Big Ears no. 1: Rich Ruth x William Tyler

Two Nashville-based guitarists pushing the boundaries of instrumental music at Big Ears.

Part one of a visual exploration of the genre-melting Big Ears Festival.

Michael Ruth of Rich Ruth

William Tyler

This was my first time attending the paradoxically renowned yet somehow still under-the-radar Big Ears Festival. With over 180 performances happening over 4 days in downtown Knoxville, I was a little overwhelmed going into it, scrambling to familiarize myself with so much music. To soothe my anxiety, I repeated to myself this helpful koan from festival veteran Nate Chinen from his 2024 recap: “What matters isn’t what you know, after all. It’s your urge toward knowing.”

The format I’ve settled into at That Million Dollar Bash (for now) is spending meaningful time with artists in order to show what their music and lives are about. But that strategy would not hold up at Big Ears with its multidisciplinary, non-hierarchical and inter/anti-genre programming that covers a spectrum rock, jazz, ambient, folk and bluegrass music.

I tried to embrace the scope of the programming while seeking artists who might let me in to a rehearsal, soundcheck, backstage hang, or a pause to make a portrait. In the end, my sampling of Big Ears involved only a dozen artists, yet I brought home 6,500 images to sift through.

To bring some kind of critical angle to the table, I’m pairing artists who I felt share some thread of musical strategy and to look more closely at the commonalities and differences between them.

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Rich Ruth and William Tyler are both Nashville-based artists who explore the potential for instrumental music made with guitar as a central element. They also both performed on the first night of Big Ears.

Rich Ruth is the project of guitarist Michael Ruth, who applies heavy guitar rock energy to spiritual jazz with ambient and electronic music in the mix as well. The ensemble also included Spencer Cullum on pedal steel, Sam Que on saxophone, Parker James on vibraphone, Taro Yamazaki on bass, Taylor Floreth on drums and Patrick M’gonigle on fiddle. Visual artist and singer/musician Lonnie Holley, who performed several times elsewhere at the festival, arrived near the end of the set to improvise lyrics to a final song.

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William Tyler presented music from his forthcoming album Time Indefinite at The Point Church, with cellist Cecilia Stair and synth player Jake Davis who manipulated tape loops as well. Together they created hypnotic, gossamer and elegiac music that felt as much like a religious journey as a performance.

Up in the balcony, I found Ira Kaplan and Georgia Hubley of Yo La Tengo, arms draped over the bannister absorbing the offering.

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To understand more about what makes Big Ears so special, be sure to check out the posts from these great writers/artists sharing their experiences of Big Ears.

Nate Chinen - The Gig
Joel Harrison - Guitar Talk
KOKAYI - From Out The Bubble
Matt Merewitz - The Side People.

Next Up: Tortoise x SML