Bon Iver’s upcoming double-self-titled sophomore full-length may be the most highly anticipated album in the history of Eau Claire music. To celebrate the Tuesday, June 21 release, a couple local shops are going way, way out of their way to put on some really cool parties, complete with deals, baked goods, exclusive materials and freebies.

Our champion local record store, Revival Records, is throwing a listening party on Monday – the day before the release – so fans can come in and listen to the vinyl for the first time with a crowd of peers. Listening parties are basically unheard of previously in Eau Claire, but record shops in larger cities do them for their most highly anticipated releases, and Revival is the real deal, right here in EC!

The shop will also be selling Bon Iver, Bon Iver in both LP and CD format at midnight – providing fans the very first opportunity to get their eager little hands on it. The most exciting part is that Revival is offering 25 very, very rare vinyl pressings of the album that have been personally autographed by Justin Vernon for an extra $20. That $20 is being donated to Feed My People in Eau Claire, and the organization is matching every dollar from that with another $10 of their own. So, do the math… 25 LPs x $20 donated per LP x $10 matched = $5,000 donated to Feed My People! That’s not only a great way to celebrate a new release, but a great way to support a local charity as well. In addition, Revival is giving away posters of the official album artwork with each purchase, and they are selling the singles of “Calgary,” along with a whole slue of other B.I merchandise.

The Volume One Local Store is in on the hoopla as well. They’ve been taking pre-orders for the album, and each one gets a 10% discount. They’re opening their doors on Tuesday morning and offering their own exclusive party gifts as well. According to the website, they’ll be serving “Bon Iver Bars,” and “Falsetto Fig Newtons.” We don’t know exactly what’s in those. Probably ingredients that are intangible, yet critically acclaimed. They’ve also got all the LPs, CDs and “Calgary,” single goodies, along with a V1-produced, Bon Iver-approved, “Built On Rivers” poster that you cannot get anywhere else in the world. Also, a Bon Iver purchase gets you 10% off anything else in the Local Store that day.

It’s an exciting time for us locally, and it’s great to see a few local shops step up with exclusive deals and listening parties. We’ll be out in full force to see how Eau Claire responds to the album release and the store’s celebrations. We certainly hope to see you there!