I like to think I can string together a serviceable sentence, but seeing Bon Iver early last Sunday morning at LA’s opulent Hollywood Forever cemetery as the rising sun burned through a thick haze of fog after a night long slumber party on the cemetery lawn was a once in a lifetime experience for which words can’t really do justice.

But I’ll try.

The all-night event began at midnight when the gates Hollywood Forever (final resting place of Charlie Chaplin, Dee Dee Ramone and Rudolph Valentino, among many others) opened. By 1AM the cemetery lawn was populated by 2,000-ish hearty, sweater-clad concert goers who came prepared for the cool night with sleeping bags, wine, pillows and picnics. A diverse, Justin Vernon-selected playlist that included Sade, Sam Cooke and Dirty Projectors was piped over the lawn until 2AM, at which point Wes Anderson’s Bottle Rocket was projected on the cemetery’s mausoleum wall. The movie was followed by Planet Earth, (the “Jungles” installment, also chosen by Vernon), which effectively captivated the hushed, mellow, partially sleeping crowd.

The pre-show information email promised “a special surprise to ease everyone from their slumber or otherwise at 5:25 am,” and before first light, a group of Buddhist monks assembled on a candlelit stage and chanted, blessing the audience and stage, cleansing the air, and bringing an eerie night already erring on the side of fantasy into full on dream mode.

All photos by Layla Martin

As the skies began to brighten near 6AM, Vernon and crew took the stage and eased into a lush set that by virtue of sound and setting, transcended any version of a standard concert going experience. The crowd was reverently silent and blissfully awestruck for the show’s duration, highlights of which included especially loud, clattering renditions of “Blood Bank,” and “Creature Fear.” Vernon shared that he’d only slept an hour the night before, but if anything, his sleep deprivation (and ours) helped to increase the spooky, piercing quality of his falsetto.

Vernon called the show “probably the weirdest thing any of us has ever done” which might be true, but providing a soul affecting soundtrack to the misty pink sunrise among the graves and mausoleums also had to be among one of the most beautiful. After concluding with the group’s signature crowd sing along of “The Wolves (Part I and II)” Vernon waved goodnight/morning, saying, “Let’s do it again, maybe, or maybe never again.”

We were all lucky to have been there.

Words: Katie Bain / Photos: Layla Martin

Here’s a selection of live Bon Iver to help you imagine:

MP3s: