Breakups fuel Bon Iver (Created February 13, 2013)

Bon Iver used a classic country music hook to launch a debut album -- to much success and fanfare. Indeed, there was pining and longing and loving and loss on "For Emma, Forever Ago." But singer-songwriter Justin Vernon didn't come from Nashville, and the name of his indie folk band is derived from a French phrase meaning "good winter" – not the kind of greeting one would expect in Music City, USA. Instead, the Wisconsin-born Vernon used a varied background and an introspective sound to wedge himself – and his band -- into the popular music subconscious.

Bon Iver not only includes Vernon, but also Michael Noyce, Sean Carey and Matthew McCaughan. The band made a name for itself after "For Emma, Forever Ago" was self-released in 2007 and again as part of a wider label release the following year. The project was the end result of Vernon's state-of-mind following both a break-up with his girlfriend, as well as the break-up of his old band. While suffering from mononucleosis, he holed up in a cabin to pour his heartache into song. The result was an album that won over fans and critics alike, landing on a number of "best of" year-end lists.

Vernon aimed for an "ambitious musical departure" with the band's second album. The resulting "Bon Iver, Bon Iver" was released on June 21, 2011 and instantly called "more layered, more diverse and more interesting" by one reviewer, and praised by many more. The project earned the band four nominations at the 54th Grammy Awards, where it ultimately won Best New Artist, Best Alternative Music Album, and both Song of the Year and Record of the Year for "Holocene."

Bon Iver headlined music festivals, including Coachella, Bonnaroo and Austin City Limits as well as toured across North America and Europe in 2012. Vernon has been in the studio working Arcade Fire's Colin Stetson on his new solo album, and will appear on four of the album's 11 songs.