Aimee Mann is one of contemporary pop’s most inventive and erudite singer-songwriters. Since the 1980s she has perfected her art in many contexts: as a Grammy-winning solo recording artist, a composer for theater and film, and a collaborator in duos and bands. Her songwriting balances the literary and the personal with intense wit and empathetic emotion. In this evening of music and talk, Mann reveals her inspirations, shares stories from her long career and discusses her life as a working artist who has always remained true to herself.

Jonathan Coulton opens the show with an eclectic catalog of masterful songwriting on subjects from zombies and mad scientists to sad parents and dissatisfied software engineers. He’s written songs for The Good Fight and Braindead TV series, as well as the Portal video games, and Spongebob Squarepants: The Broadway Musical. He was the house musician for the NPR show Ask Me Another and is the host and namesake of an annual floating nerd convention called JoCo Cruise.