Singer-songwriter Justin Vernon of indie-folk fixture Bon Iver will join forces this fall with The National guitarist Bryce Dessner for a special concert event called "Invisible Bridge." Dessner is curating the affair to take place September 25 at Philharmonie de Paris.
Fellow guitarist of The National and brother to Bryce, Aaron Dessner, will also join in the performance on guitar. Rounding out the band's lineup for the limited engagement will be members of new classical group eighth blackbird and pianist sisters Katia and Marielle Labèque.
Tickets to the event are available on the Philharmonie de Paris website, where they describe the upcoming affair as a unique collaboration fusing popular music and contemporary classical:
"Passing nimbly between rock and contemporary music, Bryce Dessner cultivates the art of collaboration with shared compositions and performances. For this concert, he brings together guests from a variety of backgrounds: his brother and close collaborator Aaron Dessner (The National), singer Justin Vernon (Bon Iver), and the Labèque sisters."
As we previously reported, last week The National released an elaborate 59-track collaborative compilation tribute to the Grateful Dead called Day of the Dead. The set features Bon Iver frontman Vernon jamming with his previous band, DeYarmond Edison, and Dead contributor Bruce Hornsby on "Black Muddy River." The labyrinthine release marks the culmination of a contemporary Grateful Dead reappraisal among musicians and listeners.
Vernon is slowly emerging from a self-imposed respite after placing Bon Iver on hiatus in 2012. The group came out of exile earlier this year for a tour of Asia and are reportedly working on new music. Post-sabbatical, Vernon explained to Billboard his tentative plans for releasing new material:
"I really have to take it step by step and have patience and know that the music -- if it comes out, it's gotta be really true, it's gotta really live with the other records and extend from them and be reborn and all that. There's a lot that goes into it. I've definitely been working on music."
Below, listen to Bon Iver's soulful take on the 1991 Bonnie Raitt hit, "I Can't Make You Love Me."
