‘Come Through’ is a gorgeous, dizzying fusion of talents. Credit: JAYME HALBRITTER
‘Come Through’ is a gorgeous, dizzying fusion of talents.
Come Through is a gorgeous, dizzying fusion of talents that you can see tonight and tomorrow night at the Paramount. JAYME HALBRITTER

For many people, Bon Iver came out of nowhere.

“How the hell did he win an award over Nicki Minaj and J. Cole without no one ever hearing about his raggedy ass?” someone tweeted after the band won the 2012 Grammy Award for best new artist. As Justin Vernon trotted up to the stage wearing a tweed suit that looked like it came from a public-school math teacher’s closet, Bon Iver, his indie band, skyrocketed on Google search.

Thousands of people, mishearing the band’s name (which comes from the French phrase bon hiver, meaning “good winter”), famously tweeted: “Who the fuck is Bonny Bear?” It was a good question. But Vernon, an experimental multi-instrumentalist with a surprising falsetto, hadn’t come out of nowhere. He’d just come from Wisconsin.

Chase Burns is The Stranger's former editor. He's covered everything from gay luchadores to chemical weapons to Isabella Rossellini's favorite pets.