Jens Lekman is an unwilling wedding singer – but also a wedding singer for a reason. Ever since his 2004 song If You Ever Need a Stranger (To Sing at Your Wedding), he has had a side gig where he receives requests from strangers asking him to sing at their weddings. For over twenty years, he has held a unique perspective on the role love songs can play in our lives.
In 2020, together with novelist David Levithan, he created Songs from Other People’s Weddings, a novel with music. Originally, the idea was that the album would include the songs from the weddings in the book, but as the novel took shape, Lekman began to imagine what happened between the chapters. The book and the album eventually intertwined, but also found their own paths. The book kept the structure of the narrative, while the album sometimes slipped behind the scenes. Stories from the songs found their way into the book – and vice versa.
The result is an exploration of what we sing about when we sing about love – euphoria, doubt, rootlessness, tenderness, conflict, playfulness, gratitude, ingratitude, longing, belonging, questions and answers. It is very much about a relationship and how it is reflected in other people’s relationships and weddings, but above all it is a love song to love songs.
Now Lekman is taking the music on tour. He has previously announced dates in Europe, and now Sweden gets its turn as well. On February 19, he will visit Gothenburg and Pustervik for a concert.
