Big Ears

What Big Ears does

Big Ears is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2009 by Ashley Capps in Knoxville, Tennessee, that produces an annual four-day music and arts festival each spring. The flagship event presents nearly 250 concerts, film screenings, talks, literary events, workshops, and art installations across 20+ venues in downtown Knoxville, drawing 40,000+ attendees and generating a disclosed $68.9M in local annual economic impact. The organization is led by a 13-person staff and governed by a board of directors, with Ashley Capps serving as Executive & Artistic Director; other key personnel include Director of Operations Shelby Sandlin, Director of Development Sara Houchins, Director of Operations, Festival Booking Associate Sruly Lazaros, Film Program Curator Lily Keber, and Administrative Manager Morgan Fleming.

Big Ears sells access through tiered wristband-style passes (Weekend, Premier, Sonic Explorer VIP, Single-Day, Film-Only) priced across multiple tiers and a separately ticketed reserved-seat concert layer (headline acts at $60-$195 public). Distribution is direct-to-consumer through the official website via Front Gate Tickets, with Ticketmaster handling reserved-seat concerts and a Ticketmaster Verified Exchange for resale. The revenue model is a nonprofit hybrid: one-time pass sales, donation giving levels ranging from Voyager ($100-$499) to Icon ($10,000+), corporate sponsorships, and merchandise. Aux digital properties include the 'Big Ears: Conversations About Music' podcast, a mobile festival app, and a merchandise store.

The underlying technology stack is operational rather than differentiated: ticketing partnerships (Front Gate Tickets, Ticketmaster), donation processing (Bloomerang), and analytics (Google Analytics). There is no disclosed proprietary technology, AI/ML capability, or platform architecture. The organization's defensibility rests on curatorial reputation, venue relationships, founder credibility, and community ecosystem rather than technology. The 2026 edition was held March 26-29, 2026, and the 2027 edition is scheduled for April 1-4, 2027.

Name

Big Ears

Legal name

Big Ears Festival

Website

https://bigearsfestival.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Big Ears is a Knoxville, Tennessee-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit that produces an annual four-day genre-defying music and arts festival across 20+ downtown venues, drawing 40,000+ attendees via tiered passes, donations, sponsorships, and merchandise.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Music and Arts Festival

NAICS

Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events with Facilities (71131), Performing Arts Companies (7111)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Music Festival Organizers & Promoters (MPAGAAAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Concerts & Music Festivals (THAJAFAA), Event Operations & Venue Services (Box Office, FOH/BOH, Concessions) (MPAIAFAL)

Keywords

• Music festival production
• Arts festival programming
• Live music events
• Cultural event management
• Festival pass sales

Headquarters

HQ city

Knoxville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Festival Passes and Tickets: Revenue from selling festival wristbands/passes offering access to 250+ concerts, films, talks, and installations across four days at 20+ venues. Passes sold in tiers (Weekend, Premier, VIP) plus single-day options and separately ticketed reserved-seat concerts.
2. Donations and Contributions: As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, Big Ears relies on donor support. Multiple giving levels from Voyager ($100-499) to Icon ($10,000+) with corresponding benefits including early access to tickets, name listing, exclusive events, and VIP passes.
3. Merchandise Sales: Official festival merchandise including t-shirts, coffee mugs, tote bags, and lineup posters sold through merchandise store, with VIP pass holders receiving complimentary merchandise packages.
4. Corporate Sponsorships: Corporate sponsorship opportunities available for businesses seeking to align with the festival. Funded by donors and sponsors from the Knoxville community, private foundations, and government agencies.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Big Ears produces and operates the Big Ears Festival, a four-day multi-venue music and arts festival held each spring in downtown Knoxville, Tennessee, presenting nearly 250 concerts, film screenings, talks, literary events, workshops, and art installations across 20+ historic theaters, churches, clubs, and galleries. Access to the festival is sold through tiered wristband-style passes (Weekend, Premier, Sonic Explorer VIP), single-day and film-only passes, and separately ticketed reserved-seat concerts featuring headlining artists. The 501(c)(3) nonprofit also operates a companion podcast, mobile festival app, merchandise store, and donor program to sustain its programming.

Product overview

Big Ears is a nonprofit music and arts festival organization presenting a multi-day flagship festival event. The core offering is the Big Ears Festival, a four-day event featuring nearly 250 performances across 20+ venues. Access is managed through tiered festival passes (Weekend, Premier, Sonic Explorer VIP, Single-Day, Film-Only) sold via Front Gate Tickets, with separately ticketed premium concerts. The organization also operates a podcast (Big Ears: Conversations About Music), a mobile festival app, and merchandise packages. The festival operates primarily as an in-person event with digital extensions through its podcast and app.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Big Ears Festival The flagship four-day multi-venue music and arts festival featuring nearly 250 concerts, films, conversations, literary events, and art installations across 20+ downtown Knoxville venues for individual attendees and arts enthusiasts.
• Festival Passes (Weekend, Premier, Sonic Explorer VIP) Wristband-style passes for individual festival attendees providing access to 250+ concerts, films, talks, and installations, with tiered options including Weekend, Premier (with priority venue access and secret show notice), and Sonic Explorer VIP (with reserved seating, exclusive events, and merchandise package).
• Single-Day Festival Passes Day-specific festival passes for individual attendees providing access to all publicly announced Big Ears events on a chosen day, with a Premier level offering priority entry benefits.
• Film-Only Pass A pass granting access to all film screenings at Regal Riviera over the festival's four days plus entrance to all official Film Program talks, panels, and Q&As, sold at $90 ($71.15 base + $18.85 fees).
• Separately Ticketed Reserved-Seat Concerts Reserved-seat add-on performances sold via Ticketmaster featuring special headlining acts such as David Byrne and Robert Plant's Saving Grace, with preferred pricing tiers (P1-P4) for festival pass holders.
• Big Ears: Conversations About Music (Podcast) A companion podcast exploring the creative process, collaboration, and transformative power of music through one-on-one conversations, roundtables, and discussions with musicians, journalists, and community voices.
• Big Ears Festival Mobile App A mobile application for festival attendees providing maps, performance schedules, artist bios, and push notifications for pop-up performances during the event.
• Official Festival Merchandise Package Official branded festival merchandise including a t-shirt, coffee mug, lineup poster, and tote bag with a $100 value, available for pre-purchase or included with Sonic Explorer VIP passes.

Quantifiable outcome

• $68.9 million local annual economic impact
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Front Gate TicketscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOfficial ticketing provider for the Big Ears Festival. Handles all primary pass sales, order management, customer support, and wristband fulfillment for domestic customers.
• Ticketmaster Verified ExchangecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOfficial resale partner enabling safe, verified ticket resale for fans unable to attend. Ensures authenticity of all resold passes.
• Visit KnoxvillecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal tourism bureau partnership offering discounted hotel rates through a dedicated portal for festival attendees. Manages preferred hotel relationships for the festival.
• Two BikesminorGTM or Marketing PartnerBike rental partner offering patron bike rentals through the festival's partner program, supporting sustainable transportation for attendees.
• Tennesseans for the ArtsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProud member of Tennesseans for the Arts, a statewide advocacy organization supporting arts and cultural programming.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Newport Jazz Festival: Long-running, prestigious US music festival with strong curatorial identity and jazz/experimental programming emphasis. Comparable in curatorial depth, established brand, and focus on adventurous rather than purely commercial lineups.
• Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival: Multi-genre music and arts festival also founded by Ashley Capps / AC Entertainment. Most directly comparable given shared founder DNA, multi-stage format, and genre-spanning programming philosophy.
• Pitchfork Music Festival: Curated indie/alternative music festival with a strong editorial identity rooted in Pitchfork's tastemaker brand. Comparable on curatorial-first positioning and tight genre-focus.
• Treefort Music Fest: Multi-venue indie/experimental music festival in downtown Boise, Idaho. Comparable on intimate downtown walkable footprint, indie/genre-defying curation, and similar smaller scale.
• Le Guess Who? Festival: Multi-venue experimental and genre-crossing music festival in Utrecht, Netherlands. Often cited alongside Big Ears as a global benchmark for adventurous, non-commercial curation across avant, jazz, electronic, and global music.
• Hopscotch Music Festival: Multi-venue, indie/experimental music festival in downtown Raleigh, NC. Closely mirrors Big Ears's walkable downtown venue model, genre-defying curation across rock, jazz, electronic, and avant-garde, and intimate scale.
• Moogfest: Multi-venue festival celebrating electronic music, synthesis, and technology, with an experimental and avant-garde curatorial stance. Highly comparable niche positioning and intimate multi-venue format.

Broad incumbents

• Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival: One of the largest and most commercially prominent US music festivals. Competes for similar adventurous headliners and overlapping attendee demographics, but at an order-of-magnitude larger scale and more commercial positioning.
• SXSW (South by Southwest): Massive multi-venue music, film, and technology festival in Austin, TX with a strong programming brand. Overlaps significantly on multi-venue downtown footprint and genre-spanning music programming, but at vastly larger scale and broader scope.

Emerging players

• Unsound Festival: Annual experimental music and arts festival in Poland with a strongly avant-garde curatorial identity. Frequently grouped with Big Ears in international press as a peer in the 'adventurous music festival' category.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/big-ears-festival

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Big Ears