Bon Iver launches VOLUMES: a new and recurring archival series spanning live shows, demos, unreleased recordings and other previously unheard material, presenting the many eras and multitudes that make up “Bon Iver.” Arriving April 3rd, digitally and physically via Jagjaguwar, VOLUMES: ONE “SELECTIONS FROM MUSIC CONCERTS 2019-2023 BON IVER 6 PIECE BAND” marks the debut installment, bringing together 10 performances that capture Bon Iver at its wildest, warmest and most muscular whole.
“This particular set of 10 songs is like, ‘Here, if you’ve never heard Bon Iver, or you have and you didn’t like it, this might be for you.’ This is what we became. This is really us at our best. This is it,” says Justin Vernon, who began working on VOLUMES: ONE in 2020, combing through dozens of hours of live recordings to assemble the ultimate tracklist.
VOLUMES: ONE “SELECTIONS FROM MUSIC CONCERTS 2019-2023 BON IVER 6 PIECE BAND” is Bon Iver’s first non-studio album, but serves as something greater than either a compilation or live record. Bandmates Andrew Fitzpatrick, Jenn Wasner, Justin Vernon, Matthew McCaughan, Michael Lewis and Sean Carey are their own unit. Together, they deliver the defining versions of these songs for both the uninitiated and die-hards, exploding tracks into their richest form through the essential live engineering of Xandy Whitesel.
Recorded between 2019 and 2023, when Bon Iver would perform its last live concert to date, VOLUMES: ONE highlights the music of 2016’s22, A Million and 2019’si,i, complemented by three important pieces. COVID-era hymnal “P.D.L.I.F.” represents a new period of Bon Iver; a cover of Mahalia Jackson’s “A SATISFIED MIND” harkens back to the early days of DeYarmond Edison, when Vernon embraced his falsetto during private band practice; and now, at long last, “HEAVENLY FATHER” restores a beloved fan favorite to digital streaming platforms.
The heady, inward and innovative side of Bon Iver that makes the studio albums cannot exist without the live band, and VOLUMES: ONE represents a time capsule – a prismatic look at an old friend, seeing them for who they were and who they are, all the goodness of which they’re capable but maybe too shy to show at times. On the night of Bon Iver’s final i,i show in 2023, Justin Vernon wrote and read the following portion of a poem to his bandmates:
“The fact that I’ve been with friends, not just work buddies. And the fact that we’ve travelled all over the world together, while we all did our jobs at the highest levels possible. We crushed this shit as hard as anybody has ever crushed anything. I’m so deeply proud to be a part of Us.”
Modeled after Bob Dylan’s Bootleg Series and the Neil Young Archives, Justin Vernon introduced Bon Iver’s VOLUMES in his debut NTS Radio show, discussing more of the project and playing some of his favorite cuts from classic live albums. Listen to Vernon talk about Donny Hathaway, Bonnie Raitt, The War on Drugs, Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra and more HERE.
VOLUMES: ONETracklist
INTRO – The Forum, Los Angeles, CA. Sep 15 2019
MAN LIKE U – The Forum, Los Angeles, CA. Sep 15 2019
WE (feat. Bizhiki) – Xcel Energy Center, St Paul, MN. Oct 03 2019
JELMORE – Tennis Indoor Senayan, Jakarta, ID. Jan 19 2020
666 – The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory, Irving, TX. Apr 03 2022
HEAVENLY FATHER – Mediolanum, Milan, IT. Nov 05 2022
P.D.L.I.F. – Red Hill Auditorium, Perth, AU. Feb 26 2023
HEY, MA – Pitchfork Music Festival, Chicago, IL. July 23 2023
A SATISFIED MIND – State Theatre, Portland, ME. Dec 08 2017
33 “GOD” – WOMADelaide Festival, Adelaide, AU. Mar 10 2023
Sh’DIAH (boardmix) – Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, CA. Oct 06 2019