Freedom Forum is a nonprofit organization working to empower everyone to understand and exercise their First Amendment freedom. The organization will Freely Fest next Wednesday (April 8) at Bridgestone Arena featuring performances from Avery Anna, Janelle Monae, T-Pain, Dominic Fike, and The Killers, mission is to inspire artists and audiences to come together around music and the First Amendment freedoms that protect it.
“The First Amendment allows all of us to freely listen to our favorite music, read the news, attend church or not, and gather together with others,” Freedom Forum’s chair and CEO Jan Neuharth said. “We believe that when everyone knows their rights, they value them, and when they value, they defend them for generations to come. Our initiatives like Freely Fast and our Brought to You by the First Amendment Campaign bring the First Amendment to life and make it relevant and accessible and part of everyday culture.”
Neuharth says Nashville is an important part of the organization’s history. Journalist and civil rights activist John Seigenthaler helped establish Freedom Forum’s First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University in 1991, creating a home for First Amendment education and dialog.
“In addition to the Freely Fest lineup, Nashville artists will take to the stage throughout the evening to perform songs that carry First Amendment stories,” she said. “We wanted a diverse group of artists to appeal to fans of all ages and genres and could really represent what showcases how the power of music represents the First Amendment in action and all these by freedoms. We’re excited that we have the lineup of headliners we do and some surprise guests throughout the show to help tell the story of why the power of music is so relevant in our society today and how it’s represented by these various artists.”
Even without a ticket, the event will be streaming live on YouTube and the organization will host Freely Festival Village outside Bridgestone Arena. There’s no ticket required for access to the village and free and open to the public with food and drinks, music and entertainment.
“One highlight of the village is the Nashville Freedom Experience, which is an interactive exhibit that shows how the First Amendment empowers us in our everyday lives and what it could look like if we lost it, Neuharth said.” “We’ll also have games and trivia that explore the five freedoms of the First Amendment with fun prizes and giveaways. We want audiences to understand that the music they listen to every day and these other First Amendment freedoms that we sometimes take for granted, whether you read a book, listen to a song or watch a movie, that these things are protected by the First Amendment and that it shows up in many ways in our everyday lives. We want to raise awareness of it and help people understand where the First Amendment shows up in their lives and help empower them to be able to.”
Additional event opportunities:
Starting tonight (April 1) WNXP Presents Hannah Cohen performing at The Blue Room and back at the venue Thursday (April 2) is WNXP Trivia. Friday night (April 3) The Format takes the stage at the Ryman and Friday and Saturday (April 4) Gillian Welch and David Rawlings play Grateful Dead at Brooklyn Bowl. Also on Saturday Indigo De Souza performs at the Basement East and WNXP Presents Lala Lala is at the Blue Room. Wrap up this week’s listing Tuesday (April 7) with Bob Moses and Cannons performing at the Pinnacle.
