FEB 12 • Every year since Bon Iver’s debut album For Emma, Forever Ago in 2007, the Justin Vernon Train-O’-Success (trademark pending) has continued to rise exponentially. First there was the attention from Pitchfork and NPR, then the New York Times feature, then the Kanye West record. It all culminated in February, when Bon Iver was nominated for four Grammy awards and walked away with two in hand, winning Best New Artist (beating out the likes of Nicki Minaj and Skrillex) and Best Alternative Music Album (stealing it from Radiohead and Death Cab For Cutie). Of course the awards didn’t go over without a little controversy, as rumors flew about Vernon’s refusal to perform at the ceremony and his confusing ‘the Grammys are dumb but I’ve never been more honored’ stance, but even in those moments, seeing a local boy on the front page of TMZ is kind of cool, right? The Grammys, of course, weren’t the only achievement for Bon Iver. They performed on Saturday Night Live, headlined Coachella and toured the world, but the two gold trophies that are probably sitting on some mantle in the Chippewa Valley put a nice cherry on top of the Ol’ Success Sundae (trademark pending).