Big Ears 2026

The Best show in town goes on...

I anticipate this post being one of many Big Ears posts, as it seems that with each passing year more and more journalists and part time writers such as myself attend, and rave about the festival.

For good reason…

An analogy for this event might be an all -you-can -eat Michelin starred dinner. There’s way more than you can consume, it’s all of the highest quality, and you’re exhausted, high, and happy by the end of the gathering.

(Ashey Capps, Yuka Honda, me, Nels Cline)

Here’s my recounting of some of the great sounds I heard in no particular order.

1. Don Was and the Pan Detroit Ensemble

Nothing surprised me more than this group. I had never seen Don Was perform. It was a late- night show…

The nine- piece ensemble warmed us up with some serious groove music that encapsulated the Detroit sound, soul and funk and Jazz, all one. The players were Detroit royalty, no doubt some of the best the city has to offer, though mostly unknown to me. You heard a bit of Motown, some Barry Harris, some Marvin Gaye. GREAT guitarist, Wayne Gerard. What a great idea this is, celebrating regional sound with the brothers you grew up with.

BUT THEN! They played the entire Grateful Dead record, Blues For Allah! Seriously. Shall I note that this is one of the Dead’s more obscure and complex records?

Now I consider myself a bit of an expert on what one should and shouldn’t do when covering the Grateful Dead. Rule #1, don’t play “Jerry’s” licks, make it your own. Mission accomplished! The band put their own spin on the compositions while executing them to perfection, imprinting the music with their own exuberant, funky vocabulary—incredible improvising when it was time to do that, and perfectly executed ensemble parts when it was time to do that. For years I have imagined the sound of a group of funky jazz -oriented black folks playing this music. I’ve come close to presenting that very idea. It sounded divine in my head. Well, goddammit, Don Was did it! Dave McMurray, their saxophone player, has a long history of playing with jazz greats. His sax solos were unbelievably accomplished and quite moving.

(Sounds a little like 90’s Henry Threadgill?)

When I saw McMurray and heard his name, I realized that I’d seen him perform before, almost 3 decades ago in Oakland, with trumpeter Mark Isham. This is going to sound like hyperbole. But I remember him taking what I considered at the time to be the best saxophone solo I had ever heard. It was absolutely phenomenal. I ended up taking the band to the airport, and I had a bunch of CDs lying around and every one of them was Charles Ives music. He looked at the CD’s and had a good laugh— didn’t say a word the whole ride. How amazing it was to come across this guy again, I didn’t know anything about him at the time, and thought I’d never see him again.

Was added trenchant horn lines, found a way to make even the most abstract compositions from this book sound like they’d been birthed in Detroit.

The Grateful Dead’s lasting power amazes me. I met Don a bit earlier in the festival and had a brief chat with him. I asked him,” When you first saw the Grateful Dead (1971) did you ever imagine that they’d become about the biggest economic driver in the 2026 music business world?”

“Absolutely not,” he replied with a grin.

No doubt Jerry Garcia would have said the same.

Don Was is one cool cat— brilliant, down to earth, and just a good dude from what I can tell.

2. L Shankar with V Selvaganesh and Swaminatham Selvaganesh.

For the first time, Big Ears made a substantial investment in traditional Indian music. This concert involved true royalty from South India, two members of the most prestigious family of Carnatic drummers, and a violinist who first became famous in John McLaughlin’s original Shakti, and went on to redefine what the instrument could do. Check out the video. The level of passion and virtuosity that occurs here is beyond words, and it brought me to tears. This is a drumming tradition that is hundreds of years old, and this clip exemplifies the zenith of this ancient tradition. It’s made more wonderful by the fact that it is a father/ son duo. I am fortunate to call both Swami and Selva my friend.

3. Blind Boys of Alabama

This group has been an existence in some form since 1939! You hear the history in everything they do. The music is rooted in the church, but it is universal in its feeling and aspiration. It’s hard to imagine a more soulful and heartwarming experience. Check out the video. What a beautiful, beautiful sentiment. I sometimes ask myself why I can’t consistently move people like this with my music. That itself would require a long essay to attain any sort of clarity.

4. David Byrne

Somewhat surprisingly I had never seen Byrne. The level of detail to the visuals and choreography in this show are astonishing. Just as astonishing is his ability to write consistently incredible hooks. There’s genius in this fellow, he’s totally unserious and serious at the same time. Hummable bass lines, exuberant singing, simple grooves that just plain make you happy. He ended with. “Burning Down the House,” which is as good a pop song as I’ve ever heard, and delightful to hear in person.

5. Miles Okazaki solo, playing Monk

It’s hard to believe that Miles has pulled this off. He played somewhere between four or five hours of solo guitar, every single Thelonious Monk composition. The half an hour or so I caught demonstrated his uncanny ability to bring a specific viewpoint to each song, and play with both abandon and subjective shape. Most of us can’t imagine playing solo from for more than half an hour. This is truly groundbreaking guitar excellence.

6. Jimmy Dale Gilmore and Butch Hancock

I probably first heard these Texas troubadours 40 years ago on record. It was hard to believe that they still exist on earth, much less in front of me at Big Ears. These outlaws seemed a gazillion years old. I was utterly charmed by the cowboy existentialism of their lyrics, the offhand and yet practiced delivery. The tales these two pals spin are both light and deep, funny and serious. It’s useful to remember just how much can be accomplished with three chords and a few words.

7. Ches Smith Tone Row

Ches is one of jazz’ most interesting composers. If you know me, you know I love two guitar groups. So hearing Liberty Ellman and Mary Halvorsen ping pong vertiginous counterpoint, spar in odd times, and scronk out with various effects over Ches’ ever- imaginative grooves was a thrill.

Short takes:

Deerhof: there is no other group on the planet like these folks. It’s new music performed by a rock band, almost nothing is predictable about it, and it’s virtuosic and body-centered at the same time. The impregnable words seem like an afterthought, though I could be wrong. When the singer started imitating an Easter bunny we left.

Janel and Anthony: sublime guitar and cello music from partners who’ve been playing together for over two decades. Gorgeous, soulful, simple without ever being simplistic.

Pat Metheny and Side Eye: the few songs I caught were just like every other Pat Metheny concert I’ve seen— stunning, lovely, and so tightly choreographed you feel as if the group has already played 100 gigs. Which they may well have done. Part of me wonders if Pat Metheny makes more than one mistake on stage every year. I just don’t see how he operates at this high a level all the time. Always inspiring.

John Zorn Masada One:

Kind of like revisiting an old friend. Dave Douglas and Zorn blew mightily over one chord Hebraic vamps… hearing Joey Baron again was a treat.

I saw a lot more, all of it good. The quality control at this festival is astonishing. Of course I’m not even mentioning all the great shows I missed and wished I’d seen.

The fact that you can see all this music in one place over one long weekend is amazing. But it shouldn't be. It should be happening lots of other places, but I don't know that that will ever happen. Until then, let's be glad that there's one festival that is truly exemplifying the oneness of music in a world riven by polarity, and division. May all beings experience oneness, experience the good times and joy that a community like this can bring.

But perhaps my favorite experience was a simple and human one: sitting outside on a warm night, sharing a beer with two old guitar pals, Miles Okazaki and Liberty Ellman. This type of thing doesn’t happen enough. Slouching with a beverage, talking about gear, laughing about dumb stuff, reflecting briefly on the state of the world. Truly, this is one of the gifts of a festival like this. Hanging out with friends old and new.

(Part of the large S. Indian contingent this year)