Last month Justin Vernon shared the new Bon Iver album SABLE, fABLE. He promoted it with a basketball tournament in Los Angeles and did over two dozen brand collabs. Today, the indie fixture is teaming up with WNBA's Minnesota Lynx for an unprecedented partnership.
This collaboration is the first between a women’s sports franchise and a recording artist. Vernon joined Lynx power forward Napheesa Collier on ESPN today to make the announcement. Bon Iver’s 2 A Billion campaign has advocated ending gender inequity, domestic violence, and sexual abuse since 2019, and this partnership with expand that mission with a multiyear initiative. About it, Vernon said in a press release:
Basketball is exactly like music. It's a group and individual improvising to create moments of vision, excitement and joy. Simply said, the Minnesota Lynx team is my favorite band in the world right now. As Bon Iver, we also saw an unprecedented opportunity to not only support this band of incredible women on the court, but by combining forces to more urgently support the communities of women in the Upper Midwest.
Lynx President of Business Operations Carley Knox added, "We are incredibly excited about this innovative and first-of-its-kind partnership, centered around community impact and the cultural connection of sports and music. Justin is an incredibly passionate supporter of the Lynx, and our complete value alignment has allowed us to create a partnership focused on meaningful societal change."
Watch the announcement below.
