Meet the Readers: Jason Narducy
Jason Narducy is a Chicago musician. When he isn't touring with Bob Mould, Superchunk, or Sunny Day Real Estate, he writes and sings in Split Single. Jason has performed with Robert Pollard (Guided By Voices), The Pretenders, Liz Phair, Eddie Vedder, and many more.
Jason and his first band, Verböten, were featured in the Foo Fighter's HBO series "Sonic Highways" and in Dave Grohl's NYT best selling book, Storyteller. Playwright Brett Neveu wrote a musical about Verböten (featuring music by Jason) that opened in Chicago in January 2020. Verböten the musical garnered rave reviews and sold out performances and is currently being re-worked for a film adaptation. The actual band Verböten reunited for 2024 Riot Fest in Chicago and released a new album.
Over the years, Jason sang the national anthem at a Chicago Bulls game, sang “Surrender” with Cheap Trick, and even sang a duet on a Blue Note Records album by jazz artist Patricia Barber.
Initially started as a fun celebration, Jason performed songs by R.E.M. with actor/musician Michael Shannon at Metro in Chicago, but the performance garnered so much attention that they took the show on the road for tours in the U.S., UK, and Ireland. When they played in Athens, GA in February 2025, all four original members of R.E.M. attended and joined them on stage to play "Pretty Persuasion."
In December of 2025, Jason released his first book, Mostly The Van, a collection of awkward, unusual, and sometimes moving stories about his music work experiences. It is available online and at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.
He has also written and performed in comedy shorts such as The Sexiest Elbows in Rock (3 episodes all found on YouTube). The episodes feature Fred Armisen, Margaret Cho, Frank Black, Sharon Van Etten, Tim Meadows, and Cynthia Plaster Caster, among others.
Join Jason and our other awesome readers on Tuesday, April 7, 2026 in the upstairs bar at Hopleaf! Doors open at 7pm, and the show starts at 7:30. It's free, and 21-and-over. Please RSVP on Facebook.