Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven frontman David Lowery to speak and perform at Lawrence Arts Center

David Lowery, singer-songwriter for alt-rock bands Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven, will appear next month in Lawrence at a free public event.

Lowery, originally slated to come to town in 2022, was rescheduled to Feb. 9 after a family emergency. He will appear as the 2023 780s Series music storyteller at 7 p.m. at the Lawrence Arts Center, 940 New Hampshire St.

Lowery will discuss his career in music and musician rights activism with Brad Allen, executive director of Lawrence Public Library, and perform following his talk. No tickets are required for the free, public event, according to a news release from the library.

“I’m so excited for David Lowery’s visit to Lawrence,” Allen said in the release. “I’ve been a fan of his music since I was a teenager. David has been witness to the massive changes in the music business from the 1980s to now. He is an outspoken and expert advocate for musicians’ rights in our new streaming age. I look forward to hearing his stories about the glory days of Camper Van Beethoven and Cracker, as well as his ideas about the future of the music industry.”

While studying mathematics and computers at the University of California Santa Cruz in the early 1980s, Lowery founded the critically acclaimed ensemble Camper Van Beethoven and associated record label Pitch-a-Tent Records. Later, his band Cracker produced three top-10 alternative/rock radio tracks and three platinum albums.

Lowery has become an outspoken critic of Silicon Valley and has testified before Congress twice on behalf of artists.

The 780s Series, thanks to the Harrison Family Fund of the Douglas County Community Foundation, brings prominent music storytellers to Lawrence to share the stories behind their music. Previous guests have included Booker T. Jones, Kim Gordon, Jimmy Webb, Mavis Staples and Rakim.

COMMENTS

Welcome to the new LJWorld.com. Our old commenting system has been replaced with Facebook Comments. There is no longer a separate username and password login step. If you are already signed into Facebook within your browser, you will be able to comment. If you do not have a Facebook account and do not wish to create one, you will not be able to comment on stories.