SML Win Big Ears 2026!

It's a silly tradition, but every year I crown someone the "winner" of that season's Big Ears festival. Usually, it's the performer I've seen the most times; Brian Marsella and Nels Cline won for that distinction in 2024 and 2025, respectively. But this year, my unofficial winner of Big Ears goes to the group SML.

The band held a three-night residency at Big Ears this year, with two sets on each of the three nights, and members of the band also performed separately with other artists on other stages. They could probably win the year based on number of appearances alone, but they not only were probably my favorite set of the festival, they were probably the most talked-about group. Everyone I met raved about them, and even those who said they didn't care for them based on their recordings were converted after catching one of their sets. Many said that after seeing one of their residency nights they were going to change their schedule to catch them again. I caught them on Night 1 (Thursday) was was tempted to go back again myself. 

SML is the quintet of synthesist Jeremiah Chiu, saxophonist Josh Johnson, guitarist Gregory Uhlmann, bassist Anna Butterss, and percussionist Booker Stardrum. The band began at the Los Angeles club ETA, probably best known for Jeff Parker's Mondays at the Enfield Tennis Academy, and both Butterss and Johnson were part of that Parker quartet. To date, they have released two albums, their self-titled debut and 2025's How You Been, but have only played about a dozen or so live shows. This is odd for a band that started from live performances and seemingly thrives on improvisation and feeding off the audience's energy. After seeing the first night of their Big Ears' residency, I can attest that they're even more compelling live than in the studio. 

Both of their albums were compiled and edited from their live performances at ETA and elsewhere, similar to Teo Marcero's approach on Miles Davis' In a Silent Way and On The Corner. Stylistically though, the recordings probably have more in common with the proto-trance repetitions of Harmonia or Holgar Czukay's re-assembly technique with Can, with polyrhythmic floating patterns and time-clocked electronic rhythms added to the mix. At different moments they may evoke the synth-driven improvisations of Herbie Hancock's Sextant, the rhythmic revelry of Fela Kuti, or the low-end elasticity of Parliament/Funkadelic.

At Big Ears, they performed in the round on a stage set up in the middle of a former Greyhound Bus station. The low floor of the stage was the only barrier between the performers and the audience, which is why it looks like the picture at the top was taken on stage. If it looks like I was shooting over Uhlmann's shoulder, it's because I was. Here's a picture I found online that shows me (in the white shirt) right behind Uhlmann's shoulder.

The second set of each night's Big Ears residency included guest musicians and was billed as SML XL. When I saw them on Thursday night, the guests were Rob Mazurek of Chicago Underground and Deerhoof guitarist John Dieterich. Mazurek was fantastic, blowing both minds and the roof off the venue, although to be honest he was a bit of a ball hog. He dominated the set, allowing little space for the rest of the musicians to express themselves - on Thursday night, SML XL was more The Rob Mazurek Show, with backing by SML. Nevertheless, it was still an exciting and mind-expanding trip.

The rave atmosphere of the reconditioned Greyhound Station was heightened by video projections on the bus terminal walls surrounding the stage.

The only reason I didn't go back to Nights 2 or 3 was because of the richness of the Big Ears' schedule. I wanted to see SML on Friday night, but more than Fred Frith and a "surprise" duet by Marc Ribot and Mary Halvorson? Or on Saturday, more than the Darius Jones Trio? Such are the dilemmas one is forced to consider at Big Ears.

Anyway, SML were the talk of the town at Big Ears 2026 and put on possibly my favorite performance of the weekend, so congrats to SML, you won Big Ears this year!