Bon Iver

Bon Iver is the name singer/songwriter Justin Vernon chose for his solo project when he retreated to a cabin in Wisconsin during 2006. He emerged from the isolation with an album -- For Emma, Forever Ago -- that became an indie folk touchstone. The gentle strumming of acoustic guitars, subtle arrangements, and Vernon's swooning falsetto combined to create a mood that felt like backwoods Radiohead recorded by candlelight. It was a sound that resonated with a great many people, and Vernon became something of a bearded sensation -- feted by outlets as diverse as Mojo and Late Night with David Letterman, and collaborating with Kanye West (the first of many hookups with hip-hop artists through the following years). For 2011's Bon Iver, Vernon swung away from the hushed intimacy of the first LP in favor of a bigger, near-orchestral sound that had elements of late-night R&B as well. He then took a detour into jagged electronica on 2016's 22, A Million before blending the various streams of the Bon Iver sound into a cohesive whole on 2019's I, I, an album that featured almost 50 musicians.