Vernon is indoors at the piano with his best friend and former bandmate, Phil Cook from Megafaun, rehearsing for an appearance the pair will make on Jimmy Fallon's TV show in two days' time. Spring has come late to Eau Claire this year, and the cherry blossom trees that line the driveway to Justin Vernon's home are only now coming into bloom leaves spreading, petals softening in the early evening sun, the Wisconsin landscape stretching broad and green beyond, as the air is filled with the sound of warm keys and sweet, twisting falsetto.
