Bon Iver joined Vice President Kamala Harris for a performance at her presidential rally in Eau Claire, Wisconsin on Wednesday (August 7th).
During the hometown appearance, Justin Vernon and co. played a four-song set that included “Towers, “666 ʇ,” and “Flume.” He wrapped his performance with “The Battle Cry of Freedom,” an an abolition-era folk song, which Vernon said has been “rolling around my head these last months. I love this melody.
“We’re here for the right reasons and we all know what we are here for,” Vernon continued. “We’re gonna do our thing, make this music, and make way for the people we need to hear from.”
In addition to Bon Iver, Harris has secured rally appearances from Megan Thee Stallion and Quavo. Her campaign also immediately embraced the endorsement of Charli XCX and has gotten permission from Beyoncé to use “Freedom” as her walk-out song.
This isn’t Bon Iver’s first time performing on behalf of a presidential candidate. They previously played during several of Bernie Sanders’ rallies and fundraisers when he ran in 2016 and 2020. The group’s most recent album, i,i, was released in 2019.
The afternoon rally was the Democratic presidential nominee’s second event with her newly announced running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. Harris and Walz are slated to visit several more battleground states in the next several days, including Michigan, North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona, and Nevada.
Bon Iver just performed moments ago at the Kamala Harris / Tim Walz campaign rally in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
The campaign also just announced they raised over $36 million since the Tim Walz pick. pic.twitter.com/v7waYjhtFL
— Ed Krassenstein (@EdKrassen) August 7, 2024