Overview

• Justin Vernon revealed that Taylor Swift’s ‘Folklore’ era was built around Big Red Machine demos shared by Aaron Dessner during early pandemic lockdowns.
• Dessner’s Instagram Live sessions, initially intended to share music during the Bon Iver tour hiatus, caught Swift’s attention and sparked her creative process.
• Swift collaborated with Dessner and Vernon, transforming the raw demos into polished tracks, including the hit duet ‘Exile.’
• Vernon praised Swift’s ability to seamlessly integrate into the Big Red Machine creative environment and elevate the material with her songwriting genius.
• The retrospective highlights how pandemic-driven digital collaboration redefined modern music creation and fostered enduring artistic partnerships.