The Big Ears Collection #1: Ashley Capps & Casey Fox

For this episode of Pass the Mic: Creating a Stage for Change, we decided to highlight some of the sights, sounds, and experiences of the 2024 Big Ears Festival. We spoke with the festival’s executive and artistic director, Ashley Capps, and Big Ears’ development director, Casey Fox, about the philosophy behind the festival, some of the challenges, hopes for the future of the event, and intentions for its impact on the local Knoxville community. We also ventured out into the streets to talk to patrons and some of the artists as well, who shared some of their highlights and impressions of the festival.

Special thanks to Jason Thompson, who allowed us to record his live improvised saxophone performance for this special episode.

Music for this episode features excerpts from a live improvised solo performance on bass saxophone by Knoxville-based musician Jason Thompson. Thank you to Jason for allowing us to record and use your performance for this episode.