Flobots' Jamie Laurie to Receive Open Media Foundation Award

The Open Media Foundation is dedicated to putting power in the hands of the people, and on Friday, December 4, it will honor a person who's leading the way in that fight — so the Open Media Foundation's twelfth anniversary celebration promises to be a real party for the people.

This year's Independent Voices award goes to Jamie Laurie. Known to many as Jonny 5, Flobots founder/singer (and East High grad), Laurie has been making himself heard as one of this country's true independent voices, from his current work on a new album, No Enemies, that will be crowdfunded (rather than supported by a big studio) to his early work with voter crews and actions at the 2007 Democratic National Convention to his involvement with Veterans of Hope and NoEnemies, a project convening musicians, activists, and everyday people to explore, practice, and train in the use of music as a tactic for street protest and social movements.

And then there's Speakeasy Spanglish, the weekly English Spanish language exchange and karaoke night at Crawford elementary school in Aurora; Laurie's also on the board of Project Worthmore, an Aurora/Denver-based non-profit organization dedicated to empowering refugees. And at Capitol Heights Presbyterian Church, where he's been a member since the age of five, Laurie's created a variety of social justice-themed music-based programming over the years, including a quarterly "Witness Sunday" program using music to bear witness to social justice concerns.

The award presentation will be proceeded by a fundraising dinner at Denver Open Media, 700 Kalamath Street, where chef Ian Kleinman of the Inventing Room and City, O' City will present a molecular extravaganza. Tickets to that portion of the evening are $200 (and pretty much sold out), but the free party that follows is open to all. Come to Denver Open Media between 7 and 10 p.m. for the biggest Open Music Session of the year, with music by Chimney Choir and comedy from Chad Neidt. There will also be free food from Illegal Pete's, Cosmos Pizza and Noodles & Co. Find more details on that bash at openmediafoundation.org.

And if you just can't make it to 700 Kalamath that night, anyone can bid on items in the OMF silent auction, which is already under way. And the entire show will be be televised at 8 p.m. Friday on Denver Open Media: Comcast channel 57.

Power to the people.