Since rising to fame with Bon Iver, Justin Vernon continued to call his native Eau Claire home, building a studio there and singing the city’s praises in interview after interview while calling attention to its music scene. Vernon’s latest display of hometown placemaking may be his most ambitious yet, however. This week the musician received city approval to move ahead with his two-day, three-stage Eaux Claire Music and Arts Festival, slated for July 17 and 18 in 2015.
According to the permit application, the event was pitched as “a world class festival which would uniquely present and blend music, dance, art, cinema, and the culinary arts.” Vernon and the production company he’s partnered with, Crashline Productions, estimate daily attendance at 25,000. It’ll take place at the Foster Farm, an outdoor site that hosts the region’s popular County Jam festival.
There’s still no word on what the lineup will be—it could in theory be a jazz festival for all we know—but given the size of the venue it’ll almost certainly include some headliners pulled from beyond Eau Claire, and given Vernon’s involvement we’ll go out on a limb and predict the bill will probably include some indie-rock.
