The 11th Big Ears festival ended its 4-day run late Sunday and one thing was very clear. Although there were quite a few musical and creative luminaries on the playbill, the biggest star of all was the city of Knoxville.
“I can’t believe all the beautiful venues — all the historic buildings you all have,” said a man from Asheville with whom we shared a drink at Five Thirty Lounge. “We don’t have that.”
Two older guys from Connecticut said the same thing. “Your downtown is just so walkable,” one noted. “It’s great that all the venues are so close together.” These two had flown to Knoxville, booked a room at the Hyatt Place for four days, and ate every meal out. Multiply that by the thousands of visitors who came for the long weekend. (Big Ears has not yet released official attendance numbers for this year, but four-day passes sold out before the festival started.)
Of course, almost everyone commented on the friendliness of the people. Continue reading