Eaux Claires , also known as the Eaux Claires Music & Arts Festival, was a two-day music and arts festival that took place for four years in Eau Claire , Wisconsin . The festival took what was to be a year-long hiatus in 2019 but was expected to return in 2020, before being postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic .
118-724: Eaux Claires was founded in 2015 by Aaron Dessner of The National and Justin Vernon of Bon Iver . During its first four years, the festival was held at Foster Farms in Eau Claire County. Past performers include Bon Iver , The National , Paul Simon , Chance the Rapper , Lizzo , the Indigo Girls , Wilco , Sufjan Stevens , Erykah Badu , Spoon , Blind Boys of Alabama , Sturgill Simpson , Doomtree , Vince Staples , Tenement and James Blake . On December 10, 2018,
236-539: A Broadway musical , The Capeman , which was poorly received. In the 21st century, Simon continued to record and tour. His later albums, such as You're the One (2000), So Beautiful or So What (2011) and Stranger to Stranger (2016), introduced him to new generations. Simon retired from touring in 2018, but continued to record music. An album, Seven Psalms , was released in May 2023. Simon has twice been inducted into
354-520: A Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award . This reunion led to a US tour, the acclaimed "Old Friends" concert series, which was followed by a 2004 international encore, culminating in a free concert at the Colosseum in Rome which attracted an audience of 600,000. In 2005, they sang "Mrs. Robinson" and "Homeward Bound" together, plus "Bridge Over Troubled Water" with Aaron Neville , in the benefit concert From
472-497: A bootlegged tape of mbaqanga , South African street music, and in 1986 he traveled to Johannesburg and recorded with African musicians. Additional sessions were held in New York. The sessions featured many South African acts, particularly Ladysmith Black Mambazo , and Simon also collaborated with several American artists, singing a duet with Linda Ronstadt in "Under African Skies", and playing with Los Lobos in "All Around
590-436: A 1959 Fender Champ , a 1960s Fender Princeton , a 1970s Music Man , an Ampeg Gemini, and a Fender Bassman . Dessner married Stine Wengler around 2016. They have three children, one of whom is named Robin. Taylor Swift's song of the same name is speculated to be about him. Dessner is a keen soccer fan and an avid supporter of Liverpool F.C. Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941)
708-503: A 25th anniversary box set of Graceland which included a remastered edition of the original album; the 2012 documentary film Under African Skies; the original 1987 "African Concert" from Zimbabwe ; and an audio narrative, The Story of Graceland , related by Simon; as well other interviews and memorabilia. He played a few concerts in Europe with the original musicians to commemorate the anniversary. On December 19, 2012, Simon performed at
826-707: A Panic Attack , released in 2016 via Atlantic Records , was also produced by Dessner. Dessner produced the Lone Bellow's 2020 album Half Moon Light and co-wrote several tracks on it. He also co-wrote and produced the acclaimed debut of UK songwriter Eve Owen, Don't Let the Ink Dry , released in 2020. In April 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic , Dessner was approached by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift to collaborate on music, and he subsequently produced and co-wrote her eighth studio album, Folklore . It
944-536: A Rock ", and learned Davey Graham 's guitar instrumental "Anji", which later appeared on Sounds of Silence . In England, he produced Jackson C. Frank 's first and only album and co-wrote several songs with Bruce Woodley of the Australian pop group the Seekers , including "I Wish You Could Be Here", "Cloudy" and " Red Rubber Ball ". Simon also contributed to the Seekers' catalog with "Someday One Day", which
1062-433: A bound book named "Troix". Sent to pre-sale ticket buyers, it included both the lineup and artist statements about how the festival had evolved, with a video including festival narrator Michael Perry laying at the outset that "the river doesn't plan its course ... it finds its course", likely pointing to both internal and external forces. One of the largest changes in 2017 included decreasing the number of stages, plus halving
1180-714: A co-founder of the indie rock duo Big Red Machine , teaming with Bon Iver 's Justin Vernon ; and a collaborator on Taylor Swift 's critically acclaimed studio albums Folklore and Evermore , both of which contended for the Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 2021 and 2022 , respectively, with the former winning the accolade; as well as The Tortured Poets Department (2024). Dessner has co-written, produced or co-produced songs by Taylor Swift , Ed Sheeran , Michael Stipe , Gracie Abrams , Frightened Rabbit , Ben Howard , Sharon Van Etten , Local Natives , This Is
1298-562: A concert celebrating the newest Red Hot album. The show took place at Radio City Music Hall and featured several of the artists that contributed to the compilation. Dessner is a frequent collaborator with a wide range of musicians, including his brother and bandmate Bryce Dessner . In August 2008, Aaron and Bryce performed a collaborative concert with David Cossin, and Luca Tarantino as a part of Soundres, an international residency program for contemporary music and art in Salento, Italy and at
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#17328025563531416-659: A couple of tracks on the album, including "Peggy-O," "Morning Dew" and "I Know You Rider". A Day of the Dead live performance took place in August 2016 at the second annual Eaux Claires Festival (August 12–13) featuring Jenny Lewis, Matthew Houck, Lucius , Will Oldham , Sam Amidon , Richard Reed Parry , Justin Vernon, Bruce Hornsby , Ruban Nielson and The National. Forever Love is a collaboration between Aaron and Bryce Dessner, renowned Icelandic performance artist Ragnar Kjartansson and Gyða and Kristín Anna Valtýsdóttir, formerly of
1534-443: A cryptic 29-minute audio file Please Listen #1 that included voice recordings and music clips. A second audio collection called Please Listen #2 was released alongside several Instagram posts with videos featuring discussions about The National and Sharon Van Etten performing. The organizers later revealed that there would be no "marketed lineup" for this fourth year of the festival, though through his Twitter feed Justin declared many of
1652-458: A different site with a new format in 2020. "Ultimately, we want a better experience – not just for us, but for everyone." The festival did not occur in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 or 2024. The future of the festival remains uncertain. Aaron Dessner Aaron Brooking Dessner (born April 23, 1976) is an American musician. He is best known as a founding member of the rock band The National , with whom he has recorded nine studio albums;
1770-483: A duo since their hit single "My Little Town" in 1975 and their first album of new material since Bridge over Troubled Water in 1970. Simon ultimately decided to wipe Garfunkel's vocals from the mix, and in 1983, Simon released the album Hearts and Bones as a solo album. This was a polished and confessional album that was eventually viewed as one of his best works, but it achieved the lowest sales of his career. Hearts and Bones included " The Late Great Johnny Ace ",
1888-403: A hidden DJ booth in the woods, and The National's headlining set. During the festival, a booklet was released with an interview festival organizer Michael Brown, declaring: "...We don’t want more people. We want less [ sic ] people." On December 10, 2018, the festival organizers revealed that the festival would "take a year off" for 2019, with a planned relaunch of the festival on
2006-634: A live performance reunion for the Dessner twins and Kjartansson, as both artists had previously collaborated on a six-hour video work, A Lot of Sorrow, which documents the National performing their three-song "Sorrow" for six hours in front of a live audience at MoMA PS1 . The Long Count was a large commission for the BAM Next Wave Festival in 2009. Dessner and his brother, Bryce, worked alongside visual artist Matthew Ritchie , creating
2124-546: A live webcast, which featured two musical sets and a political discussion. The event was produced by Head Count, a non-partisan organization that uses live music events to promote voter registration and awareness. In May 2012, the National's performance of "Rains of Castamere" played during the closing credits of season two episode nine. In December 2012, Dessner curated a day of Other Voices, an Irish music festival that aired live on RTÉ Two in Ireland. The performances took place in
2242-421: A movie here! It's Mrs. Robinson!" Simon and Garfunkel's relationship became strained and they split in 1970. At the urging of his wife, Peggy Harper, Simon called Davis to confirm the duo's breakup. For the next several years, they spoke only two or three times a year. In 1970, Simon taught songwriting at New York University . He said he had wanted to teach for a while, and hoped to help people avoid some of
2360-607: A not-for-profit gathering of artists in Berlin for a weekend-long festival of music curated and produced by Aaron Dessner along with his brother Bryce Dessner, Bon Iver , Berlin's Michelberger Hotel and others. The first festival took place October 1–2, 2016, under the name "Michelberger Music" in the Funkhaus, the historical radio recording studios of the former GDR. Boston Calling is a music festival co-curated by Dessner. Debuting in May 2013, Boston Calling previously took place twice
2478-476: A production of Alice in Wonderland for their sixth-grade graduation. The two began singing together at the age of 13, occasionally performing at school dances. At the age of 12 or 13 Simon wrote his first song, "The Girl for Me", for him and Art Garfunkel to perform. According to Simon, it became the "neighborhood hit". His father wrote the words and chords on paper for the boys to use, and that paper became
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#17328025563532596-418: A second studio album How Long Do You Think It's Gonna Last? on August 27, 2021. The album was produced by Dessner and featured many guests and many of his previous collaborators, including Ben Howard , Sharon Van Etten , and Taylor Swift . Dessner worked with singer Sharon Van Etten on her album, Tramp (2012). Van Etten and Dessner spent over fourteen months working in his studio, finally releasing
2714-673: A song called "Big Red Machine" for the compilation album Dark Was the Night . Vernon wrote a song to it, interpreting the Big Red Machine title as a heart. After 10 years, the pair formed a band called Big Red Machine , and on August 31, 2018, released a self-titled album . The record was produced by Vernon and Dessner with longtime collaborator Brad Cook and engineered by Jonathan Low primarily at Dessner's studio Long Pond in Upper Hudson Valley, New York. The duo released
2832-892: A song he wrote for the show's 10th anniversary. Simon's next album, So Beautiful or So What , was released on the Concord Music Group label on April 12, 2011, and Simon said it was the best work he had done in 20 years. It was reported that he had wanted to have Bob Dylan perform on the album. At the end of his 2011 World Tour, which had included the United States, the UK, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Germany, Simon appeared at Ramat Gan Stadium in Israel in July 2011, his first concert appearance in Israel since 1983. On
2950-480: A song partly about Johnny Ace , an American R&B singer, and partly about John Lennon . In January 1985, Simon performed for USA for Africa and on the relief fundraising single " We Are the World ". In 1986, Simon was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Music degree from Berklee College of Music , where he had served on the board of trustees. Simon decided to record an album of South African music after hearing
3068-661: A three-month North American tour with Bob Dylan , in which he and Dylan alternated as the headline act with a middle section where they performed together. The collaboration was generally well-received, with just one critic, Seth Rogovoy of the Berkshire Eagle , questioning the collaboration. In 2000, Simon wrote and recorded a new album, You're the One , very quickly. The album was released in October and consisted mostly of folk-pop writing combined with foreign musical sounds, particularly grooves from North Africa. You're
3186-874: A work loosely based on the Mayan creation story Popol Vuh . The work included a 12-piece orchestra and a number of guest singers, including Kim and Kelley Deal ( the Breeders , the Pixies ), Matt Berninger (the National), Shara Worden ( My Brightest Diamond ), and Tunde Adebimpe ( TV on the Radio ). The work had its world premiere at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts in September 2009 as part of
3304-542: A year, May and September, at City Hall Plaza . Boston Calling moved to the Harvard Athletic Complex in Allston in May 2017 and transitioned to one festival per year. Dessner co-founded the record label 37d03d (read: PEOPLE upside down) with Justin Vernon and Bryce Dessner . Alongside Alec Hanley Bemis and Bryce Dessner, Dessner founded Brassland Records , a label that has released albums from
3422-527: Is among the bestselling of all time. As a solo artist, Simon has explored genres including gospel , reggae and soul . His albums Paul Simon (1972), There Goes Rhymin' Simon (1973), and Still Crazy After All These Years (1975) kept him in the public eye and drew acclaim, producing the hits " Mother and Child Reunion ", " Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard ", and " 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover ". Simon reunited with Garfunkel for several tours and
3540-462: Is an American singer-songwriter known for his solo work and his collaborations with Art Garfunkel . He and his school friend Garfunkel, whom he met in 1953, came to prominence in the 1960s as Simon & Garfunkel . Their blend of folk and rock, including hits such as " The Sound of Silence ", " Mrs. Robinson ", " America " and " The Boxer ", served as a soundtrack to the counterculture movement. Their final album, Bridge over Troubled Water (1970),
3658-685: The African National Congress protested that it was a violation of the boycott. The Congress voted to ban Simon from South Africa and he was added to the United Nations blacklist, from which he was removed in January 1987. In 1989, Simon appeared on Dion 's song "Written on the Subway Wall"/"Little Star" from Yo Frankie which peaked at number 97 in October 1990. After Graceland , Simon extended his roots with
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3776-614: The Brazilian -flavored The Rhythm of the Saints . Sessions for the album began in December 1989 in Rio de Janeiro and New York and featured guitarist J.J. Cale , and Brazilian and African musicians. The tone of the album was more introspective and low-key than the upbeat feel of Graceland . Released in October 1990, the album received excellent reviews and sold well, peaking at number 4 in
3894-587: The Cashbox album charts. It was released in 1974 as a live album, titled Live Rhymin' , and contained elements of world and religious music. His next album, produced by Simon and Phil Ramone , was Still Crazy After All These Years , released in October 1975. The mood of the album, written after Simon's divorce, was darker, and contained "Gone at Last" (a Top 25 hit) and the Simon & Garfunkel reunion track "My Little Town" (a number 9 on Billboard ). The album
4012-568: The Children's Health Fund , a nonprofit organization that provides medical care to children. Simon was born on October 13, 1941, in Newark, New Jersey , to Hungarian-Jewish parents. His father, Louis (1916–1995), a professor of education at the City College of New York , was a double-bass player and dance bandleader who performed under the name Lee Sims. His mother, Belle (1910–2007),
4130-532: The George McGovern 1972 presidential campaign , and he and Garfunkel reunited in mid-June that year at Madison Square Garden in another political concert for McGovern. Garfunkel joined Simon again on the 1975 Top 10 single " My Little Town ". Simon wrote this song for Garfunkel, whose solo output Simon felt lacked "bite", and it was included on Simon's album Still Crazy After All These Years and Garfunkel's album Breakaway . Contrary to popular belief,
4248-574: The Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, awarded by the Library of Congress , and he later performed as part of a gala of his work. After living in Montauk, New York , for many years, Simon relocated to New Canaan , Connecticut. Simon is one of a small number of performers who are named as the copyright owner on their recordings (most records have the recording company as the named owner of
4366-658: The Red Hot Organization . That same year, they recorded a song for the album Ciao My Shining Star: The Songs of Mark Mulcahy , to help support Polaris frontman Mark Mulcahy who had recently lost his wife. In 2010, the band released High Violet , their fifth full-length album. The album saw both critical and commercial success, debuting at No. 3 on US charts, and going on to sell over 850,000 copies worldwide. The band followed up High Violet by releasing their sixth album, Trouble Will Find Me , on May 21, 2013, via 4AD. Like their previous two efforts, Trouble
4484-460: The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990. Another Simon & Garfunkel reunion took place in September 1993 and Columbia released Paul Simon 1964/1993 . Originally a three-disc compilation, this became a reduced version on the two-disc album The Paul Simon Anthology one month later. In 1995, Simon appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show and performed the song "Ten Years", which he had composed for
4602-485: The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame , and has been the recipient of sixteen Grammy Awards , including three for Album of the Year. Two of his works, Sounds of Silence and Graceland , were inducted into the National Recording Registry for their cultural significance, and in 2007, the Library of Congress voted him the inaugural winner of the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song . He is a co-founder of
4720-724: The 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks in 2011, he performed " The Sound of Silence " at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in New York, on the site of the destroyed World Trade Center . On February 26, 2012, Simon paid tribute to fellow musicians Chuck Berry and Leonard Cohen , who had received the first annual PEN Awards for songwriting excellence at the JFK Presidential Library in Boston, Massachusetts. In 2012, Simon released
4838-533: The 1981 Concert in Central Park . In 1986, Simon released his most successful and acclaimed album, Graceland , incorporating South African influences. " You Can Call Me Al " became one of Simon's most successful singles. Graceland was followed by The Rhythm of the Saints (1990), and a second Concert in the Park in 1991, without Garfunkel, which was attended by half a million people. In 1998, Simon wrote
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4956-519: The 2016 South by Southwest . They also worked together on the score for 2013 film Big Sur , an adaptation of the 1962 novel of the same name by Jack Kerouac . The film debuted on January 23, 2013, at the Sundance Film Festival , where it received positive reviews. In 2021, together with his brother, Dessner scored two films – Mike Mills ' C'mon C'mon and Cyrano . On March 17, 2016, Aaron and Bryce Dessner announced Day of
5074-577: The 25th anniversary of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City. In October 2009, Dion performed " The Wanderer " with Simon at the 25th Anniversary Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Concert . In April 2010, Simon & Garfunkel performed together again at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival . Simon released a new song called "Getting Ready for Christmas Day" on November 10, 2010. The song
5192-474: The Big Apple to The Big Easy – The Concert for New Orleans (eventually released as a DVD) for Hurricane Katrina victims. In 2004, Simon's studio albums were re-released, both individually and as a collection in a limited-edition, nine-CD boxed set, Paul Simon: The Studio Recordings 1972–2000 . Simon was then working on a new album with Brian Eno called Surprise , which was released in May 2006. Most of
5310-507: The Church of St James in Dingle, County Kerry. Eaux Claires is a music festival founded and curated by Dessner and Justin Vernon. The inaugural festival took place in July 2015 in Vernon's hometown of Eau Claire, Wisconsin . Speaking about the festival, Dessner and Vernon said they were driven by the idea that this festival would "encourage music-genre-walls to melt away." PEOPLE Festival is
5428-527: The Dead , a charity tribute album to the Grateful Dead released by 4AD on May 20, 2016. Day of the Dead was created, curated and produced by both Dessner brothers. The compilation is a wide-ranging tribute to the songwriting and experimentalism of the Dead which took four years to record, features over 60 artists from varied musical backgrounds, 59 tracks and is almost 6 hours long. All profits will help fight for AIDS/ HIV and related health issues around
5546-597: The Ellnora Festival. In 2009, Aaron and Bryce Dessner produced an extensive AIDS charity compilation, Dark Was the Night , for the Red Hot Organization. Dark Was the Night has raised over 2 million dollars for AIDS charities as of January 2012. In 2009, Dessner contributed a track to the Dark Was the Night compilation. On May 3, 2009, 4AD and Red Hot produced Dark Was the Night – Live,
5664-927: The Guitare Au Palais Festival Perpignan France. They also performed at Matthew Ritchie's Ghost Operator opening at the White Cube Gallery in London. Aaron and Bryce have also collaborated with many world-renowned orchestras. Most recently the brothers played with the Copenhagen Philharmonic in a concert billed as "Sixty Minutes of the Dessners." The program included "St. Carolyn by the Sea," "Lachrimae" and "Raphael," all of which were composed by Bryce Dessner. Bryce and Aaron have also performed "St. Carolyn by
5782-553: The Guitarheels, who would also play the festival itself. Notable performances in 2016 included the live premiere of Bon Iver's 22, A Million , and the only live performance of the Day of the Dead collaboration based on the album tribute charity album. Also new in 2016 was the inclusion of an art installation organ downhill where musicians would play unannounced performances in-between sets, and other hidden art pieces scattered around
5900-470: The Icelandic band múm . The project is a blending of visual and performance art with live music, all centered around a song cycle written and performed by Aaron and Bryce alongside Gyða and Kristín Anna Valtýsdóttir. It was commissioned by Eaux Claires Festival and made its world premiere in 2015 where it served as the official starting point of the festival on both Friday and Saturday. Forever Love marked
6018-678: The Kit , Adia Victoria , Lisa Hannigan , Fred Again , Girl in Red , Mustafa the Poet , Brian Eno and Lone Bellow , among others. Dessner co-founded and curates three music festivals: Eaux Claires in Eau Claire, Wisconsin , alongside his Big Red Machine partner Vernon; HAVEN in Copenhagen with his brother Bryce, and Boston Calling Music Festival . On May 19, 2022, alongside Questlove , Dessner
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#17328025563536136-447: The Lone Bellow 's Then Came the Morning, which was recorded in Dessner's garage as well as in a 19th-century church in upstate New York. The album was released in January 2015 on Descendent Records. That same year, he worked with This Is the Kit for their album Bashed Out , which was released through Dessner's Brassland Records. In 2016, Dessner produced Lisa Hannigan 's album At Swim . The album reached No. 1 in Ireland, No. 7 on
6254-413: The National, This Is the Kit , Clogs , Doveman and Nico Muhly . Dessner often plays a 1965 Gibson Firebird purchased on eBay and refurbished. During the Sleep Well Beast recording sessions, he used the Firebird as well as a 1972 Fender Telecaster . During live shows, Dessner usually plays the Firebird and a 1963 Fender Jazzmaster . For the Sleep Well Beast sessions, amplifiers used include
6372-421: The National. "Win Win" directed by Thomas McCarthy closes with "Think You Can Wait," a track written by Dessner and Matt Berninger, recorded by the National with additional vocals from Sharon Van Etten. Dessner also played an important role in the National's contribution to the HBO show Game of Thrones . In March 2012, Dessner, Scott Devendorf and Bryan Devendorf teamed up with Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir for
6490-420: The One received favorable reviews, reached both the British and American Top 20, and received a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year . Simon toured extensively to promote the album, and one performance in Paris was released to home video. In the aftermath of the September 11 attacks in America, Simon sang "Bridge Over Troubled Water" on America: A Tribute to Heroes , a multi-network broadcast to benefit
6608-474: The Sea" and "Raphael" with the Amsterdam Sinfonietta during the Holland Festival . These performances took place at Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ in Amsterdam and Muziekgebouw Frits Philips in Eindhoven. In October 2011, Dessner joined his brother to perform "St. Carolyn by the Sea" with the American Composers Orchestra at The World Financial Center in New York City. Marshall Curry's award-winning documentary Racing Dreams includes music contributed by both Dessner and
6726-407: The September 11 Telethon Fund, and performed "The Boxer" at the start of the first episode of Saturday Night Live after September 11. In 2002, he wrote and recorded " Father and Daughter ", the theme song for the animated family film The Wild Thornberrys Movie . The track was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Song . In 2003, Simon and Garfunkel performed together again when they received
6844-410: The Simon & Garfunkel catalog. In February 2009, Simon performed back-to-back shows in New York City at the recently renovated Beacon Theatre . He was joined by Art Garfunkel and the cast of The Capeman in the first show. The band included Graceland bassist Bakithi Kumalo . In May 2009, Simon toured with Garfunkel in Australia, New Zealand and Japan; and in October 2009 they appeared together at
6962-539: The U.S. and number 1 in the UK and Japan, and later produced another Top 30 hit, " Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard ". Simon's next project, the pop-folk album There Goes Rhymin' Simon , was released in May 1973. The lead single, " Kodachrome ", was a number 2 hit in America. The follow-up, the gospel-flavored " Loves Me Like a Rock ", topped the Cashbox charts. Other songs like " American Tune ", or "Something So Right" (a tribute to Simon's first wife Peggy), became part of his repertoire. The album reached number 1 on
7080-416: The U.S. and number 1 in the UK. The lead single, "The Obvious Child", featuring the Grupo Cultural Olodum , became Simon's last Top 20 hit in the UK and appeared near the bottom of the Billboard Hot 100 . Although not as successful as Graceland , The Rhythm of the Saints received a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year. Simon's ex-wife Carrie Fisher said in her autobiography Wishful Drinking , that
7198-420: The US Top Heatseekers Albums chart and No. 24 in the UK, and received widespread critical acclaim. The Guardian , which awarded it four out of five stars, commented on the album's "stunningly pretty songs with quietly powerful undertones" and the Evening Standard , which also awarded it four out of five stars, praised the "new-found accessibility" of the album. Frightened Rabbit 's fifth album Painting of
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#17328025563537316-402: The United Nations ). Simon denied that he had gone to South Africa to "take money out of the country", and stated that he paid the black artists and split royalties with them, and was not paid to play to a white-only audience. The United Nations Anti-Apartheid Committee supported Graceland , as it showcased black South African musicians and offered no support to the South African government, but
7434-482: The United States. In 1980, Simon released One-Trick Pony , his first album with Warner Bros. Records and his first in almost five years. The album was paired with the motion picture of the same name , which Simon wrote and starred in. It produced his last Top 10 hit, the upbeat "Late in the Evening" (also a number 1 hit on the Radio & Records American charts), but did not sell well. In 1981, Simon & Garfunkel included eight songs from Simon's solo career in
7552-415: The Whiteout , alongside Howard himself, which was released on March 26, 2021. Additionally, Dessner produced Day of the Dead , which was released in 2016, and Dark Was the Night , both of which are AIDS charity compilations for the Red Hot Organization; and Doveman 's 2009 release The Conformist . Dessner and his brother Bryce co-composed the score for Transpecos , which won the Audience Award at
7670-412: The World or The Myth of Fingerprints". Before leaving for Johannesburg, Simon contributed to " We Are the World ", a charity single for African famine relief. The resulting album, Graceland , became Simon's most successful studio album and his highest-charting album in over a decade. It was estimated to have sold more than 16 million copies worldwide. Graceland won the 1987 Grammy for Album of
7788-504: The Year . In 2006, the album was added to the United States' National Recording Registry as "culturally, historically or aesthetically important". Simon faced accusations that he had broken the cultural boycott imposed by the rest of the world against the apartheid regime in South Africa by organizations such as Artists United Against Apartheid , anti-apartheid musicians (including Billy Bragg , Paul Weller and Jerry Dammers ), and James Victor Gbeho (then Ghanaian Ambassador to
7906-437: The album to widespread critical success. Dessner produced Local Natives ' second full-length album Hummingbird , in 2013. Dessner was first introduced to the band while on tour with the National. Hummingbird received positive reviews, and Pitchfork praised Dessner's production work especially, saying that he "knows how to make things sound good , and there's plenty of richness and depth to these songs." Dessner produced
8024-425: The album, " The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness ", became the band's first song to reach No. 1 on a Billboards chart after topping the Adult Alternative Songs list in August that same year. The band released their eighth studio album I Am Easy to Find in 2019 alongside a short film by Mike Mills . In 2023, the band released two studio albums, First Two Pages of Frankenstein and Laugh Track , with
8142-405: The artist. Several acts including Francis and the Lights , Sylvan Esso , and many of the Artist-In-Residence such as The Staves have members returning for their third year (also Sam Amidon, S.Carey, yMusic, Chris Rosenau, Bryce Dessner) and a few returning for their second (Jenny Lewis, Midnite Express). Additional changes included the uphill area no longer being used, a revamping and expansion of
8260-411: The band signed with Beggars Banquet Records . With the new label, they released their third studio album, Alligator , in 2005. The album received a positive response from critics, which exposed the band to a larger audience. In 2007, the band released their fourth album, Boxer , also through Beggars Banquet. Upon release, the album received widespread critical acclaim, and was named to "album of
8378-414: The bands from the Please Listen podcasts as being highly likely, while later making note that they've not "announced anything". The week before the festival started Vernon noted "you could find out basically everyone who's playing if you really wanted to" , and soon after the official Eaux Claires app started publishing playlist that seemed to confirm many of the hinted artists, though the official release of
8496-517: The bestselling album of all time . Simon & Garfunkel also contributed to the soundtrack of the Mike Nichols film The Graduate (1967), starring Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft . While writing " Mrs. Robinson ", Simon toyed with the title "Mrs. Roosevelt". When Garfunkel reported this indecision over the song's name to the director, Nichols replied, "Don't be ridiculous! We're making
8614-458: The brothers to join his band the National . With Devendorf and the Dessner brothers were Scott Devendorf , Bryan's older brother, and Matt Berninger . The band's self-titled first album was released in 2001 on Brassland Records, a label Dessner co-founded along with his brother Bryce and Alec Hanley Bemis . The band's second album, Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers , was released in 2003, also on Brassland. After some critical success with Sad Songs ,
8732-549: The combination of doo-wop , rockabilly and Caribbean music that the album contained, but Songs from The Capeman was a failure, and for the first time in Simon's career he did not reach the Top 40 of the Billboard charts. The cast album was never released on CD but eventually became available online. After The Capeman , Simon's career was in an unexpected crisis, but he continued to record new material. In 1999, he embarked on
8850-431: The festival organizers revealed that the festival would "take a year off" for 2019, announcing a planned relaunch of the festival on a different site with a new format slated for 2020. The festival did not take place in 2020 or 2021 due to the pandemic, and no future festival dates have been announced. The festival was founded as what Vernon described as [more than] “all the things I hate at festivals: really loud music all
8968-638: The first officially copyrighted Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel song. It is now in the Library of Congress . In 1957, in their mid-teens, they recorded the song "Hey, Schoolgirl" under the name "Tom & Jerry", a name that was given to them by their label, Big Records. The single reached number 49 on the pop charts. After graduating from Forest Hills High School , Simon majored in English at Queens College and graduated in 1963. Garfunkel studied mathematics education at Columbia University in Manhattan . Simon
9086-443: The first year, adding more bands and reconfiguring the grounds. A small forest stage and a second amplified stage were added atop the hill, while the downhill area changes included retiring the children's stage. Gone were the sweltering uphill art/music domes of the first year, replaced by an air-conditioned headphones dome. The Thursday night campground performances were replaced by a ticketed show in downtown Eau Claire by Phil Cook and
9204-500: The forest trail stages, and minimal schedule overlap between band sets. Common to prior years the focus on music-plus-arts was continued, with an online-only Troix II book outlining many of the planned pieces including the Pickup Music Project's community music space and several visual art installations. On November 15, 2017 the fourth edition of the festival was announced and tickets went on sale immediately, alongside
9322-869: The funeral of Victoria Leigh Soto , a teacher killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting . On June 14, 2013, on Sting 's Back to Bass Tour , Simon performed " The Boxer " and Sting's " Fields of Gold " with Sting. In September 2013, Simon delivered the Richard Ellmann Lecture in Modern Literature at Emory University . In 2014, Simon embarked on a joint 21-date concert tour of North America, titled On Stage Together , with English musician Sting . The tour continued in 2015 with ten shows in Australia and New Zealand and 23 concerts in Europe. Simon made
9440-428: The grounds that festival goers had to seek out. A common theme in both years of the festival was collaboration, including in the first year The Blind Boys of Alabama playing with the Lone Bellow, Amy Ray of Indigo Girls performing with Phil Cook, Sufjan Stevens playing with The National, No BS Brass Band and Bryce Dessner playing with Sufjan Stevens, Vernon playing with his old bandmate Aero Flynn and The National, and in
9558-456: The grounds, walking under an art piece of dangling colored yarn in a work commissioned from Eric Rieger, and continued through the giant letters of the Big Eaux sign. On a side stage each day the festival opened with a performance of Ragnar Kjartansson's Forever Love, a collaborative song cycle including costumed performances from Bryce and Aaron Dessner. The 2016 festival expanded the ideas of
9676-437: The idea in that they would be “roaming the grounds performing where and when they see fit, and joining other artists onstage, prompted or unprompted.” Scheduled performances included Paul Simon , Chance the Rapper , and Wilco , and notable sets include Feist 's only scheduled festival performance of 2017, a new Justin Vernon and Aaron Dessner collaboration entitled Big Red Machine, and a musical tribute to John Prine including
9794-631: The largest concert audiences in history. He later remembered the concert as "the most memorable moment in my career." The success of the show led to a live album and an Emmy -winning TV special. Simon embarked on the Born at the Right Time Tour and promoted the album with further singles, including "Proof", which was accompanied by a humorous video that featured Chevy Chase and Steve Martin . On March 4, 1992, Simon performed in his own episode of MTV Unplugged . Simon and Garfunkel were inducted into
9912-507: The latter being a surprise album . Dessner has production credits on all of the band's albums since Alligator . The majority of both High Violet and Trouble Will Find Me were recorded in his garage studio behind his house in Brooklyn, and Alligator and Boxer were partially recorded in his attic and in his sister's attic, which is on the same street in Brooklyn. In 2008, Dessner sent Justin Vernon an instrumental sketch of
10030-711: The lineup didn't occur until the day of the festival. The final band list included headliners The National, Big Red Machine , Pussy Riot , and People's Mixtape. Additional acts included main stage sets from Wye Oak, Serengeti, Sharon Van Etten, Kevin Morby, Moses Sumney, Noname, Phoebe Bridgers , with acoustic performances from Hiss Golden Messenger , Dirty Projectors, and late night sets from Low, Mouse on Mars, and Marijuana Deathsquads. Additionally Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker, and Gordi regularly made appearances similar to 2017's Artists in Residence program. Reception for 2018
10148-585: The mistakes he had made: "You can teach somebody about writing songs. You can't teach someone how to write a song ... I'd go to a course if the Beatles would talk about how they made records because I'm sure I could learn something." Simon pursued solo work, reuniting occasionally with Garfunkel for various projects. He gave a solo performance at the Cleveland Arena in April 1972 in a benefit concert for
10266-491: The number of billed bands, while bringing back several musicians from prior years—including Jenny Lewis, Phil Cook, and Vernon—under a new Artists-In-Residence cohort. In an April 2017 interview Dessner described the idea that the festival had developed into "anti-music-festival festival", having already eschewed many of the big festival tentpoles such as dedicated VIP viewing areas, branded stages, and big-font delineated headliners. Ostensibly, resident artists were an extension of
10384-529: The pop charts as Jerry Landis, with the novelty song "The Lone Teen Ranger". Both chart singles were released on Amy Records . In early 1964, Simon and Garfunkel auditioned for Columbia Records , whose executive Clive Davis signed them to produce an album. Columbia decided to call them Simon & Garfunkel instead of Tom & Jerry, and according to Simon, this was the first time artists' surnames had been used in pop music without their first names. Simon and Garfunkel's first LP, Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. ,
10502-585: The recording). This development followed the successful $ 200 million lawsuit against RSO Records by the Bee Gees , the largest successful lawsuit against a record company by an artist or group. All of Simon's solo recordings, including those originally issued by Columbia Records , are currently distributed by Sony Records ' Legacy Recordings unit. His albums were issued by Warner Music Group until mid-2010, when Simon moved his catalog of solo work from Warner Bros. Records to Sony/Columbia Records , which holds
10620-593: The regional infrastructure in place for the Country Jam music festival, including the Foster Farms location and the Whispering Pines campground, with school buses used as shuttles between the two, while expanding the venue to include art domes and smaller stages in an uphill field previously unused by prior festivals. The visual and performance arts experience began the moment festival goers entered
10738-596: The release of Folklore , the documentary film Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions and Evermore , artists such as Maya Hawke , Gracie Abrams , Ed Sheeran , King Princess , and Girl in Red expressed interest in collaborating with Dessner and recording songs at his Long Pond Studio. Dessner stated, "After Taylor, it was a bit crazy how many people reached out. And getting to meet and write songs with people you wouldn't have had access to… I'm so grateful for it." Dessner also co-produced British singer-songwriter Ben Howard 's fourth studio album, Collections from
10856-518: The second half of the 1970s on various projects, including writing music for the film Shampoo , which became the music for the song "Silent Eyes" on the Still Crazy album, and acting (he was cast as Tony Lacey in Woody Allen 's film Annie Hall ). He achieved another hit with " Slip Slidin' Away ", the lead single of his 1977 compilation Greatest Hits, Etc. , which reached number 5 in
10974-409: The second year Lucius and The Staves making multiple guest appearances. The third year was notable for having neither Bon Iver nor The National playing sets of their own music, with the members of Bon Iver presenting music from John Prine and no scheduled involvement from the Dessners' bandmates. In early February 2017 the creative team announced an overhaul for the third iteration of the festival via
11092-428: The set list of their September 19 concert in Central Park . Five were rearranged as duets and Simon performed the other three solo. The resulting live album, TV special and videocassette (later DVD) releases were all major hits. Following the success of The Concert in Central Park, Simon & Garfunkel returned to the studio, planning to record an album of new material. This would have been their first new recordings as
11210-501: The song " She Moves On " was about her. "If you can get Paul Simon to write a song about you, do it. Because he is so brilliant at it." The success of both albums allowed Simon to stage another concert in New York. On August 15, 1991, almost a decade after his concert with Garfunkel, Simon staged a second concert in Central Park with African and South American bands. The success of the concert surpassed all expectations, and over 750,000 people were reported to have attended, making it one of
11328-755: The song was not based on Simon's early life in New York City. Simon also provided guitar on Garfunkel's 1973 album Angel Clare , and added backing vocals to the song " Down in the Willow Garden ". Simon's next album, Paul Simon , was released in January 1972, following his first experiment with world music , the Jamaican-inspired song " Mother and Child Reunion ", which reached both the American and British Top 5. The album received universal acclaim and critics praised its variety of styles and confessional lyrics. Paul Simon reached number 4 in
11446-610: The songs on the album were inspired by the September 11 terrorist attacks , and the Iraq invasion and the war that followed. Simon also took inspiration from having reached the age of 60 in 2001, which he humorously referred to in "Old" from You're the One . Surprise was a commercial hit, reaching number 14 on the Billboard 200 and number 4 in the UK. Most critics praised the album, and Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic wrote "Simon doesn't achieve his comeback by reconnecting with
11564-529: The sound and spirit of his classic work; he has achieved it by being as restless and ambitious as he was at his popular and creative peak." The album was supported by the Surprise Tour in 2006. In March 2004, Walter Yetnikoff published a book called Howling at the Moon , in which he criticized Simon and his previous business partnership with Columbia Records . In 2007, Simon was the inaugural recipient of
11682-532: The story of a real-life Puerto Rican youth, Salvador Agron , who wore a cape while committing two murders in New York in 1959. He became a writer while in prison. Featuring Marc Anthony as the young Agron, and Rubén Blades as the older Agron, the play was not a success and received terrible reviews and poor box office receipts. Simon recorded an album of songs from the show which was released in November 1997. The album received mixed reviews. Some critics praised
11800-623: The tenth anniversary of the show. In 1995 he also featured in the Annie Lennox version of his 1973 song "Something So Right", which appeared briefly on the UK Top 50 after it was released as a single. Simon had been involved in creating a musical, The Capeman , that eventually opened on January 29, 1998. He had worked enthusiastically on the project for many years, and described it as "a New York Puerto Rican story based on events that happened in 1959—events that I remembered." The musical told
11918-427: The time, no breaks, bad food, all that kind of thing.". For the inaugural year, The National closed out the main stage Friday evening followed by late night sets at the uphill stage including Lizzo and Marijuana Deathsquads . The second night was anchored by Sufjan Stevens followed by Bon Iver, who closed the festival playing songs from both of his albums along with many guest artists. The festival leveraged much of
12036-566: The track with electric guitar, bass guitar and drums and it was released as a single, eventually reaching number 1 on the US pop charts. Wilson did not inform the duo of his plan, and Simon was "horrified" when he first heard it. The success of the single drew Simon back to the US to reunite with Garfunkel, and they recorded the albums Sounds of Silence (1966), Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme (1966) and Bookends (1968). Their final album, Bridge over Troubled Water (1970), became at that time
12154-488: The world through the Red Hot Organization. Day of the Dead is the follow-up to 2009's Dark Was the Night (4AD), a 32-track, multi-artist compilation also produced by the Dessner brothers for Red Hot. Of the 59 tracks on the compilation, many feature a house band made up of Aaron, Bryce, fellow the National bandmates and brothers Scott and Bryan Devendorf , Josh Kaufman (who co-produced the project), and Conrad Doucette along with Sam Cohen and Walter Martin. The National have
12272-518: The year" lists. Several songs from the album appeared in TV shows and movies. In 2008, then-Senator Barack Obama used an instrumental version of the song "Fake Empire" in a presidential campaign video. Following the success of Boxer , the band began collaborating with other artists on various songs and compilation albums. In 2009, the band participated in Dark Was the Night , a charity album to benefit
12390-742: Was a brother in the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity, and attended Brooklyn Law School for one semester in 1963. Between 1957 and 1964, Simon wrote, recorded and released more than 30 songs. He and Garfunkel occasionally reunited as Tom & Jerry to record singles, including "Our Song" and "That's My Story". Most of the songs Simon recorded during that time he performed alone, or with musicians other than Garfunkel. They were released on minor record labels including Amy, Big, Hunt, King , Tribute and Madison. Simon used several pseudonyms for these recordings, usually "Jerry Landis", but also "Paul Kane" and "True Taylor". By 1962, working as Jerry Landis, he
12508-565: Was a frequent writer/producer for several Amy Records artists, overseeing material released by Dotty Daniels, The Vels and Ritchie Cordell . Simon enjoyed moderate success with singles as part of the group Tico and the Triumphs, including "Motorcycle", which reached number 99 on the Billboard charts in 1962. Tico and the Triumphs released four 45s. Marty Cooper, known as Tico, sang lead on several of these releases, but "Motorcycle" featured Simon's vocal. Also in 1962, Simon reached number 97 on
12626-473: Was a surprise release that debuted to critical acclaim on July 24, 2020, and won Album of the Year at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards in 2021. Dessner continued his collaboration with Swift on her subsequent albums Evermore (2020), Midnights (2022), and The Tortured Poets Department (2024), as well as her re-recorded albums Fearless (Taylor's Version) (2021), Red (Taylor's Version) (2021), and Speak Now (Taylor's Version) (2023). After
12744-527: Was an elementary-school teacher. In 1945, his family moved to the Kew Gardens Hills section of Flushing, Queens , in New York City. The musician Donald Fagen described Simon's childhood as that of "a certain kind of New York Jew , almost a stereotype really, to whom music and baseball are very important. I think it has to do with the parents. The parents are either immigrants or first-generation Americans who felt like outsiders, and assimilation
12862-644: Was awarded a Doctor of Fine Arts honoris causa from The University of the Arts , for "his eagerness to seek out opportunities, to really be a thoughtful collaborator, and someone who would encourage every single student at UArts to explore with their peers across disciplines, new opportunities, and new ideas." Dessner, along with his twin brother Bryce , was named the 243rd greatest guitarist of all time by Rolling Stone in 2023. Dessner grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio with his twin brother, Bryce Dessner . Dessner
12980-619: Was his only number 1 on the Billboard charts to date. The 18th Grammy Awards named it the Album of the Year , and his performance on it the year's Best Male Pop Vocal . The third single from the album, " 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover ", reached the top spot on the Billboard charts. On May 3, 1976, Simon put together a benefit show at Madison Square Garden for the New York Public Library which raised over $ 30,000. After releasing three successful studio albums, Simon worked in
13098-443: Was mixed, with some fans enthusiastically embracing the model and others frustrated by the final product. In the press the reviews were also mixed, focusing on both logistical and creative components including the lack of big-name acts compared to prior years, multiple sets ending early including Big Red Machine, and scheduling concerns that led to some sets being "drowned out" by music from other stages. Well-received elements included
13216-427: Was named to several year-end best-of lists. The album was nominated for Best Alternative Album at the 56th Grammy Awards . Later that year, Dessner and the rest of the band were featured in the documentary Mistaken for Strangers , which followed the band's tour for High Violet and early recording of Trouble . In 2017, the band released Sleep Well Beast , their seventh full-length album. The lead single from
13334-454: Was premiered on National Public Radio , and was included on the album So Beautiful or So What . The song sampled a 1941 sermon by the Rev. J. M. Gates . Simon performed the song live on The Colbert Report on December 16, 2010. In the first show of the final season of The Oprah Winfrey Show on September 10, 2010, Simon performed a song that commemorated the show's 25 years, an update of
13452-755: Was raised as Jewish and has Polish Jewish and Russian Jewish ancestry. Dessner has said that his Jewish background influences his music: "My brother and I have always been fascinated by liturgical religious melodies in Judaism ;... I don't like major chords. I like the meditative patterns in certain prayers, and I like music that repeats itself." Dessner attended high school at Cincinnati Country Day School and graduated in 1994. Dessner went on to study Modern European History at Columbia University . Aaron Dessner and his twin brother Bryce were childhood friends with Bryan Devendorf . In 1998, after Dessner's earlier band, Project Nim, broke up, Devendorf invited
13570-650: Was released in March 1966, charting around the same time as Simon and Garfunkel's " Homeward Bound ". The song was a Top 10 hit from their second UK album, Sounds of Silence , and later included on their third U.S. album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme . Radio stations on the American East Coast began receiving requests for the Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. track " The Sound of Silence ". Simon & Garfunkel's producer, Tom Wilson , overdubbed
13688-467: Was released on October 19, 1964. It consisted of 12 songs, five of which were written by Simon. The album initially flopped. In 1965, after the album's release, Simon moved to London and performed in folk clubs. He enjoyed his time in England and said in 1970, "I had a lot of friends there and a girlfriend. I could play music there. There was no place to play in New York City. They wouldn't have me." He
13806-399: Was the key thought—they gravitated to black music and baseball, looking for an alternative culture." Simon said Fagen's description was not far from the truth. Simon played baseball and stickball as a child. He described his father as funny and smart, but said he worked late and did not see his children much. Simon met Art Garfunkel when they were 11 years old and performed together in
13924-460: Was welcomed by England's bohemian folk scene, learned how to finger-pick acoustic guitar from Martin Carthy , and was introduced to English folk music. He recalled, "I had never heard anything like those old English songs. I was 21, 22, and emotionally open to everything." The folk music he heard in England in the mid-sixties became one of his two big influences. He wrote " Homeward Bound " and " I Am
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