JONATHAN RICHMAN featuring TOMMY LARKINS on the drums!

The singer-songwriter and Modern Lovers founder brings his disarmingly sincere songwriting, playful melodies, and unpredictable live performance to the Pioneer Works Main Hall for one night only with longtime drummer Tommy Larkins.

Pioneer Works is thrilled to welcome Jonathan Richman, one of American music’s most singular and enduring songwriters, for a special performance with drummer Tommy Larkins on March 10, 2027. First gaining recognition as the frontman of the Modern Lovers, the legendary Boston band whose raw, Velvet Underground-influenced sound helped lay the groundwork for punk, Richman has spent decades following his own musical instincts, moving from proto-punk garage rock toward a warmer, more stripped-down and deeply personal sound.

Known for his lyrics, whimsical observations, and unmistakable melodic sensibility, Richman’s songs find humor, tenderness, and bittersweet wisdom in everyday life. His performances are equally distinctive: joyous, spontaneous, and highly improvisatory, with no setlist or predetermined program. Joined by longtime collaborator Tommy Larkins on drums, Richman creates an unusually intimate musical experience that dissolves the distance between performer and audience. As The Nashville Scene writes, he has spent decades “removing barriers between himself and his audience,” cultivating a rare sense of connection through music.

About the artists

Jonathan Richman first emerged as a teenager in the early 1970s as the founding frontman of the Modern Lovers, an influential proto-punk band whose Velvet Underground-inspired sound anticipated the punk and alternative rock movements. After the band’s initial incarnation, Richman launched a solo career, trading distorted guitars and garage-rock intensity for a more intimate approach informed by early rock and roll, folk, pop, and international traditions. Across decades of songwriting, he has cultivated a style defined by earnestness, vulnerability, humor, whimsy, and an unshakable sense of optimism. Richman also appeared alongside Larkins in the 1998 comedy There’s Something About Mary, where the duo served as a two-man Greek chorus, performing songs that punctuated the film’s action.

Tommy Larkins is a longtime drummer and musical collaborator of Richman’s, accompanying him in performances that emphasize spontaneity, rhythmic simplicity, and an unusually close rapport between musicians. Together, the duo has developed a distinctive live format in which percussion and song create space for Richman’s singular voice, storytelling, and improvisational spirit.