Big Something Debuts King Gizzard, Tame Impala & Cage The Elephant Covers At Big What? Festival

Big Something held their annual The Big What? Festival over the weekend in their home state of North Carolina. The band’s third and final performance of the fest on Saturday saw King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Tame Impala and Cage The Elephant cover debuts along with special guests.

Big Something — guitarist Nick MacDaniels, saxophonist Casey Cranford, bassist Matt Laird, drummer Ben Vinograd and guitarist Jesse Hensley — kicked off their festival finale with originals “A Simple Vision” and “Love Generator.” The band then welcomed saxophonist and artist-at-large Nick Gerlach as well as former member trumpeter/keyboardist Josh Kagel for a cover of Lettuce’s “Blast Off.”

Next, Big Something delivered the title track to their latest album and festival theme for the night, “Headspace,” ahead of their first cover debut of the evening, Tame Impala’s “Breathe Deeper.” The song appears on the Kevin Parker-led project’s excellent 2020 album, The Slow Rush. Big Something then welcomed vocalist Kanika Moore from Big What performers Doom Flamingo for “Waves” before going it alone to wrap the set with “The Curse of Julia Brown.”

Big Something launched the second set with a trio of originals beginning with an exploratory “Algorithm” followed by “Sundown Nomad” and “Passenger.” The second cover debut came in the form of the title track to King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard’s 2014 album, I’m In Your Mind Fuzz.

The band then welcomed former bassist Doug Marshall for “Evil Josh,” which also saw Josh Kagel on keys. Next, “The Mountain,” followed by a well-jammed “Bob And Weave.” The third and final cover debut, “Rainbow,” arrived as the penultimate song of the set. The tune originally appeared on Cage the Elephant’s first album in five years, 2024’s Neon Pill. Big Something wrapped their Big What? finale with “Amanda Lynn.”

Listen to full-show audio below — including an SVIA acoustic set — via Team Dirty South:

Big Something kicks off their fall tour on September 26 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Scroll down for their itinerary and ticket info.

Setlist (via Big Something Facebook)

Set I: A Simple Vision, Love Generator, Blast Off[1], Headspace, Breathe Deeper[2], Waves[3], The Curse of Julia Brown

Set II: Algorithm, Sundown Nomad, Passenger, I’m In Your Mind Fuzz[4], Evil Josh[5], The Mountain, Bob And Weave, Rainbow[6], Amanda Lynn

Notes:

• [1] Lettuce, w/ Nick Gerlach on sax & Josh Kagel on trumpet
• [2] Tame Impala, first time played
• [3] w/ Kanika Moore (Doom Flamingo) on vocals
• [4] King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard, first time played
• [5] w/ Doug Marshall on bass & Josh Kagel on keys
• [6] Cage The Elephant, first time played