Eaux Claires Music & Arts Festival announces its day-by-day lineup and makes Single-Day passes available for purchase. The inaugural festival will take place July 17th and 18th, 2015. It is curated by Eau Claire native and Bon Iver frontman Justin Vernon as well as Aaron Dessner of The National, and will deliver over 45 performances while placing an emphasis on artistic collaboration that redefines the format of audience to artist interaction. Vernon and Dessner will each be taking the stage as headliners – Vernon with his Grammy award-winning band Bon Iver, marking the band’s first performance since 2012, and Dessner with acclaimed rock group The National. Bon Iver and The National will perform alongside acts like Boys Noize, Doomtree, Spoon, Poliça, Sufjan Stevens, Low, The Tallest Man On Earth, and Indigo Girls – performing their classic “Swamp Ophelia.” Single-Day Passes will go on sale for $75 this Friday, June 5, 2015 at 10am CST at www.eauxclaires.com.
Bringing an astounding range of artistic talent to the fields of the Chippewa Valley, Eaux Claires promises festival-goers a one-of-a-kind, immersive experience. Pronounced “o’clare,” Eaux Claires is named after the original French spelling of Eau Claire, Wisconsin. The 20-acre Foster Farm will offer a scenic and serene backdrop alongside the banks of Wisconsin’s Chippewa River. Performances will take place across three stages as well as at unexpected venues throughout the grounds.
Art will play an integral role in fulfilling Vernon and Dessner’s vision for the festival: to be a spontaneous, immersive experience that changes artist-audience interaction, and holds expression and experience above all. Light installations, yarn bombs, and mixed media will be celebrated. Among the many artists and collaborators to look for will be the world famous Ragnar Kjartansson, who will be showcasing a concert art piece in conjunction with Aaron and Bryce Dessner of The National and Gyða and Kristín Anna Valtýsdóttir titled, FOREVER LOVE – that classic subject of trees and longing. Other artists include HOTTEA, Karl Jensen, brownshoesonly, Radioedit A/V, Antic Studios, Astronautalis, Neal Perbix, Jon Mueller, and the interactive art app LEAV. The festival’s visual elements are being overseen by its Creative Director, Michael Brown, who is a longtime collaborator of Vernon and Dessner’s and who has served as the Production Designer for Bon Iver and The National.
Vernon and Dessner took care to book a stylistically and culturally diverse lineup that also shines a light on the wealth of local Midwestern talent. In addition to featuring Bon Iver’s first performance in three years, and The National, whose recent tour has received rave reviews, fans will find highlights like North Carolina based dance-pop duo Sylvan Esso, five-time Grammy award-winning gospel group Blind Boys of Alabama, Japanese noise artists Melt-Banana, Daptone Recording funk/soul artist Charles Bradley, Brooklyn based black metal artist Liturgy, the innovative Lafayette, Louisiana based indie artists Givers, and Kentucky Born country singer Sturgill Simpson. Representing a medley of Midwest talent, the festival will also feature Bon Iver’s magnetic drummer and vocalist S. Carey, who has Eau Claire roots, Milwaukee based folk artist Field Report, and PHOX, a Madison, Wisconsin band who will also premiere a documentary detailing the making of their debut album. From the Twin Cities area, Marijuana Deathsquads, an improvisational electronic act, will curate a late-night tent set featuring Minneapolis hip-hop artist, Lizzo, and other local Twin Cities talent. Doomtree, a Minneapolis hip hop collective, will also unite and perform among other artists.
Eaux Claires’s single day line-up, in alphabetical order, as of June 3, 2015 is as follows. The performance schedule for each day will be announced at a later date.
Friday, July 17
Allan Kingdom
Blind Boys Of Alabama
Boys Noize
Corbin
Doomtree
Field Report
Found Footage Festival
Francis and The Lights
Grandma Sparrow
Hiss Golden Messenger
Jon Mueller’s INITIATION
Liturgy
Lizzo
Low
Marijuana Deathsquads
Mina Tindle
NO BS! Brass Band
Phox Film Premiere
Ragnar Kjartansson’s FOREVER LOVE
Sam Amidon
Spoon
The Staves
Sturgill Simpson
The Lone Bellow
The National
The Tallest Man On Earth
Saturday, July 18
Aero Flynn
Bon Iver
Charles Bradley and his Extraordinaires
Chris Rosenau
Colin Stetson
Elliot Moss
Found Footage Festival
Givers
Grandma Sparrow
Haley Bonar
Indigo Girls performing “Swamp Ophelia”
Melt Banana
NO BS! Brass Band
Phil Cook
Phox
Polica
Ragnar Kjartansson’s FOREVER LOVE
Retribution Gospel Choir
S.Carey
Sufjan Stevens
Sylvan Esso
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Eaux Claires is produced by Crash Line Productions, a Boston-based entertainment production company that owns and produces dozens of events each year including the semi-annual Boston Calling Music Festival.
Single-Day General Admission Passes are $75 and go on sale this Friday, June 5 at 10am CST. A limited number of Two-Day General Admission Passes are still available at $135. Two-Day Enhanced Chippewa Passes and Camping passes are Sold Out. Dorm Lodging at UW-Eau Claire is also available. For more information and to purchase, please visit www.eauxclaires.com.
