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Paste Studio’s mobile series “On The Road” dropped into Knoxville during the Big Ears Festival, capturing a night where experimental music met sharp-witted performance art. In a repurposed downtown loft at Tombras Headquarters, the crowd watched genre lines blur and laughter weave into rhythm.
How Paste Studio landed in the heart of Big Ears
Big Ears has earned a reputation for programming that refuses to sit inside one box. Since 2009 the festival has mixed classical, avant-garde, indie, and noise in the same lineup. Paste Studio followed that spirit. Their “On The Road” crew sought a setting that felt both raw and urban.
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Tombras Headquarters provided the right backdrop. The space read like an industrial living room. Exposed brick, loft light, and a downtown skyline outside the windows made for a cinematic session. It was a setting that matched the festival’s unconventional energy.
Reggie Watts: between a beat and a punchline
Reggie Watts arrived with the improvisational instincts of a jazz player and the timing of a seasoned comedian. His background in underground scenes — moving through jazz, funk, and experimental projects — informs every choice on stage.
- Music and comedy are inseparable in his act. He weaves vocal loops, off-kilter harmonies, and spoken asides into a single fluid performance.
- He reacts to the room in real time. Nothing feels pre-scripted.
- What emerges is unpredictable and visceral. The audience laughs and moves to the same pulse.
Set highlights and memorable moments
The set opened with a free-form piece that immediately set the tone. Layers of voice, rhythm, and odd melodic fragments built a playground for him to roam. The improvisation pulled listeners in.
He shifted gears into a cheeky reimagining of a country staple, turning a familiar line into a new, comic twist. The performance leaned on surprise. Each transition felt like a new turn in a live experiment.
For the finale, he brought the audience into a groove that was impossible to sit out. The closing numbers blended danceable rhythms with witty hooks. You could sense the room locking in with him.
Songs and segments fans talked about
- “Down Lazarus Road” improvisation — a loose, exploratory opener.
- A playful take on a Reba McEntire-style song, reworked into a comic vignette.
- “Least Favorite Song” — an energetic closer that turned into a communal moment.
Why the performance mattered for Big Ears and Paste
This session underscored what the festival does best: create collisions. Reggie’s set was a perfect case study. He took elements from disparate forms and fused them on stage.
For Paste Studio, the night was an opportunity to document a creative crossroads. It showed how a mobile production can capture both the intimacy of a loft and the scale of a festival.
Production notes and acknowledgments
The video was staged and shot with local collaboration. Tombras’ team helped transform the headquarters into a live studio. Technical crews worked quickly to preserve the spontaneity of the moment.
Thanks to the Big Ears organizers and Tombras staff for opening the space and helping the session come together. Paste plans to continue these on-site sessions, visiting other festivals and creative hubs.
