Less than two months ago, Justin Vernon said that Bon Iver would undergo a ‘new cycle’ of life, beginning with his performance in the first annual Eaux Claires Music & Arts Festival.
But as it turns out, we might not be seeing much of Bon Iver after next weekend.
In a new interview with Grantland, Justin Vernon has revealed that he currently has no future tours or albums planned for Bon Iver after his performance for the Eaux Claires Music & Arts Festival at his hometown in northwestern Wisconsin.
Vernon told Grantland:
“I definitely care about the Bon Iver thing a lot, but its kind of my thing and there’s only so much time you can spend with yourself before you just become an asshole. So you gotta push it.”
Under Bon Iver, Vernon has released two critically acclaimed albums – ‘For Emma, Forever Ago’ in 2008 and his self-titled album in 2011 – as well as his EP ‘Blood Bank’ in 2009. Vernon also worked extensively on Kanye West’s album ‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy’ back in 2010, and West recently called Vernon “one of the baddest white boys on the planet” during their collaborative Glastonbury performance of ‘Lost in the World’ last month.
By 2012 Vernon was arguably the most famous indie artist of the year, winning the Grammy for Best New Artist and being parodied by Justin Timberlake on Saturday Night Live. But now it appears that Vernon will now be taking a more open-ended musical direction.
When asked on Grantland whether he was working on his improvisations for Bon Iver, Vernon said:
“Well, what I probably do now making music versus three years ago and six years ago and nine years ago and 12 years ago and 15 years ago has changed. So, I’m not exactly sure if I can really answer that right now. I’m less sure now than I’ve ever been about that. I’m trying just to really attach myself to my feeling and what feels good to express and worrying less and less about the brand, I guess. I just hope to live long enough to do as much shit as I can.”
Justin Vernon and The National’s Aaron Dessner founded the Eaux Claires Music & Arts Festival, “driven by the idea that our festival would encourage music-genre-walls to melt away,” Vernon said in a press release.
On Monday, the Euax Claires blog revealed that the festival would begin both days with the world premier of ‘Forever Love’ by the renowned Icelandic artist Ragnar Kjartansson, performed with The National’s Aaron Dessner and Bryce Dessner. It said the performance is a collaborating song cycle, “blending visual and performance art with live music.”
The festival is set to be held July 17-18 on a 20-acre farm in Wisconsin, Vernon’s home town where he recorded his debut as Bon Iver, titled ‘For Emma, Forever Ago.’
“We have put so much thought into who should collaborate at this festival, from musicians to actors, filmmakers to visual artists.”
Sufjan Stevens, Low, Spoons, The Tallest Man on Earth, Indigo Girls are just some of the confirmed collaborating artists appearing in the event. You can check out the full lineup here.
