Indie folk icons Bon Iver have announced a string of shows in their home state of Wisconsin, and in order to encourage voting, they will require fans to pledge to vote in order to get access to pre-sale tickets, according to Pitchfork. The band will play 3 shows throughout October; pre-sale tickets will go live this Wednesday, February 19, at 11 A.M. eastern standard time.
The shows were organized as part of Bon Iver manager Kyle Frenette’s 46 For 46 campaign aimed at defeating Donald Trump in the upcoming presidential election. The concerts taking place in Wisconsin come as no coincidence, as the importance of swing states in elections draws in support from both sides in order to win over voters before the election.
This is not the first instance of big names in music interacting with the political sphere. Throughout the democratic primaries, Donald Glover was brought on by Andrew Yang as a “creative consultant”, Bon Iver leader Justin Vernon played an acoustic set in Iowa in support of Bernie Sanders before the Iowa caucus, and The Strokes played a show in New Hampshire just before the New Hampshire caucus. It will be interesting to see the results of the democratic primaries, and how a candidate like Sanders who has received the support from multiple musicians performs against the other candidates.
Bon Iver 46 for 46 Shows
10/05 – La Crosse, WI – La Crosse Center – South Hall *
10/07 – Wausau, WI – Grand Theater %
10/08 – Appleton, WI – Fox Cities PAC ^
*Field Report
% Zola Jesus
^ Websterx