Songs for Other People's Weddings: David Levithan and Jens Lekman

Sponsored by Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation

A “somewhat successful Swedish singer-songwriter” turned accidental wedding singer keeps the songwriting juices flowing by composing an original song for each couple’s nuptials—all while attempting to manage his own complicated love life. That’s the premise of award-winning YA novelist David Levithan’s second novel for adults, Songs for Other People’s Weddings. And who better to collaborate on this inventive meditation on love and loss than one of Sweden’s most successful singer-songwriters, Jens Lekman? Join Jens and David, along with emcee Andrew Sean Greer, for an unforgettable evening of story and song: part concert, part conversation, part celebration of shared creativity and the bittersweet nature of romantic love. Doors at 7:00. $20 adv / $25 door

David Levithan is the author of numerous acclaimed novels, including The Lover’s Dictionary, Every Day, Boy Meets Boy, and Two Boys Kissing. His other collaborations include Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist with Rachel Cohn and Will Grayson, Will Grayson with John Green. He can often be found with headphones on, a devoted music listener . . . but it’s safe to say that nobody will ever ask him to sing at a wedding.

Jens Lekman is a singer and songwriter from Sweden with several beloved albums such as Life Will See You Now, Night Falls Over Kortedala, and Oh You’re So Silent Jens. He was once voted the fifteenth-sexiest man in Sweden by ELLE. Then he dropped down to number thirty-three, and since then he hasn’t been included in their list. He works part-time as a wedding singer.

Andrew Sean Greer (emcee) is the author of seven works of fiction, including the bestsellers The Confessions of Max Tivoli and Less. Greer has taught at a number of universities, including Stanford and the Iowa Writers Workshop, been a TODAY show pick, a New York Public Library Cullman Center Fellow, a judge for the National Book Award, and a winner of the California Book Award and the New York Public Library Young Lions Award. He is the recipient of a NEA grant, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. He lives in San Francisco and Italy. His latest novel is Less Is Lost.

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