Justin Vernon performed an entire set of Bob Dylan covers at the Eaux Claires Festival in Wisconsin on Friday night. The Bon Iver frontman also delivered a surprise set of his own songs earlier in the day. The performances marked his first full set of original material since 2023.
Justin Vernon took the stage at Carson Park in Eau Claire for the one-off “Bon Dylan” performance on July 24. He played 15 songs drawn from across Bob Dylan’s catalog, opening with “Not Dark Yet” and closing with “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door.”
A large band of collaborators joined him, including JT Bates, Sean Carey, Phil Cook, Ben Lester and Michael Lewis. Carey sang lead on “Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here With You” and “Lay Lady Lay,” while Phil Cook handled vocals for “Tangled Up In Blue” and “Meet Me In The Morning.”
Earlier that day Vernon replaced Kevin Morby with an unannounced solo set of Bon Iver songs. The seven-song performance opened with a cover of Morby’s “Die Young” and included tracks such as “Flume,” “Speyside” and the unreleased John Prine tribute “Room To Spare.”
Vernon co-founded the festival in 2015 with Aaron Dessner of The National. The event continues Saturday with additional performances.