Bon Iver released the 2011 album Bon Iver, which won the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album. It was the band’s second studio album and followed the intimate, largely solo sound of 2007’s For Emma, Forever Ago with a broader, more expansive production.
The album was released on June 17, 2011, through Jagjaguwar in the United States. Justin Vernon recorded much of it at April Base, his Wisconsin studio, with a larger group of musicians and richly layered arrangements. Songs such as “Holocene,” “Perth,” and “Minnesota, WI” helped establish the record’s distinctive blend of folk, rock, orchestration, and electronic texture.
At the 54th Grammy Awards in 2012, Bon Iver won Best Alternative Music Album. The band also won Best New Artist, while “Holocene” received nominations for Record of the Year and Song of the Year. The album’s self-titled name can cause confusion: Bon Iver is both the band’s name and the album title.