In 2012, Bon Iver’s Grammy-anointed, bearded ringleader Justin Vernon said that he was winding down the project, probably because there are only so many tears that could be shed to music made in a shed. Last year, he doubled down on that sentiment, saying he had no immediate plans to release music as Bon Iver. Now, his tune is changing, as he plans to perform new music at this year’s Eaux Claires Festival.
News follows the recent release of a previously unheard Bon Iver track, “Haven, Mass.,” which we wrote about here. In an interview about the upcoming Eaux Claires festival, Vernon organizes, he told Billboard that Bon Iver is no longer “winding down”:
I’m no longer winding down. I’m not exactly sure where I am with it. I’ve been winding down for a number of years for numerous reasons. For exhaustion, exposure. It’s never died or anything to me. It’s one of those things that needs to be protected in my own spirit. This Asian tour that we’re doing, playing Eaux Claires last year, playing Eaux Claires this year. You know, we’re not just gonna play the same set we did last year. I’ve been working on music, you know, man. It takes a long time, and I’m not sure exactly what it is or what it means to me, and until that happens I won’t really know exactly what sharing it will look like or feel like or when. There’s sort of this internal pressure, not from anybody but myself, to come out with new music for the festival.
Read the full interview here for more insights into the planning of the festival and what Justin Vernon has been doing since 2011, which is when he last released a Bon Iver album.