Bon Iver

News

Bon Iver, Dan Wilson score big at the Grammys

Bon Iver took home two awards, while Wilson was honored for Adele collaboration

Justin Vernon of Bon Iver

Vernon took home two awards at last night's show. Courtesy the Grammys

It's not every day you get the opportunity to see Justin Vernon of Bon Iver tucked into a theater seat behind Rihanna and Paul McCartney. But such is the nature of the Grammys, whose increasingly schizophrenic and chaotic approach to celebrating the fragmented music industry kept returning back to lesser-known artists with Midwestern ties during last night's ceremony.

Vernon was a big winner at last night's awards, taking home the coveted Best New Artist award and beating out more mainstream artists like Nicki Minaj and J. Cole.

Video

Watch: Bon Iver on Saturday Night Live

With most Bon Iver followers still debating whether it was awesomely defiant or boldly stupid for Justin Vernon to decline performing at the Grammys because he would be forced into a collaboration with unknown other artists, Vernon and his band appeared on Saturday Night Live last night to play "Holocene" and "Beth/Rest," just as he envisioned them and in front of his largest television audience yet.

Friday Five

Friday Five: Pert Near Sandstone storm the Cedar, and Bon Iver ruins everything

Local music notes from the week of January 23-27

Pert Near Sandstone

The string pickers play two nights at the Cedar. Publicity photo

The entire staff here at the Current has turned localvore as we head into tonight and tomorrow night's sold-out 7th birthday parties at First Avenue -- but those stacked lineups of local acts aren't the only things to rock the Minnesota music scene this week. Here's a look at five items that caught my eye:

1. Bon Iver ruins everything

New Music

Wayne Coyne posts teasers of his collaboration with Bon Iver

New Flaming Lips album will come out on Record Store Day

Wayne Coyne

The Flaming Lips album is one of the most anticipated Record Store Day releases of 2012.

If you follow Wayne Coyne on Twitter, chances are you've glimpsed some jarringly intimate moments from his day-to-day life. Whether it's photos of his wife getting dressed, a close-up shot of a mysterious bug bite, or sketches he's made between recording sessions and interviews, Coyne uses his feed to let loose a stream-of-consciousness assault of images and thoughts.

New Music

Bon Iver collaborates with the Chieftains

50th anniversary Chieftains record also features Imelda May, the Decemberists, many more

There's a joke going around the Current offices that there are so many Bon Iver developments coming out on a weekly basis that we could practically devote an entire blog to Justin Vernon's wherabouts and collaborations. At the risk of becoming the Bon Current Blog (I already managed to mention him this morning in my post about the Minneapolitan filmmaker behind Kathleen Edwards' new music video), here's a quick rundown of some recent developments in Iver Land.

Video

Kathleen Edwards video filmed by Minneapolitan Dan Huiting 1

Huiting says his career has boomed after working with Bon Iver

Kathleen Edwards

Still from new "Change the Sheets" video Dan Huiting

As the Current's review of this week's CD of the Week suggests, Kathleen Edwards has a lot of ties to the Minnesota music scene. Not only does her just-released album, Voyageur, feature contributions from drummer Brian Moen of Peter Wolf Crier and Eau Claire musicians like Phil Cook (Megafaun), Sean Carey (Bon Iver), and Edwards' co-producer and beau Justin Vernon, but Edwards also worked closely with Minneapolis-based filmmaker Dan Huiting to create a tour diary-style music video for her first single, "Change the Sheets."