Nearly one week after Bon Iver’s sold-out Brooklyn arena shows, footage from the gigs served as CBS This Morning‘s “Saturday Sessions” mini-concert.
The indie-folk outfit, who released their fourth studio album i,i in August, played dynamic renditions of the James Blake-assisted “iMi” and “Salem” from their latest record at the Barclays Center.
Bon Iver frontman Justin Vernon and his band also played emotive throwback “Blood Bank” from the 2009 eponymous EP.
Bon Iver’s kaleidoscopic new record also featured contributions from Bruce Hornsby, Sean Carey and the National’s Aaron and Bryce Dessner.
In addition to their performance, Bon Iver sat down with CBS This Morning co-host Anthony Mason to discuss their beginnings as a Wisconsin indie band and their journey to playing sold-out arenas.
When asked about his decision to cancel a tour in 2017 and retreat from the music industry, Vernon replied, “When you’re uncomfortable, you have discomfort, you get angry,” he told Mason. “This is an example of something I couldn’t have done five years ago. I didn’t have it within me, or the strength, to sit and talk with you.”
Vernon was able to heal through “friendship and therapy,” according to Mason. He also discussed the collaborative process that helped the group thrive on i,i, which also due in part to the addition of Wye Oak’s Jenn Wasner to the group.
“There’s a lot of language you develop that’s not in the English language. It’s the musical language that you can only develop between people you play with every day,” he explained.
Bon Iver will wrap up its latest run of North American tour dates tonight in North Carolina, but will head back on the road for additional dates before the end of the year. The band is slated to head out on a European tour in April 2020.
