CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – A musical tribute to the First Amendment is coming to the University of Illinois campus March 3.
The multimedia performance, titled “Freedom Sings: Speech, Civility and the University of Illinois,” will be at 8 p.m. in the Knight Auditorium at the Spurlock Museum, 600 S. Gregory St., Urbana. The event is free and open to the public.
The “Freedom Sings” show, performed over more than 16 years, is based in the Newseum Institute’s First Amendment Center. It is described on the center’s website as an “entertaining, engaging and inspiring story of free speech in America told through rock, pop, hip-hop and country music.”
The performance was organized by the department of journalism as the first in a series, titled “Free Speech: Rights and Responsibilities in a Digital Age.” The event also is a special presentation of the university’s Center for Advanced Study, with additional funding coming from the Knight Chair for Investigative and Enterprise Reporting, the department of journalism and the College of Media.
The music in “Freedom Sings” revisits turning points in history, with songs made famous by groups and performers such as The Beatles, The Black Eyed Peas, Beyoncé and Loretta Lynn. The band includes musicians who have performed with acts such as Prince, the Steve Miller Band and Cheap Trick.
Narrating the show will be U. of I. law alumnus Ken Paulson, president and CEO of the First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University and dean of the College of Mass Communication at Middle Tennessee State University. Paulson and others developed the original “Freedom Sings” show at the First Amendment Center in 1999.
While a law student, Paulson also was a reporter and editor at The Daily Illini, and went on to become editor-in-chief of USA Today.
For additional information, contact Chris Benson, associate dean for the College of Media, at 217-333-2350 or cdbenson@illinois.edu.
