Bon Iver: Q&A

This Q&A is also available as a podcast,  as part of "FUV Live Sessions." We're elevating WFUV's long history of live sessions and interviews via a podcast that you can find on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Amazon Podcasts. New episodes drop every Monday.

I logged onto Zoom for a chat with Justin Vernon of Bon Iver a couple months ago; coincidentally, I had been dumped the day before, so my preview copy of Bon Iver's latest album, Sable, Fable, hit particularly hard.

I'd heard that Vernon was a legendary nice guy, despite his superstar status and, well, the rumors are all true. We had a relaxed and down-to-earth chat, talking about heartbreak, growth, and the redemptive power of music.

Sable, Fable is a cyclical affair with a strong vision at its core, but it was also clear how much Vernon delights in collaboration and experimentation. The album is basically without genre, creating a lush world of pop music that incorporates elements of folk, R&B, hip-hop, and rock, but it never lacks cohesion.

With Bon Iver, Vernon delights in bringing artists from the cutting-edge of contemporary music (there contributions on this new record from Dijon, Flock of Dimes, Mk.gee, and Danielle Haim), and you get the sense he is an artist who never lets his ego get in the way of evolution and growth.

[Recorded: 3/19/25; Produced by Meghan Suma]