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Two Mekons returning to play free concert in Iowa City

Jon Langford and Sally Timms -- members of the legendary British punk band The Mekons -- will perform a free concert at the Picador next week as part of a University of Iowa-sponsored series of events related to free speech, copyright law and creativity.

The performance is scheduled for 8 p.m. Friday, April 25, at the Picador, 330 Washington St. Prior to the concert, a reception and art show featuring Langford’s paintings will be held at 5:30 p.m. at Chait Galleries, 218 Washington St., according to a UI news release.

A screening of “Freedom of Expression®: Resistance and Repression in the Age of Intellectual Property,” a documentary by UI Communication Studies professor Kembrew McLeod, will kick off the series of events at 4 p.m. Friday, April 25 in 101 Becker Communication Studies Building on the UI campus. A discussion will follow.

On Saturday, April 26, Langford and Timms will participate in a roundtable discussion, "Folk Music and the Public Domain," moderated by McLeod. The event begins at 9 a.m. in Room E105 of the Adler Journalism Building on the UI campus.

All events are free and open to the public.

Langford, a guitarist and singer who also plays with the Chicago-based band the Waco Brothers, blends folk and country music into punk rock. He hosts a Chicago-based weekly radio program, “The Eclectic Company,” contributes regularly to “This American Life” and is known for his portraits of musicians including Hank Williams, Johnny Cash and Elvis Pressley.

Timms is a singer-songwriter whose musical style has been called ‘alternative country.” Her solo albums include "To the Land of Milk and Honey" and "Cowboy Sally's Twilight Laments for Lost Buckaroos."

McLeod, who trademarked the phrase "Freedom of Expression" in 1998, asserts that intellectual property law can -- when overzealously enforced -- restrict creativity and the expression of ideas. The documentary explores the battles being waged in courts, classrooms, museums, film studios and the Internet over control of our cultural commons. It is based on McLeod's book with the same title. The film also features a version of Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land" recorded by Langford.