Jan. 28, 2026, 5:05 a.m. ET
Entertainment legend Ashley Capps, co-founder of Bonnaroo and the mind behind Big Ears, has been honored by SPIN magazine as one of the 26 most influential people in music of the year.
Capps said he was surprised by the publication’s recognition.
“It’s always a special honor to be recognized by your peers in the industry,” he told Knox News on Jan. 27.
Starting with a radio show and concert promotions in the late ’70s and early ’80s, Capps has had a full and fulfilling career − one that’s thriving.
“I must confess that I’m maybe slightly grateful that apparently I’m still relevant in this business at my old age,” he joked. “The music business tends to be a younger person’s game. So, it was nice that someone still feels like I have my finger on the pulse of something.”
What SPIN says about influential concert promoter Ashley Capps
The SPIN writeup highlights Capps’ work on Big Ears in particular, noting the Knoxville-based music festival’s growth even after a two-year hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic. SPIN called the festival “one of the premier live events in the U.S.” That success is in part because of the many people who’ve fallen in love with the creativity Big Ears fosters and celebrates.
“Big Ears started very modestly,” Capps said. “But from the very beginning, from all over the country, there were so many people, artists and also audiences who … wanted to be a part of it, they wanted to support it, they wanted to nurture it. And through that experience, you just allow it to grow.”
This year’s Big Ears Festival is scheduled for March 26-29 across a variety of downtown Knoxville venues.
Capps: Success after AC Entertainment has been ‘team effort’
In addition to creating fan-favorite festivals (his repertoire also includes Sloss and High Water), Capps is known for starting AC Entertainment in 1991 to promote concerts and produces festivals. AC Entertainment was sold to Live Nation in 2020, and Capps stepped down in 2021 to continue his focus on Big Ears.
It’s not a journey Capps has walked alone. “Music is a social experience,” he said, and the industry is one that requires collaboration. The latest honor, he said, doesn’t just belong to him.
“I’m very grateful to have had this acknowledgment,” Capps said. “But I’m also very aware that it’s an acknowledgment that belongs to the many, many, many people that I’ve had the great fortune of working with over the years, whether they’re partners or collaborators or my staffs, whatever it might be. Because this is definitely a team effort.”
Hayden Dunbar is the storyteller reporter. Email: hayden.dunbar@knoxnews.com. Instagram: @knoxstoryteller.
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