Justin DeYarmond Edison Vernon (born April 30, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist. He is best-known as the primary songwriter andfrontman ofindie folk bandBon Iver.[2][3][4] He is also a member of the bandsVolcano Choir,Big Red Machine, the Shouting Matches, andGayngs, and was previously a member of the now-defunct bandDeYarmond Edison. Known for his distinctfalsetto voice,[5][6] Vernon has received widespread acclaim for his work, predominantly with Bon Iver.[7][8]
Vernon attendedMemorial High School inEau Claire, Wisconsin, where he still resides today. He formed his first band, Mount Vernon, in 1997 after meeting its members at a Wisconsin high school jazz camp. They released their first local musical project in 1998. He graduated from Memorial High in 1999 and attended college at theUniversity of Wisconsin–Eau Claire, spending a semester in Ireland.[9] Vernon majored in Religious Studies and minored in Women's Studies. In an interview onThe Colbert Report, he said that was because, at the time, he hadn't been ready to study music.[10]
In 2001, Vernon released his first solo album under the name "J.D Vernon", titledHome Is. He went on to release two other solo albums, namelySelf Record in 2005, which was followed shortly thereafter byHazeltons in 2006.[11] Vernon founded the bandDeYarmond Edison in 2001 while still in college.[12][13]
The band, which began performing in 2002, consisted of Vernon,Phil Cook,Christopher Porterfield, and Joe Westerlund. After playing in the Eau Claire music scene, the four bandmates decided to leave their longtime home and move toRaleigh, North Carolina, to try their musical hand in a new place. The band released two records themselves, the first self-titled in 2004 and the second titledSilent Signs in 2005,[14] and an EP of unreleased material is available on theirMyspace page.[15] In 2006, after nearly a year in Raleigh, Vernon returned to Wisconsin after a breakup with the band and a girlfriend. The remaining members of DeYarmond Edison went on to form the folk bandsMegafaun andField Report.[16]
Vernon performing withBon Iver inBlack Cat, Washington, D.C., in 2008
Vernon came to international prominence withFor Emma, Forever Ago, his first album asBon Iver, which he recorded isolated in a northern Wisconsin cabin during the winter months of 2006 and 2007, while he was going through health and personal difficulties. The album was self-released by Vernon in July 2007 and after it received several positive reviews, including fromPitchfork, the album was rereleased in February 2008 and released internationally in May of that year.[citation needed]
Bon Iver won Best New Artist and Best Alternative Album at the2012 Grammy Awards, for their2011 self-titled album.[17] On September 25, 2012, Vernon walked away fromBon Iver temporarily, virtually putting an end to the band for the time being. When asked for reasoning, he replied, "[I'm] winding it down. I look at it like a faucet. I have to turn it off and walk away from it because so much of how that music comes together is subconscious or discovering. There's so much attention on the band, it can be distracting at times. I really feel the need to walk away from it while I still care about it. And then if I come back to it – if at all – I'll feel better about it and be renewed or something to do that."[18]
The band's third studio album,22, A Million, was released on September 30, 2016, to critical acclaim. The album marked a major shift in Bon Iver's musical style, with prominent uses ofelectronic instrumentation andvoice modulation, a contrast to Vernon's previous acoustic style.
On August 9, 2019, Vernon releasedi,i, to critical acclaim. The band's fourth studio LP is vocal-heavy and features dozens of collaborators, emulating the message Vernon intended to send when working with Aaron Dessner in producing Big Red Machine.[citation needed]
In October 2024, Vernon began releasing singles to preview a new LP calledSABLE, fABLE, set to release in April 2025.[19]
Vernon contributed vocals asOrpheus to seven songs onAnaïs Mitchell's 2010 albumHadestown, based on the Greek legendOrpheus and Eurydice. He is one third of the Shouting Matches, a blues-garage rock trio, along withLaarks andPeter Wolf Crier drummer Brian Moen, and formerDeYarmond Edison bandmate Phil Cook. They have recorded and released a 5-track EP,Mouthoil,[21] and their debut album,Grownass Man, in 2013.[22]
In 2012, Vernon beganChigliak, an imprint ofJagjaguwar, dedicated to albums that have had limited or non-commercial releases.[27] In 2014, Jason Feathers, a collaboration with Vernon, Ryan Olson (member ofGayngs,Poliça andMarijuana Deathsquads), indie rapperAstronautalis and Bon Iver member Sean Carey (known by his stage nameS. Carey), releasedDe Oro.[citation needed]
In 2017, Vernon collaborated withMouse on Mars on their albumDimensional People who used his studio April Base.[28] His voice can be heard on the songDimensional People III.[29]
On June 23, 2018, Vernon joinedDead & Company on stage atAlpine Valley Music Theatre in East Troy, Wisconsin. He performed three songs with the band: "Black Muddy River", "Friend of the Devil", and "Birdsong". Given Vernon's Wisconsin roots, it was a special appearance that highlighted the timelessness and versatility of the Dead's music.[30]
In late August 2018, Vernon released the eponymous debut album of duet Big Red Machine alongside the National's Aaron Dessner. The 10 song self-titled albumBig Red Machine was co-produced by Dessner, Vernon and Brad Cook, and features approximately 40 collaborators, including Bryce Dessner,Bryan Devendorf, andRichard Parry.[31] The majority of the album was recorded in Dessner's garage studio inHudson Valley, New York.[32][33]
In March 2020 the Ryan Olson-produced albumSorry You Couldn't Make It bySwamp Dogg was released, with Vernon playing guitar on all tracks. He had previously appeared as a guest on Swamp Dogg's 2018 albumLove, Loss & Autotune. Later in 2020, Vernon collaborated withTaylor Swift to write and feature on the song "Exile", with an instrumental credit on "Peace", for her eighth studio albumFolklore.[34] Swift released her ninth studio albumEvermore, a surprise follow-up album toFolklore. Vernon co-wrote the title track and played other instruments as well as performed background vocals on several tracks.[35][36]
In August 2016, Vernon and Dessner curated the second annualEaux Claires [sic] festival.[38] On the opening night of the festival, Bon Iver debuted their third album,22, A Million, in front of a live audience.[39]22, A Million was released on September 30, 2016, to widespread critical acclaim.[40]
^Kornhaber, Spencer (August 14, 2019)."CULTURE: Bon Iver's Inexplicable Power".The Atlantic. RetrievedAugust 19, 2020.The band's folk-pop experiments sound like gorgeous, nonsensical conversations on the state of the world.
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