hannigan
2. Dave Lombardo
3. John Medeski
4. Jorge Roeder
5. Robert Gordon
6. Joe Boyd
7. Josh Johnson
8. Ashley Capps

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