Justin Vernon explains why Bon Iver may take a step back from touring
"Things need rest. A life needs to rest at some point," he said
Photo: Matthew Baker/Getty Images
Justin Vernon is bringing back the Bon Iver name with the SABLE, the project’s first album in over five years, but that doesn’t mean he’s ready to be a rock star all over again. In a lengthy interview with The New Yorker, Vernon spoke about how the pandemic lockdown gave him the reset he needed to realize “I could stop doing all of this… I needed that—knowing I could stop.” While the genesis of his new three-song EP seems to have more to do with the understanding that he could end Bon Iver for good rather than any intention of actually doing it, the touring aspect still needs a little more time.
“I’ll share a pretty vulnerable moment,” he told the outlet when asked about his plans to get back on the road. He went on to explain that he was performing a show in Duluth at the beginning of his last tour and “was really suffering under the weight of everything.” During the song “[715] CRΣΣKS“—a real “crusher,” in his words, with no accompaniment—he “became overwhelmed with anxiety and sadness” and started to weep. “Like, hard. Shoulders-heaving crying,” he recalled. It made him feel incredibly vulnerable and unsafe, but the crowd apparently ate it up.