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Hosted by Big Ears Festival · 🇺🇸 US · EN · 26 episodes
Established thought leaders with verified media credentials.
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 at the inspirations and connections that make Big Ears one of the world’s most unique music festivals.
Big Ears Festival hosts Big Ears: Conversations About Music, a music show with 26 episodes published.
What does it mean to be a curious listener? In this episode, recorded live at Big Ears 2026, author and music journalist Liz Pelly joins legendary WNYC radio host John Schaefer to explore the art of curious listening — a
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. Re
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 th
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
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 mu
Today we have an incredibly rare interview with NEA Jazz Master Pat Metheny, who appears for the first time ever at Big Ears 2026 with his Side-Eye project. One of the most prolific and influential guitarists, bandleader
Guitarist Nels Cline has been thinking about Lovers for most of his adult life. First imagined in the early 1980s as a darker, more bruised meditation on romance, Lovers slowly evolved as Cline evolved himself. When the
Guitar legend Marc Ribot in dialogue with guest host, cultural critic Larry Blumenfeld (WSJ, The Nation). A true original, Ribot has always gone his own way, recording over two dozen records as a leader, while appearing
In this special edition of Big Ears: Conversations About Music, four deeply engaged listeners -Ayana Contreras, Piotr Orlov, Liz Pelly, and Steve Smith - survey the sounds that moved them in 2025—offering a preview of ju
On this episode of Big Ears: Conversations About Music, journalist and author Marcus J. Moore sits down with the formidable LA-based saxophonist, composer and producer Josh Johnson, a ubiquitous presence in today’s jazz
Wild Up makes their Big Ears debut as one of the most innovative forces in contemporary music. Led by artistic director Christopher Rountree, the Los Angeles-based ensemble has spent more than a decade reshaping the poss
In this episode, journalist and author Liz Pelly (Mood Machine: The Rise of Spotify and the Costs of the Perfect Playlist) brings together two singular songwriters — Hayden Pedigo and S.G. Goodman — for a candid explorat
Journalist Piotr Orlov (of Dada Strain) speaks with Brian Carpenter of Ghost Train Orchestra and collaborator Joan Wasser (a.k.a. Joan As Police Woman) about interpreting the works of Moondog—the blind composer, poet, an
Composer, vocalist, and project-maker Lisa Bielawa joins renowned classical and new music journalist Steve Smith to discuss her extraordinary Broadcast works, with a spotlight on Knoxville Broadcast, a large-scale site-s
Two time GRAMMY winner, vocalist and MacArthur Fellow Cécile McLorin Salvant joins critic Natalie Weiner to unpack what it means to be called a jazz singer. Salvant reflects on her musical upbringing in both classical an
Big Ears Festival founder Ashley Capps joins NPR Music critic Ann Powers (a longtime friend of the festival and fellow Tennessee resident) to discuss the recent unveiling of the 2026 festival lineup. From legends like Da
Hear a panel discussion from Big Ears 2025 titled 1965: Sound, Fire & Revolution, where guitarist Nels Cline, bassist Melvin Gibbs, and drummer Chad Taylor, join critic and author Nate Chinen to reflect on a landmark yea
Hear a deep and searching live conversation from Big Ears 2025 between NPR Music critic and author Ann Powers and three remarkable artists whose practices reach far beyond the boundaries of genre — vocalist, double bassi
At our 2025 festival, NPR critic and author Ann Powers sat down with legendary producer and music historian Joe Boyd for a wide-ranging conversation about his life in music. Boyd reflects on his recently published opus T
On this episode, we listen in on a rare exchange between Charles Lloyd — the legendary saxophonist, bandleader, composer, and NEA Jazz Master — and Don Was — President of Blue Note Records — recorded live at the Blue Not
Josh Johnson
Assistant Director of Plan Services · personal injury attorney serving Northeast Florida
2 appearances on this show
Pat Metheny
NEA Jazz Master
1 appearance on this show
Steve Smith
author of Safety Science for Outdoor and Experiential Education · The Men of Action & Dropping A Bruce Podcasts
1 appearance on this show
Hania Rani
1 appearance on this show
Liz Pelly
music journalist and cultural critic
1 appearance on this show
Ryan Davis
AFLW midfield coach · Stock Outdoor Gear
1 appearance on this show
S.G. Goodman
1 appearance on this show
Ann Powers
critic and author · NPR Music
4 appearances on this show
Nels Cline
1 appearance on this show
Chad Taylor
author of It's You. Oh F*ck. It’s ME. In Session with a Psychotherapist · Seapoint Wealth Advisors
1 appearance on this show
Joe Boyd
Leadercast
1 appearance on this show
Don Was
music legend · Blues Note Records
1 appearance on this show
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Big Ears: Conversations About Music is hosted by Big Ears Festival. The show is categorised under music (interviews) and has published 26 episodes.
Big Ears: Conversations About Music has published 26 episodes.
Big Ears: Conversations About Music regularly covers music, interviews. It sits in the music category, with a interviews focus.
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Episodes of Big Ears: Conversations About Music average 48 minutes. a focused format where a clear narrative arc and tight preparation matter most.
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