What do music and the First Amendment all have in common? The Shut Up and Dance show on Sept. 17 in 206 Alumni Hall at 4 p.m.!
Shut Up and Dance is a multimedia interactive concert featuring live music, trivia and fun with an emphasis on the importance of freedom of expression in the arts. It’s free and open to all Vanderbilt students.
Once called Freedom Sings, the show was renamed Shut Up and Dance after Eartha Kitt — the famous dancer and singer of “Santa Baby” (1953) — who was told to “shut up and dance” after speaking out against the Vietnam War. In essence, the show is dedicated to those who refuse to shut up and choose to speak out. With songs from 1957 to as new as last week, the music played will pay tribute to these pioneers of the First Amendment.
The show “features some of the finest young artists in Nashville, people who have played with Eminem, Kacey Musgraves and Dolly Parton,” said emcee and show creator Ken Paulson.
Paulson said he believes the music, as well as the interactive media presentations, makes the show like none other.
He encourages all students to come for the “educational, but much more entertaining” performances. According to Paulson, in the past, the show has done nothing but entertain.
Paulson said, “Inevitably, a student will come up to me after a show and say, ‘If I thought it was going to be this much fun, I would have brought my roommate.’”
So, be sure to bring yourself and your roommate for the spectacular show in two weeks!
