Bon Iver 2023 Tour

By, Kate Karvelis

On August 5th, 2023 I saw Bon Iver at Breese Stevens Field in Madison Wisconsin. A drive from my hometown (Grayslake IL), but the journey was worth it. Bon Iver has been one of my favorite artists since I discovered them during the pandemic in 2020. This was one of the best live performances I have seen. I knew the lighting design was going to be good because the venue had warnings posted about the use of lights. The concert started as the sun was setting, and having the lights reflect all over the (outdoor) venue was truly so beautiful. 

Bon Iver uses a lot of effects such as autotune, and they mixed all of the autotune live. They also use plenty of other effects, and all of that was done live and on-stage. Bon Iver was started by Justin Vernon, but Justin tours with 6+ musicians as Bon Iver. 

Bon Iver also performs all of their songs a little differently, every concert. They change up chord progressions, the pacing. For my performance, Skinny Love, was actually sped up and faster paced than it usually is! I was fully preparing to cry my heart out and I was actually dancing a little bit. 

They also only preform P.D.I.L.F every few concerts, so I was very lucky to see that song live. The visuals from the lyric video have been my phone lock screen since it came out, and the song helped me through tough times during the pandemic.

My Favorite Song- Blood Bank, due to the lighting design. As the sun was setting the stage was flooded with red, and the red lights seeped into the audience. While Blood Bank was one of my top Bon Iver songs, I didn’t expect it to be my favorite performance. 

Rating 9/10