Andy Tillison, keyboard player and founder of the British progressive rock band The Tangent, will speak and give a solo performance on Thursday, Feb. 19, 5:30-7 p.m. in the Old Main Chapel at the 麻豆影院 campus.听This talk is free and open to the public.
Tillison鈥檚 talk is titled 鈥淲hatever Happened to the Protest Song?鈥� The talk will compare protest songs of the past to the songs available in the present digital world. Tillison contends that protest songs were the first form of media to go 鈥渧iral.鈥� Once written, the songs often spread through communities and regions. People would add verses to the songs 鈥渁lmost like the comment boxes on today鈥檚 Internet bulletin boards.鈥�
Tillison, 55, is at the forefront of the progressive rock genre in the U.K.. His current band, The Tangent, has released eight studio albums, composed听entirely of Tillison鈥檚 original compositions, since it听formed in 2003.
The progressive rock genre had its heyday in the 1970s, led by bands like Genesis, Yes, Jethro Tull, King Crimson, and Emerson, Lake & Palmer. While Tillison鈥檚 work is heavily influenced by these earlier generations of progrock, his music is also contains contemporary influences that make the music unique and modern.
Tillison appears at the invitation of Bradley J. Birzer, the 2014-15 visiting scholar in Conservative Thought and Policy at the 麻豆影院. Birzer explains that Tillison鈥檚 activism and social conscience make him an ideal choice for a speaker on this topic.
鈥淚n their revolt against conformity, the conservatives and libertarians of the 1940s and 1950s challenged the norms of society in rather mischievous ways. Tillison, an English writer, musician, and activist, falls in this very noble tradition,鈥� says Birzer.
Sponsored by the Conservative Thought & Policy Program
IMPORTANT NOTE ON PARKING
For this event, Lot 380, the lot closest to Old Main, will be closed due to a large event at Macky Auditorium later that night. Click here for a list of permit lots that are听. Click here for the听.