Kansas City bluesman Lemuel Sheppard returns to ASU’s Delta Blues Symposium XV for April 2 concert

March 10, 2009 -- Arkansas State University-Jonesboro’s Department of English and Philosophy is featuring Kansas City bluesman Lemuel Sheppard in performance on the first night of the three-day Delta Blues Symposium XV: Celebrating a Century of Delta Culture, Thursday-Saturday, April 2-4. Sheppard, who has been touring the United States performing over 200 shows in as many cities, will perform Thursday evening, April 2, at 7:30 p.m. in the Fine Arts Center Recital Hall, 114 South Caraway Road, Jonesboro. This event, like all symposium events, is free and open to the public.

Since appearing more than ten years ago at one of ASU’s early blues symposiums, Sheppard has not only toured throughout the country, but he has traveled to and performed in Brazil and South Africa. Known primarily for his vocal ability and performances of blues, Sheppard has also received high acclaim for his scholarship in American and African American folk music. He holds a master’s degree in music theory and composition.

Touring under the auspices of such non-profit organizations as the Kansas Arts Commission, Arts Midwest, UNESCO, Arts America, and the U.S. Embassy, Sheppard has appeared at Washington University at St. Louis, Kansas University at Manhattan, and other college campuses where he has not only performed but has also included lectures on African American music. The U.S. Embassy called Sheppard “the perfect touring artist, talented, flexible, knowledgeable of his own culture and interested in others.”

He was recently inducted into the Oklahoma Blues Hall of fame. He also composed and performed the sound track to the PBS documentary “Black, White, and Brown” on the 50^th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education, Topeka.

Following his Thursday night performance, Sheppard will visit an area school to discuss the blues with local students.

Delta Blues Symposium XV is sponsored by the Department of English and Philosophy at Arkansas State University-Jonesboro. For further information, contact the department or Dr. Rick Burns, Symposium Committee, at (870) 972-3043, e-mail rburns@astate.edu, or visit the Web site www.clt.astate.edu/blues. A complete schedule of symposium events is at http://www.clt.astate.edu/blues/dbs2009schedule.htm.

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