Live at Big Ears feat. Greg Saunier, Macie Stewart, Wendy Eisenberg, Kramer, Thor Harris, Tall Tall Trees, Shahzad Ismaily and Hope Littwin,

Hello press friends! Hope everyone is doing great. Here's a project near and dear to my heart that I get to tell you about:

Last year Joyful Noise had the pleasure of attending Big Ears Festival in Knoxville, Tennessee, a four day gathering of some of the most adventurous artists in the world, primarily presented in beautiful and ornate concert halls and churches all within walking distance of the downtown area of the city. We were excited to have a healthy smattering of Joyful Noise artists attend in various forms: Greg Saunier performing with Wadada Leo Smith, Finom’s Macie Stewart supporting her new solo record for International Anthem, Kramer and Wendy Eisenberg both performing solo and with Squanderers, as well as Thor Harris, Tall Tall Trees, and two JNR-adjacent friends Shahzad Ismaily and Hope Littwin all performing solo and/or with various other projects.

As the festival neared I dutifully set to work finding a venue and PA system to host an improvised performance to capture what would be a rare and unmissable meeting of the minds. That venue ended up being the back patio of the very casual and un-pretentious local brewery/glass blowing studio combo, Pretentious Beer Co. What ensued was a spontaneous 40 minute-long sonic saga. The joyous cacophony spilled out of the patio and into the street, and behind the musicians passersby poked their heads above a fence that separated an empty parking lot from the patio. For the two hundred attendees (and 30 or so fence-peepers) it was a breath of fresh air before plunging back into the intimate performance spaces of Big Ears. During the set I leaned over to our lead project manager Helly Manson and whispered “we’re putting this out next year,” which further solidified as an idea once I heard the superb mix that our sound engineer Seth Hopper got from the board.

Live at Big Ears by the Joyful Noise Players represents what this label is all about–not just in how the show came together but also in how the music unfolds, particularly the first ten minutes: ideas originate from a place of pure id, typically with a desire to disrupt; chaos ensues (00:00 - 01:09). We don’t avoid the chaos, we embrace it. We swim around in it, we say hello to the fellow chaos wranglers, we take pleasure in the shared experience of seeking something solid to hold onto (1:09-2:07). Typically a gestation period occurs where we can really take a step back and look at what we’ve uncovered (2:08 -5:32). And then we find our rhythm, we find the pocket, we find space to share with our fellow chaos wranglers to shine and bring texture to the space (5:34 - 9:40). And just like that, the world becomes ours (9:40-??:??).

Live at Big Ears is pressed on 500 copies of Milky Clear vinyl and is only available to listen to digitally on the Joyful Noise YouTube channel.