Photo: Wenn
Justin Vernon, lead songwriter of Bon Iver, has confirmed the return of Bon Iver calling his forthcoming festival appearance a 'new cycle' for the group.
The return of the celebrated group has been long-awaited since the release of their multi-award winning second album Bon Iver, Bon Iver in 2011. Vernon put the band on hiatus, however their remergence is seemingly upon us four years later.
In a new interview with Kare 11, Justin Vernon discussed the progress of new material which was recorded in his hometown of Eau Claire, Wisconsin: "by being sheltered, we eventually got to extend ourselves in directions which weren't influenced too much by the industry and how you're going to make money, for us it's about the love of it."
He also reflected on his surge of success which sparked the undercover move back to his hometown: "when you get that kind of attention, there's no way to really take it all in, if I let myself be inflated by all that then I might not be doing my job in the future."
Bon Iver's upcoming show at the self-curated festival Eaux Claires, set to take place in the group's hometown of Wisconsin, is labelled by Vernon as: "the perfect platform for us to start this new cycle and new life of the band."
Listen to Bon Iver's 'Beth/Rest' below:
Vernon's Eaux Claires festival is thought to bring a tourism surge to Wisconsin and is estimated to bring in "eight or nine million dollars". Bob McCoy, president and CEO of the Eau Claire Chamber of Commerce, told local television station WEAU: “It’s a very major economic impact...looking at what Justin wants to do, and having somebody like that, you can look around for a long time trying to find somebody that will bring that kind of venue and that kind of magnitude into the community, and it falls in your lap, it’s really kind of cool and he’s a pretty awesome guy"
Eaux Claires Festival will feature the likes of The National and Sufjan Stevens taking place on the weekend of 17 - 18 July.
