Mary Chapin Carpenter To Receive "Spirit Of Americana" Award

Mary Chapin Carpenter is being recognized for her efforts to promote free speech. She's has been tapped to receive the "Spirit of Americana" Free Speech in Music Award from the Newseum's First Amendment Center and the Americana Music Association. The singer and her work will be celebrated at the "Freedom Sings" event, in which she'll participate in a Q-and-A session and enjoy a musical salute featuring Rodney Crowell and Judy Collins. "Freedom Sings" is set for the Newseum's Walter and Leonore Annenberg Theater on April 27th -- the same day Carpenter releases her next album, "The Age of Miracles." In announcing Carpenter as this year's honoree, the Newseum and the First Amendment Center's Ken Paulson notes Mary Chapin's career, quote, "has been one of absolute integrity. She has consistently written and performed songs that take a stand and reflect the human condition, while her activism outside of her art has also effected real change for real people." Other country stars who've received the "Spirit of Americana" Free Speech in Music Award include Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson, and Charlie Daniels. Past honorees also include Joan Baez, Judy Collins, Steve Earle, and Mavis Staples.