Bon Dylan: Justin Vernon to become Bob Dylan for one-night-only
Bon Iver‘s Justin Vernon has announced plans for a special one-off show as Bob Dylan.
The performance will take place at his very own festival, Eaux Claires, which he co-founded with The National’s Aaron Dessner, and is set to return in July for the first time in eight years.
When the line-up was initially announced, which also includes Dijon, Daniel Caesar, Lil Yachty, Aimee Mann, Kevin Morby, Julianna Barwick & Mary Lattimore, and Hotline TNT, the mysterious Bon Dylan was on the bill.
Now, Vernon has put an end to the speculation and provided more information about what inspired him to become Bon Dylan in an Instagram video soundtracked by their take on ‘Not Dark Yet‘ from a rehearsal earlier this year.
He shared, “Oh, it was about a year ago. Bob Dylan came through town. I went with my dad and about 16 of my friends. I’ve lived here for 44 years. And it’s been too long to remember since the town felt that together. So we thought we’d better get the festival back going.”
The singer-songwriter powerfully continued, “And then the question of whether Bon Iver should play or not. It was on the table. Here’s what I’ll say. I haven’t felt much like being what I’ve been. Or been seen to have been. Or what I wanted to have been. Or what I’ve become. So I thought it’d be cool to try to be Bob Dylan for a night. I’m trying to turn Bon into Bob.”
Vernon will be performing songs from the entirety of Dylan’s career, but will be cosplaying as Dylan from 1994 for the performance at Eaux Claires.
The concert will also be a rare chance to see Vernon perform live. He chose not to tour Bon Iver’s 2025 album, Sable, Fable, and has not played a full-length show since 2023 under the moniker.
Vernon said last year about his decision to step back from the road, “I could see the quality of my character slowly diminishing from trying to be too much to too many people.”
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