Bon Iver is letting fans hear SABLE, fABLE early – outdoors, together, in silence
Bon Iver’s long-awaited new album SABLE, fABLE officially drops this Friday (April 11), but if you’ve got a smartphone and a bit of curiosity, you can hear it early – in the middle of a park, no less.
This Wednesday (April 9), from 4PM to 7PM local time, Justin Vernon and co. are hosting a global listening event called fABLE sPACEs.
It’s basically a choose-your-own-adventure album preview where fans head to specific outdoor spots – think fountains, rotundas, hilltops – and use their phones to stream the album in full.
No queues, no speakers, just you, the scenery, and a bunch of other fans all quietly soaking up SABLE, fABLE together.
It’s a nod to Bon Iver’s history of making album rollouts feel more like communal art projects than traditional promo. They’ve done boombox murals, photobooths, and record store pop-ups in the past.
This time, they’re leaning into that same DIY spirit, using geo-tech and crowd-sourced locations to create these temporary listening zones around the world.
Here’s where you can tune in if you’re in Australia:
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Sydney – Frazer Fountain, Hyde Park
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Melbourne – The Fountain, Carlton Gardens
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Brisbane – New Farm Park Rotunda
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Newcastle – Captain Cook Memorial Fountain, Civic Park
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Perth – Mount Eliza Lookout, Kings Park
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Fremantle – Monument Hill
Then, on Saturday April 12, Bon Iver are throwing a full-on celebration in Los Angeles. The event, Live Inside This State Fair, will be held at Terasaki Budokan, and includes everything from a three-game basketball showdown (Team SABLE vs. Team fABLE) to art installations, a fashion pop-up, vinyl sales, and food and drink stalls featuring the likes of Fishwife and Canyon Coffee.
Justin Vernon’s fashion label Hrrrbek will also be there with racks of new pieces and an on-site photoshoot, plus there’s a charity raffle supporting Bon Iver’s 2 A Billion initiative.
If all this sounds like a lot… it is. But in a very Bon Iver kind of way – quietly ambitious, slightly mysterious, and totally centred on human connection.
Whether you show up in person or plug in at the park, SABLE, fABLE is inviting you into its world a little early. No ticket needed.
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Stay tuned for more surprise collaborations and weird little corners of the album rollout to pop up this week.
More info here.
