The mid-2000s were a weird and magical time. George W. Bush was president, the smartphone was yet to be invented, and the only social media out there was MySpace. In this strange environment, it’s only natural that indie bands flourished and grew fast and multitudinous. It’s also only natural that just a few of those bands, the best of the best, are still around today. Bon Iver is one of them.

The Cream of the Indie Folk Crop

Occupying the indie-folk niche with their music, Bon Iver was created in 2006 by singer-songwriter Justin Vernon during a long, frozen winter spent in a cabin in the Wisconsin wilderness. While recovering from a bout of mono, Justin wrote and recorded an entire album’s worth of songs, made a pressing of only around 500 CDs, sold them at local shows, and sent them out to music blogs, resulting in a slow burn that exploded in popularity over the next few years. This led to a second album in 2011, with a major release and a major result: Grammy Awards for Best New Artist and Best Alternative Music Album in 2012.

Can’t Stop the Indie Rock

Known for eclectic musical styling and being unafraid to take risks in songwriting and performance methods, Justin and the rest of Bon Iver have gained a reputation for producing layered and diverse music. This was reinforced by their third album released in 2016, which was compared favorably to Radiohead’s Kid A, and their 2018 album, which further cemented the band’s sterling reputation as one of indie rock’s true superstars. They’ve toured the world countless times, have collaborated with countless other artists, and have been on the radar in a major way ever since that 2012 Grammy win.