For the past three years, Justin Vernon and co. have given us - the state of Wisconsin, the country, the world - an annual reason to make a pilgrimage to the city of Eau Claire.
Last night, the music and arts festival announced dates for Eaux Claires IV: July 6 and 7, 2018. Mark your calendars and, if you're quick, snag one of the limited Tier One tickets.
Of course, Eaux Claires released the dates and on-sale information in a cryptic, artsy way: A series of Instagram posts. Each getting closer and closer to The Fire House (a bar in Eau Claire), where they pasted a smattering of posters with photos of the woods (obvi), the roman numeral IV and a tinyurl.
Go to the tinyurl and you find what else but a 29:08 minute audio clip with layered sounds of people talking about their experience at previous Eaux Claires, someone getting interviewed about icons (Reddit says Patti Smith) and snippets of music.
Eaux Claires redditors were on their game and Shazam-ed some of the tunes they heard in the clip, positing that this might be a hint at the lineup for this year.
In a press release, Eaux Claires said, "Programming and artist information for Eaux Claires IV will not be revealed all at once. Instead, it will be shared gradually over the course of the next several months."
So don't hold your breath, but definitely get your tickets for Eaux Claires 2018.