"I am just very proud of Justin,” says Eau Claire Memorial Jazz Band Director Bruce Hering, beaming with pride.

The group has snagged quite the headliner for the band's concert Sunday evening: Lead singer of the band Bon Iver, Eau Claire native Justin Vernon.

"I have to say he hasn't changed one iota. He's still the same humble, very kind, fun loving creative person i knew back in 1999,” says Hering.

Vernon played in the jazz ensemble at Memorial the first year the group went to the Essentially Ellington competition in New York City.

Though the band has gotten national recognition for several years in a row, no individual musician has gone on as far and as fast as Justin Vernon.

And even though he's famous for indie rock, he's a hero to the jazz band.

"I've been looking up to him for basically my entire life,” says bassist Patrick Kuehn, a junior. “I've been fantasizing about him asking me to be in his band or something."

Despite his celebrity status, students say working with Vernon hasn't been too intimidating.

"It was kind of nerve-wracking at first and I was kind of like ‘Oh my God! Justin Vernon, he's a star!’” says Kuehn. “But then when he got here he was just super normal and a super awesome guy."

The jazz band says Vernon’s success proves any western Wisconsin kid has a shot at their dreams.

"The students are definitely inspired by Justin," says Hering.

"He's been trying and now it's finally happened, so it's like if you keep trying, something’s bound to happen,” says Kuehn.

Tonight's concert featuring Justin Vernon of Bon Iver was the first sell-out in the Eau Claire Memorial High School Jazz Band's history.

Procedes from tonight's concert help to pay for the jazz ensemble's trip to New York City for the Essentially Ellington competition.