Mississippi Blues Legends Concert & Symposium

The FGCU community is cordially invited to the upcoming Mississippi Blues Legends Concert & Symposium, sponsored by the Honors College and the Office of Community Outreach.  The concert will be held on March 13 at 5:00 PM in Veterans Pavilion, and the Symposium will be held on March 14 at noon in Sugden 111.  

Both events are free and open to the public, and free pizza will be served at the Symposium.  This is an extraordinary opportunity to learn about and enjoy one of America’s most enduring and significant musical forms directly from its modern-day practitioners.  At the March 14 Symposium, you can ask the musicians questions and hear their thoughts on the importance of the blues today.

The musicians are:

• Anthony "Big A" Sherrod – A native of Clarksdale, Mississippi—“the land where the blues began”--Sherrod starting playing at 5 1/2 years old.  Now at 33, he has released two albums, is featured in the documentary We Juke Up in Here!, and recently returned from a tour of Europe.  He regularly plays Clarksdale’s juke joints and festivals.  
• Lucious Spiller was born in St. Louis, Missouri and his dad gave him a guitar when he was four, and he quickly started playing in church.  He went to college in Little Rock, Arkansas and graduated from Philander Smith College with a degree in Art. He has performed with many well known musicians, including Bo Diddly, Larry “Totsy” Davis, Albert King, Eddie Clearwater, and Robert Cray.  In 2014, Lucious won 2nd Place in the Solo/Acoustic Category at the International Blues Competition in Memphis.  He currently lives and frequently plays in Clarksdale, Mississippi.
• Stan Street is a 68-year-old drummer/harmonica player and painter.  Born in Rochester, NY, Street lived in South Florida for 25 years where he played (and painted) the blues.  In 2005, he opened Hambone Art & Music in Clarksdale, Mississippi, where he makes blues-themed art and hosts live music acts weekly.