The celebrated pianist and frequent collaborator with the Grateful Dead, Bruce Hornsby, made an appearance with Bon Iver last night at Coachella along with another special guest, singer Jenny Lewis. Both of the special guests came out for a cover of “The End Of The Innocence,” a song cowritten by Hornsby for Don Henley in the late 1980’s. Bon Iver frontman Justin Vernon, Hornsby, and Lewis were front and center as the trio traded off singing verses on the song and harmonized the soulful chorus.
Hornsby and Vernon have collaborated in the past, with Vernon being featured in “Over The Rise,” a song by Bruce Hornsby & The Noisemakers that was debuted last year. Hornsby also sat in with Vernon and The National’s Aaron Dessner during their special Grateful Dead tribute, Day of the Dead, at Wisconsin’s Eaux Claires festival last summer for a cover of “Black Muddy River.” Vernon has been open about his admiration for the legendary keyboard player, noting to Pitchfork last year that most of the material  he was working on for his self-titled EP “sounds like a Bruce Hornsby song.”
You can watch the Coachella collaboration below, courtesy of uploader ednla, as well as Hornsby’s appearance for “Black Muddy River,” courtesy of uploader Joel B., below.
“The End Of The Innocence”
“Black Muddy River”