Big Red Machine

Big Red Machine is the collaborative project of Justin Vernon, best known as the frontman of Bon Iver, and Aaron Dessner, guitarist and keyboardist of The National. The duo formed in 2018, taking their name from an earlier song the two had written together for the 2009 Red Hot charity compilation «Dark Was the Night» — itself a nod to the nickname of Dessner's hometown baseball team, the Cincinnati Reds.

The project grew out of Dessner's long-running habit of sending instrumental sketches to singers he admired, a method that also produced his celebrated collaborations with Taylor Swift. With Vernon, this process became a full creative partnership: Dessner builds dense, textured instrumental beds blending folk, chamber-pop and electronic production, while Vernon layers his distinctive processed vocals and introspective lyrics on top. Songs like «Gratitude» and «Latter Days» showcase this blend of intimacy and sonic experimentation.

Big Red Machine also became a hub for a wider circle of collaborators, drawing in artists such as Bon Iver associates and members of The National's extended musical family through the PEOPLE platform, a website and community the group launched with Bryce Dessner. Tracks like «Renegade» (with Taylor Swift), «Birch» and «Phoenix» (featuring Fleet Foxes' Robin Pecknold) reflect this collaborative, genre-blurring approach that has made Big Red Machine a distinctive presence in modern indie and folk-adjacent music.