Bon Iver Mural Appears In Greenpoint, Ahead of Live Album Debut
Something is definitely cooking in the Bon Iver-niverse, as a mural has just appeared in Greenpoint, on the corner of Franklin and Meserole Streets. Check out an image of the painting below from Stereogum:
Bon Iver "22 Days" mural appears in Brooklyn in advance of this week's live album premiere https://t.co/HMOsawj7I7 pic.twitter.com/tbgGicydjs
— Stereogum (@stereogum) August 9, 2016
Set to debut new music while headlining the Eaux Claires festival this coming weekend—which Justin Vernon curates himself, along with The National’s Matt Berninger—the mural in Greenpoint matches recent imagery that appeared on Bon Iver’s official Instagram account, and is similar in style to intriguing artwork posted on the band’s Facebook.
Vernon, lead singer and chief creative force of the band, hasn’t released new music as Bon Iver since 2011, when he put out a second LP, Bon Iver, Bon Iver, which featured “Holocene,” an all-timer on the ‘Holy fuck, this song is first-listen fire’ list. He’s managed to keep busy, however, putting out a record in 2013 with side project Volcano Choir, and appearing on various songs with fittingly talented and exciting collaborators, including Kanye West, James Blake, and Chance the Rapper.
Recently, Vernon was revealed to be the voice interpolated on Chance’s “Summer Friends,” despite the fact that many initially were convinced it was a soundalike. When the original song, “Friends,” by Francis and the Lights was released, it came with two revelations. First, it was Kanye’s self-declared favorite song of 2016—he even showed up in the video—and second (and more significantly) Vernon is credited on the song as Bon Iver.
It’s an interesting turnaround, as just over a year ago Vernon said that there were no plans for another Bon Iver album or tour; clearly, a change of heart occurred sometime between then and February, when he told Billboard that the band was “no longer winding down,” heavily hinting at new music in development.
It’s going to be fun to see where Bon Iver goes from here and, surely, more will be discovered following this week’s Eaux Claires show. Maybe more of it will be set here in Brooklyn? Like in Greenpoint, where he has left his mark? Only time will tell. But, for now, enjoy an amazing live performance of “Skinny Love” below: