Bon Iver performs new song during Bernie Sanders' COVID-19 Livestream: 'Things Behind Things Behind Things'
Senator Bernie Sanders hosted a live-stream tonight on April 4 to discuss the COVID-19 pandemic and his plans for the next relief package. To enlighten these moments, Bon Iver and Soccer Mommy joined the effort with musical performances from their homes to encourage social distancing and provide for some good listening.
At the beginning of the live-stream, Sanders' announcement read, "Our country is facing the worst crisis in modern history. Congress must pass in the very near future, the boldest piece of legislation ever written in modern history. Join me to discuss the next phases of our response with music by Soccer Mommy and Justin Vernon of Bon Iver".
This marks the second performance by Bon Iver frontman Justin Vernon in support of Bernie Sanders this year, as Vernon performed at an Iowa Rally on January 31 with acoustic renditions of a handful of Bon Iver tracks, as well as Leon Russell’s 'A Song for You', and two Bob Dylan covers. On the new live-stream, Vernon debuted a brand-new Bon Iver song titled 'Things Behind Things Behind Things' and also sang 'Towers', 'Blood Bank' and a cover of Bob Dylan's 'With God On Our Side' with his guitar. Vernon begins a dreamy guitar score before singing a high falsetto and the song comes as a beautiful piece of melancholy, sentiment and hope during the pandemic.
Before performing 'Things Behind Things Behind Things', Vernon described the coronavirus situation saying there is a lot of "fear", "pain", "sickness" and "stillness" going on. Referring to his entry on the live-stream, he says, "It's about all I can figure out what to do right now". He also expressed his choice for the Democratic presidential hopeful, saying, "Bernie Sanders is one of the only people on the senate floor saying the things that I want to hear about healing our world".
Soccer Mommy's performance came with an acoustic rendition of 'Circle the Drain', the lead single from her sophomore album 'Color Theory' which released in February. Before her performance, she said “I’m doing this because I think Bernie Sanders is the candidate we need to make the world a better and more equal place". Soccer Mommy's vocals have little-to-no difference from the original in her acoustic version in reminiscence of Joan Osborne's tempo and tones on 'What If God Was One Of Us'.
Watch Bon Iver on the live-stream below. He comes on at 1:02:06 and 'Things Behind Things Behind Things' begins at 1:10:44.
Watch Soccer Mommy perform 'Circle the Drain' here.