Based in Durham, North Carolina, Megafaun was built by brothers Brad and Phil Cook and fellow Eau Claire, Wisconsin, native Joe Westerlund. The trio, plus longtime friend Justin Vernon (a.k.a. Bon Iver), made the cross country move together from WI to NC as the band DeYarmond Edison, ultimately splitting in 2006. Megafaun was born from those ashes and proceeded to record the remarkable album Bury the Square in 2007. They found a home on the road, collaborating with friends (they also joined Akron/Family and Dreyblatt as backing band) and developing an American musical language that is exquisitely translated by this year’s Gather, Form & Fly. 
 
“Megafaun pickles rickety back-porch folk reconstructions in a brine of chaotic field recordings and organic, free-form atmospheres…so ingeniously balanced that it stands a chance of satisfying both folk and experimental music fans.” – Brian Howe, Independent Weekly

Brad, Phil, and Joe have been playing in bands together since 1997, after meeting at jazz camp in Wisconsin as teenagers. Life’s been an additive — and adaptive — process since then, bound by a rare and long-lasting commitment to a friendship that has always been set to music. With the end of DeYarmond Edison, a paradigm-shift was imminent. “Brad and I left our primary instruments behind and picked up secondary ones. We booked a seven day tour with out having written any songs,” said Phil, revealing the seeds of the improvisational spirit that both Megafaun and their fans now cherish and exalt. “We’ve become song writers collectively and individually through the birth of this band,” added Joe, “and Gather, Form & Fly marks a huge growth and change in our thinking about time and song form.”