FLORENCE — “Shut Up and Dance,” an engaging and irreverent concert celebrating free speech through music, is coming to the University of North Alabama Monday, March 18, 2019.
The show will be presented in the Norton Auditorium at 6 p.m., and admission is free.
“Shut Up and Dance” is a new program of the Free Speech Center at Middle Tennessee State University and its 1 for All, a national, nonpartisan program designed to build understanding and support for the First Amendment freedoms of religion, speech, press, assembly and petition.
A thoroughly entertaining and stirring concert with multimedia and narration, the “Shut Up and Dance” show tells the story of America’s social struggles and progress through pop, rock, gospel, soul, country and hip-hop music.
“The ironically titled ‘Shut Up and Dance’ celebrates the opposite, illuminating for audiences the pivotal moments when artists were told to be quiet and instead spoke up,” said Ken Paulson, the writer and narrator of the show. “‘Shut Up and Dance’ tells the story of how America has become a more perfect union by addressing injustice through free speech and song.”
The “Shut Up and Dance” band is made up of extraordinary young musicians who have appeared with the likes of Eminem and Kacey Musgraves, or on The Voice or American Idol. “Shut Up and Dance” features contemporary songs by Beyoncé, Lorde, Macklemore, Common and Taylor Swift, alongside vintage anthems by Stevie Wonder, Neil Young, Bob Dylan and Loretta Lynn.
‘Shut Up and Dance’
Paulson, the former editor of USA Today and a First Amendment scholar, founded 1 for All in 2007. He is now dean of the Middle Tennessee State University College of Media and Entertainment and director of the university’s Free Speech Center. 1 for All founding partners included journalists, educators, First Amendment lawyers, librarians and artists, with the aim of educating the public on the vital importance of First Amendment freedoms.
Media Release/Dr. Butler Cain, Chair Department of Communications University of North Alabama
