With a new political calamity striking the country on a daily basis, it’s clear that radical change will not come from the established politicians currently in office. Kyle Frenette, Bon Iver’s longtime manager, is seeking to promulgate such political shifts and is taking a break from his career in the music industry to run for Congress.
“This state and this country are in desperate need of better leadership,” wrote Frenette in an out-of-office reply from his Middle West Management email account. Frenette plans to run for the Democratic nomination for Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional district in hopes of taking it from Republican Rep. Sean Duffy who has held the seat since 2011. Frenette is expected to make a formal announcement of his campaign in the coming weeks and has already submitted his statement of candidacy to the Federal Election Commission last month. The primary elections take place this summer on August 14.
Frenette’s relationship to Justin Vernon and Bon Iver goes back to 2007. He worked on the release of the band’s debut album For Emma, Forever Ago, which just had its 10-year-anniversary. Vernon recently made headlines expressing his disappointment of Bruno Mars’ Grammy wins over artists like SZA and Kendrick Lamar. “I’d say move on from this sh-t show,” he wrote in a series of Tweets. “Felt like a Democratic Party party, not rock ‘n’ roll.” Political, just like his ex-manager!
