Attention “Skinny Love”-ers: Bon Iver is headed to Cooperstown. Justin Vernon’s 2011 Bon Iver, Bon Iver, a concept album with each song representing a place, builds from the strict acoustics of his 2008 For Emma, Forever Ago. The sound infuses smooth, synth-heavy ’80s-pop with layered orchestral instrumentation. Vernon’s haunting vocals, which shift between deep, husky lows to falsetto highs, imitates the full emotional spectrum that his lyrics explore. Like Simon and Garfunkel’s 1968 Bookends, Bon Iver’s music is at once timelessly transcendent while so perfectly capturing the feeling of a moment in the landscape of modern America. Brewery Ommegang’s outdoor venue is open but intimate, allowing room for the intricate melodies to reverberate without being lost. If you are one of many who gets weak in the knees at the opening chords of “Holocene,” consider bringing a chair or blanket. Doors open at 5:30 on September 17. Anais Mitchell will open.
Ommegang.com
This article appears in September 2012.
