Video via YouTube
Nearly a decade before officially launching Bon Iver, Justin Vernon performed across his Eau Claire, Wisconsin hometown with a group called Mount Vernon. His first band ever, the nine-piece collective featured a handful of musicians who he’d later often collaborate with, including Phil Cook (DeYarmond Edison, Megafaun, Gayngs), Brad Cook (DeYarmond Edison, Megafaun), and Joe Westerlund (Megafaun).
This week, rare footage of Vernon’s Mount Vernon days has surfaced in the form of a Battle of the Bands set, as Pitchfork points out. The 30-minute throwback clip was filmed back in November 1998 at the singer-songwriter’s Memorial High School in Eau Claire. It features performances of five songs off Mount Vernon’s debut album, We Can Look Up: “Today is Just a Day”, “We Can Look Up”, “Thompson”, “Sprinkler”, and “High Five”.
Check it out above.
