Bon Iver (pronounced /b??n iv??r/) is the name of American indie folk singer-songwriter Justin Vernon's current band and most notable music project to date. The band now also consists of Mike Noyce and Sean Carey. The name, Bon Iver, is a corruption of the French "bon hiver" (good winter). Vernon independently released Bon Iver's debut album, For Emma, Forever Ago in 2008, the majority of which was recorded while spending three months in a remote cabin in Wisconsin
While in high school and college, Vernon founded the bands Mount Vernon and DeYarmond Edison - both indie-rock bands originated from Eau Claire, Wisconsin, where he still resides. [3][4] DeYarmond Edison consisted of Vernon, Brad and Phil Cook, and Joe Westerlund. After a long period of success in the Eau Claire music scene, the four band mates decided to leave their longtime home and move to Raleigh, North Carolina to try their musical hand in a new place. The band released two records themselves, the first self-titled and the second titled Silent Signs[5] and an EP of unreleased material is available on their MySpace page. [6] After nearly a year in Raleigh, Vernon left for Wisconsin after a breakup with the band and a girlfriend. The remaining members of DeYarmond Edison went on to form a new band called Megafaun and remain good friends with Vernon.[7]
Justin contributed a t-shirt design for the Yellow Bird Project to raise money for Interval House, which is a women's shelter in Toronto, Ontario. In addition, on December 22, 2008, Bon Iver returned to their hometown of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, where they put on a show at Eau Claire's State Theatre. All the proceeds were donated to the Bolton Refuge House, a local women's shelter.