Black Mountain, Bon Iver in Concert

Live in Concert on All Songs Considered Listen

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Hear the psych-rock revivalists in Black Mountain and art-folk singer Bon Iver recorded live in concert from Washington, D.C.'s Rock and Roll Hotel. Both performances originally webcast live on NPR.org Feb. 19, and will be available in the All Songs Considered Concerts podcast.

Black Mountain's latest CD, In the Future, is an epic storm of prog-rock riffs, '60s psychedelia, and '70s metal. It's a gritty and potent mix that recall those classic eras without overloading on irony.

Black Mountain features Matt Camirand, Stephen McBean, Jeremy Schmidt, Amber Webber, and Joshua Wells. The group formed in 2004 in Vancouver, B.C.; In the Future is its second album, following a self-titled debut in 2005.

Bon Iver is a pseudonymn for singer-songwriter Justin Vernon. His debut CD, For Emma, Forever Ago, provides a comforting wash of gently strummed guitars set against distant atmospherics and layered harmonies that echo through the ether. Vernon wrote the songs while living in a remote cabin one winter in worthwestern Wisconsin, where he'd gone to exorcise some inner demons. For Emma, Forever Ago captures the isolation and chilly heartache of the period in which it's recorded.

Bon Iver (pronounced "bohn eevair") is an intentional misspelling of "bon hiver," which means "good winter" in French.