Knoxville will host André 3000 for a four-day Big Ears residency that’s heavy on the flute
Nearly two years after Big Boi performed along the Tennessee River, the other half of defunct hip-hop group Outkast is coming to Knoxville for five performances tied to next month's Big Ears Festival.
I'm sorry, "Ms. Jackson" ? don't expect to hear any of the legendary duo's hits. André 3000 is planning five performances of his album "New Blue Sun," which features the musician and rapper not on vocals, but on multiple flutes.
Prior to releasing this debut album in November, André 3000 played flute on the "Everything Everywhere All at Once" soundtrack produced by Son Lux, which played Big Ears in 2023.
When and where is André 3000 performing live in Knoxville?
André 3000's residency will take place each day of the festival, happening March 21-24 across multiple downtown Knoxville venues.
This is his schedule:
Thursday, March 21: St. John's Cathedral
Friday, March 22: Bijou Theatre
Saturday, March 23: The Point
Sunday, March 24: The Point (two performances)
How can I get tickets to the André 3000 concerts in Knoxville?
These performances will require standalone tickets, which will only be available to Big Ears Festival passholders.
A limited number of tickets will go on sale Feb. 29 for VIP and premier passholders, with the remaining tickets being offered to all passholders March 1 at bigearsfestival.org.
VIP and premier passes have sold out for the festival, but regular weekend passes and single-day passes are still available.
Four-day passes are selling for $400, but the price is expected to go up to $450 soon. Single-day passes are still available for between $115 and $150 depending on the day.
What critics are saying about André 3000's flute album, 'New Blue Sun'
"New Blue Sun" earned an 8.3-out-of-10 score by Pitchfork, which described the album as an "an 87-minute devotional to new age, ambient jazz, and spiritual discovery."
"It’s beautiful, demanding, and among the most fascinating artistic left turns in recent memory," wrote Pitchfork's Sadie Sartini Garner.
Rolling Stone described the album as "a breath of fresh incense" and a "sound world you'll love getting lost in."
Big Ears Festival shares another lineup addition and residency
In addition to André 3000, Big Ears is welcoming an artist known for producing more than 300,000 paintings of album covers, stage sets, music posters and more.
His name is Steve Keene, and he has been described by Rolling Stone as "your favorite band's favorite artist."
"Beginning on Thursday, March 21, Keene will be 'performing' his painting as he does most every day in Brooklyn, producing several dozen paintings a day, which he sells for $20 or so each," according to a Big Ears News release. "He will paint every day at the festival."
Daily schedule with venues released for Big Ears Festival in Knoxville
As part of the big announcement, festival organizers released the schedule of artist set times and venues, which you can view in the Big Ears app and at bigearsfestival.org.
This year's lineup is led by Herbie Hancock, Jon Batiste, Rhiannon Giddens, Adrianne Lenker and Laurie Anderson. John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin also will be playing with Sons of Chipotle.
Additional performances will include Digable Planets, Shabaka Hutchings, Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway, Bonnie "Prince" Billy and more.
Ryan Wilusz is a downtown growth and development reporter. Phone 865-317-5138. Email [email protected]. Instagram @knoxscruff.
Support strong local journalism by subscribing at subscribe.knoxnews.com.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Big Ears adds André 3000 of Outkast to Knoxville music festival lineup