'Freedom Sings' Concert celebrating free expression and music Nov. 11

The Jamestown College Student Media Center will host “Freedom Sings,” a concert celebrating free expression and music, at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 11 in the Reiland Fine Arts Center’s DeNault Auditorium. The event is free and open to the public.

The exciting and innovative multi-media show is a joint presentation by Jamestown College and the North Dakota Newspaper Association and the 1 For All campaign’s Liberty Tree Initiative.

Performers will include Jason White, a songwriter and performer whose work – including the controversial song “Red Rag Top” – has been recorded by Tim McGraw and others; and Joseph Wooten, singer/songwriter and keyboard performer for the legendary Steve Miller Band for more than 15 years.

Telling the story of free speech and music in America, the show features a soundtrack of classic rock, country, folk, soul and hip-hop. The show, produced by the First Amendment Center, is part of the Freedom Sings concert series, which has toured the country to rave reviews since 2000.

“Freedom Sings” offers “a unique way to view freedom of expression and the First Amendment, and an entertaining experience that includes songs that have been banned, censored or served as social anthems in the nation’s history,” says Gene Policinski, senior vice president of the First Amendment Center and narrator of the program at Jamestown. “And, the band is spectacular.”

1 for All is an informal coalition of educators, journalists, librarians, artists and authors with a shared interest in building awareness of the First Amendment through education and information. The Liberty Tree Initiative campus program is made possible by the support of the McCormick Foundation, American Society of News Editors, the First Amendment Center and the Brechner Center for Freedom of Information at the University of Florida.

The First Amendment Center works to preserve and protect First Amendment freedoms through information, education and entertainment. The center serves as a forum for the study and exploration of free-expression issues, including freedom of speech, of the press and of religion, and the rights to assemble and to petition the government. The Center has offices on the campus of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., in the John Seigenthaler Center; and in Washington, D.C., at the Newseum.  It is an operating program of the Freedom Forum, and is associated with the Newseum and the Diversity Institute.

For questions or to RSVP, please e-mail Steve Listopad, student media director at Jamestown College, at slistopa@jc.edu.