Back in February, Eaux Claires, the WI festival founded by Justin Vernon of Bon Iver and Aaron Dessner of The National, announced it would return in July for the first time in eight years. They announced the lineup, which included something called “Bon Dylan.” We could only speculate what that meant at the time, but now more details have been revealed. As many have guessed, Vernon will “perform as Bob Dylan circa 1994, doing songs from every era.” He’s shared a video, soundtracked by Bon Iver’s cover of “Not Dark Yet” that they recorded in a March rehearsal, explaining where they idea came from:
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.
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 says this is the only “concert event” he has planned for this year at the moment, and his backing band for it has a bunch of friends and collaborators, including JT Bates, JP Brooks, Camaja Byrd, Sean Carey, Phil Cook, Ben Lester, Michael Lewis, Katira Lutterman, John Pieter, Courtland Pickens and Jeremy Ylvisaker.
The 2026 Eaux Claires lineup also includes Aimee Mann (playing Bachelor No. 2), Bizhiki, Black Sabbath Cover Band Rehearsal, Hotline TNT, Jon Cleary & The Absolute Monster Gentlemen, Kevin Morby, Monica Martin, The Union ft. Phil Cook, Daniel Caesar, Dijon, Gash, Gully Boys, Julianna Barwick & Mary Lattimore, Larry Goldings Trio, Lil Yachty, Nathan & The Zydeco Cha Chas, and Urban Classic presents Revelation (a retrospective of the Minneapolis sound). Tickets are on sale now.
Dylan himself, meanwhile, just added a bunch of new shows to his 2026 tour.
