Jandek to Perform at Lawndale Art Center’s Speakeasy
Jandek in Montreal, 2024. Photo: John Pham
On Friday, Lawndale Art Center presents the second installment of their recreated SPEAKEASY event series, a program that re-envisions the eponymous programs that ran from 1993 to 2024, seeking to explore the relationship between live music, performance and contemporary art.
The event will feature a very rare performance from the famously mysterious music project Jandek. Believed to be from Houston, the man spearheading Jandek has kept his personal life clouded in secrecy. The project began playing live shows in 2024, but Jandek’s emergence in the underground music scene dates back to 1978 with the project’s debut album Ready for the House, one of the more than 100 albums that have been released by Jandek and the Corwood Industries label. The unique sound that has allowed Jandek to form a devoted cult following consists of highly idiosyncratic forms of folk, rock, classical and blues music, often utilizing unconventional chord structures.
In the last five years, Jandek has only publicly performed nine times, including appearances in London, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, San Francisco and Louisville, as well as two performances in Houston. (Check out these two pieces by FPH’s Jack Daniel Betz regarding his 2024 performance at Big Star Bar). Given his reclusive nature, Houstonians should certainly take advantage of this rare opportunity to see the storied musician perform.
Jandek’s one-of-a-kind performance at Lawndale’s SPEAKEASY begins at 8 pm with doors at 7:30. Admission is free.
