Over the weekend, Bon Iver frontman Justin Vernon performed a short solo set over live stream as part of a “virtual town hall” organised by Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders to discuss coronavirus and the United States’ response to the crisis.
During the performance, Vernon debuted a new song entitled ‘Things Behind Things Behind Things’. Performing with just an electric guitar and Vernon’s hushed vocals, the sparse (and very pretty) arrangement is classic early Bon Iver.
In addition to the new track, Vernon also played two much-loved Bon Iver classics – ‘Towers’ and ‘Blood Bank’ – along with a cover of Bob Dylan’s The Times They Are A-Changin’ track ‘With God on Our Side’.
Soccer Mommy – AKA Sophie Allison – also performed as part of the online event. Allison opened up proceedings with an acoustic version of ‘Circle the Drain’, a highlight from latest album ‘Color Theory’ which she released back in February.
Watch the live stream in full below. Vernon’s set begins at the 01:02:30 mark, while the new song begins at around 1:10:45.
Bon Iver currently has an Australian tour booked for this June. As of time of writing, those shows are still set to go ahead, but we’ll let you know if that changes.