This year marks the tenth anniversary of USA festival Big Ears, a music festival like no other that has quickly risen to become a shining beacon in Tennessee’s cultural calendar - which, given the state’s storied musical history, is no mean feat. Also unusual is that the event’s host city is neither of Tennessee’s most famous; Memphis and Nashville here take a backseat to the historic Knoxville, as it sees nearly 200 performances, as well as secret sets and film screenings, across 12 venues over 4 days in March and April.

So what exactly does the festival have to offer? First and foremost, variety. This isn’t an event guided by genre; it’s a celebration of music in the broadest and most curious sense. While more traditional country and rock musicians do occupy their own spaces on the lineup, there are also slots given to artists who dabble in the experimental, or who defy labels altogether. It’s a festival where you can see indie folk group The Mountain Goats perform alongside professional kora player Sona Jobarteh, self-proclaimed ‘explosive musician’ Ken Mujo, and Ibeyi, a duo who fuse elements of soul, jazz, and R&B with traditional instruments.

Here are just a few of Wordplay’s top artists to watch at Big Ears this spring:

1. 700 Bliss

Jumpy, unsettling beats are the backdrop for Philadelphia duo 700 Bliss’s rap/club/hip-hop fusion project. Poet and musician Moor Mother here joins forces with DJ Bliss to create something that’s dark, arresting, and utterly captivating, while still offering a sense of playfulness; heavy bass and those nerve-jangling beats come together alongside tight, furious poetry to offer something it’s almost impossible to pull yourself away from.

Wordplay recommends: Candace Parker

2. Sam Gendel & Sam Wilkes

Meditative, dreamy, and cool as a summer breeze, the music that comes out of this pair seems to capture something wonderfully unfinished. Saxophone and electric bass lead the way here, with a host of other elements providing intricate layered details among ethereal, urban soundscapes.

Wordplay recommends: TRACK ONE

3. New Future City Radio

The music of Damon Locks and Rob Mazurek is loosely thematic, operating within a sort of framework: that of imagining a pirate radio station for the people. Predominantly improvised, their work uses instruments such as trumpet and voice alongside electronic elements to create something unsettling and brilliantly original that contemplates community and our future.

Wordplay recommends: Damon Locks - From a Spark to a Fire | Rob Mazurek - Parable 3000 (We All Come from Somewhere Else)

4. Ibeyi

Cuban-born, French-raised twin sisters Lisa-Kaindé and Naomi Diaz incorporate elements of French, Yoruba, and Afro-Cuban music in their work, all woven into an overarching soul and R&B sound. Sumptuous vocals are layered over traditional instruments and beats in a way that’s nostalgic and futuristic, and undeniably powerful, all at once.

Wordplay recommends: River

Big Ears festival takes place in Knoxville, Tennessee from 30th March - 2nd April. Festival passes still available here.

Words: Martha Crass