Today, the organizers of the Eaux Claires Music & Arts Festival announced the full details and lineup for Eaux Claires Hiver, a special winter extension of the fest happening at the Pablo Center and various venues Nov. 21-24. The festival also announced that Eaux Claires V will return in July 2020, though without specific dates quite yet.

Eaux Claires Hiver covers four days of immersive performances, talks, and other things from a lineup of artists including Ani DiFranco, Pieta Brown, Jon Hopkins, Aaron Dessner, Poliça, William Britelle, and various Justin Vernon projects, among others.

Top down: Ani DiFranco, Gail Ann Dorsey, Jon Hopkins

Three Eaux-Chunks

There’s seems to be three chunks to this thing – an opening kickoff talk between Justin Vernon and Ani DiFranco on Nov. 21, then two days of 37d03d performances where tons of various artists present music, literature, and visual art Nov. 22-23. And then that overlaps with the third chunk happening Nov. 22-24 where Justin Vernon and TU Dance present their collaborative stage show “Come Through” (which was announced earlier this year and for which tickets are already on sale).

DiFranco and Vernon’s talk on Nov. 21 in the RCU Theatre is a separate ticket price (ranging from $30 to $100) and will reportedly include some music and special guests, of course. “Ani DiFranco is the first person I ever heard of who wrote, arranged, engineered, mixed and released her own music,” says Justin Vernon in the festival’s press release. “She is a mind-blowing songwriter and inspiration. I want to ask her the questions I've always wanted to ask her; about her journey, her hardships, and victories. And I want an audience there because the answers will be too special to hold on to as one person. AND ... there will be some music ... and surprise guests.”

Then for the next two days, 37d03d performances will happen in various venues Nov. 22-23. The idea is that this is a residency of sorts where artists on the lineup will collaborate, brew up ideas, perform with each other, and learn in front of an audience – with the intent of birthing or informing some art for Eaux Claires V when it happens in 2020. Here’s the thing, though: there are only 500 two-day tickets available – at $80 a pop – that cover all events after 6pm Nov. 22 and 23, so get ‘em fast.

Eaux Claires Hiver 37d03d Lineup*

Nov. 22-23 FEATURING ... JT Bates

William Brittelle

Pieta Brown

S. Carey

Aaron Dessner

Gail Ann Dorsey

hrrrbek

Jon Hopkins

Elsa Jensen

La Force

Mike Lewis

Metropolis Ensemble

Ryan Olson

Shahzad Ismaily

Michael Perry

Polica

Talos

Korde Arrington Tuttle

Justin Vernon

Jeremy Ylvisaker *This is just part of the festival

Tickets for Ani DiFranco and Justin Vernon in Conversation, and the two-day 37d03d performances (separate tickets) go on sale next week Tuesday Oct. 15 at 10am CST at pablocenter.org. Tickets for “Come Through” are already on sale for $42.50-$125.

Along with the announcement, the festival dropped a classic Michael Perry-narrated video (above) that poetically and metaphorically sheds (some?) light on the thought process behind Eaux Claires Hiver.

“Sometimes it’s best to let the moment fade. Ask yourself if you’re floatin’ in the right direction, if it’s time to reverse course, return to the source,” Perry says, over wintry scenery. “Not so much fight the current as meet the current. Sometimes you have to ask yourself if you’ve drained the river of metaphors and need to maybe portage. Climb ashore. Look inside.”