Bon Iver

Justin Vernon records ambitious, introspective, and intricately crafted music under the Bon Iver name, a project that helped originate indie folk and has since continued to challenge and reshape both the genre and his own approach. The debut album For Emma, Forever Ago captured his early aesthetic through understated acoustic guitar strumming, restrained arrangements, and soaring falsetto that together produced a candlelit, backwoods atmosphere reminiscent of Radiohead. Widespread acclaim followed, turning Vernon into a notable figure celebrated by publications as varied as Mojo and programs such as Late Night with David Letterman while prompting collaborations with Kanye West that marked the first of repeated partnerships with hip-hop artists in subsequent years. The 2011 self-titled Bon Iver album shifted toward expansive, nearly orchestral textures infused with late-night R&B elements. A turn toward fragmented electronica defined 2016's 22, A Million, after which 2019's I, I integrated the project's various stylistic threads, before a return to voice-and-guitar emphasis arrived with the 2024 Sable EP.

The Bon Iver saga traces back to the dissolution of Justin Vernon's indie folk band DeYarmond Edison. Although formed in Wisconsin, the group had relocated to Raleigh, North Carolina before splitting over artistic differences. Vernon returned to his home state and isolated himself in a remote northern cabin for three months, a period of intense productivity during which he composed and tracked emotionally charged material in 12-hour stretches, emerging with a nine-song debut by spring. He named the project Bon Iver, an intentional misspelling of the French phrase "bon hiver" meaning "good winter," and Jagjaguwar released For Emma, Forever Ago in early 2008.

With Sean Carey joining him for live performances, Vernon spent the rest of the year touring the eastern United States and Canada, often sharing bills with singer/songwriter Elvis Perkins. Growing public and critical interest placed the album on multiple year-end "best of 2008" lists. Bon Iver issued the Blood Bank EP of old and new material in January 2009. Kanye West, a fan, brought Vernon to Hawaii later that year to record vocals for tracks on My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. When Vernon resumed his own work, he composed orchestral, richly arranged folk songs that departed from the debut's intimacy, releasing them the following summer as Bon Iver. The album earned generally favorable reviews, reached number one on charts in several countries, and peaked at number two in the United States. In February 2012 Bon Iver received Grammy Awards for Best Alternative Album and Best New Artist.

After a year of touring, Vernon announced in an interview that Bon Iver was "winding down" while he pursued other endeavors. The first of these was the blues-based group the Shouting Matches, which performed at the 2013 Coachella Festival. Later that year Volcano Choir released their second album Repave, and Vernon appeared on Kanye West's Yeezus. Bon Iver continued to surface sporadically, contributing a cover of Peter Gabriel's "Come Talk to Me" to the 2013 album And I'll Scratch Yours and placing the new song "Heavenly Father" on the soundtrack to the 2014 film Wish I Was Here. Following another declaration that the project was inactive, the band performed two new songs at the Eaux Claires Music & Arts Festival co-curated by Vernon and Aaron Dessner of the National.

In early 2016 Vernon confirmed that Bon Iver remained active and that a new album was underway. He also co-wrote a track for James Blake's The Colour in Anything, released in March. At the August 2016 Eaux Claires Music & Arts Festival, Bon Iver presented a full set of new material, announcing 22, A Million the next day. Jagjaguwar released the album in September 2016, favoring a chopped-up, dramatic indie folktronica sound that largely moved away from earlier work. 22, A Million earned a 2017 Grammy nomination for Best Alternative Music Album.

Vernon and the live group—Sean Carey, Matthew McCaughan, Mike Lewis, and Andrew Fitzpatrick—began introducing new songs in concerts from 2018 onward, frequently performing at festivals alongside the dance troupe TU Dance. At the same time Vernon assembled a large ensemble of musicians and singers that included Moses Sumney, Jenn Wasner, Bruce Hornsby, and James Blake to record I, I, an album that merged the electronic tendencies of 22, A Million with the fuller sound of the second Bon Iver release. After a brief promotional campaign featuring surprise drops and striking videos with TU Dance members, I, I arrived in August 2019 and received Grammy nominations for Album of the Year, Best Alternative Music Album, and Record of the Year for "Hey, Ma." In 2021 Vernon collaborated with composer Nicholas Britell on "Second Nature," which appeared on the soundtrack to the Adam McKay-directed film Don't Look Up. Following an extended hiatus and serious doubts about continuing in music, Vernon reactivated Bon Iver and issued the Sable EP in late 2024, comprising three songs centered on guitar and voice that explored the darker thoughts and emotions he had previously set aside to make Bon Iver records.