Contact: Sammy McDavid
STARKVILLE, Miss.—Mississippi State’s 2015-16 Lyceum Series begins Sept. 3 with a concert featuring singer-songwriter ZZ Ward. Along with Ward, the event also will feature performances by The Young Wild and Marc Scibilia.
As with all Lyceum events this season, the performance begins at 7 p.m. in Lee Hall’s Bettersworth Auditorium. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m.
Tickets are $25 each and may be purchased in advance via www.lyceum.msstate.edu. MSU students can purchase tickets from the Center for Student Activities for $10.
MSU Music Maker Productions and the Student Association are co-sponsoring the campus appearance by Ward, a Pennsylvania native who began her musical career in 2007.
In 2012, she debuted both an extended-play album, “Criminal,” and album, “Til the Casket Drops.”
“Put The Gun Down,” her first single, broke into the Top 10 in early 2013 and remained there for 10 weeks. It also was a Top 40 entry on the Billboard Alternative chart.
Ward was featured at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Colorado and Tennessee’s Bonnaroo Music Festival, as well on a brief tour with rock guitar legend Eric Clapton. For more, visit www.zzward.com.
The Lyceum Series will also hold a Twitter contest for a chance to win a pair of passes to meet ZZ Ward. Contest participants must purchase tickets to the show to be eligible to win and winners will be chosen on Aug. 28. Official contest rules can be found at www.lyceum.msstate.edu.
Following Ward’s appearance, five other Lyceum events are scheduled during the school year. They include:
—Oct. 20, L.A. Theatre Works, presenting Bram Stoker’s “Dracula.” Employing a hybrid form of audio theatre and innovative technology, the Los Angeles-based non-profit media arts organization keeps the venerable art form thriving.
—Dec. 9, National Circus and Acrobats of the People’s Republic of China, in a performance of “Peking Dreams.” One of China’s longest running and most distinguished circus troupes, it mixes circus arts and acrobatic entertainment to delight and astound children of all ages.
—Feb. 16, The American Shakespeare Center’s performance of “Henry V.” A regional theatre company based in Staunton, Virginia, ASC returns to campus to commemorate the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s death and present his rousing story of England’s hero king and one of the greatest upsets in European military history.
—March 22, Ballet Memphis, in a presentation of contemporary original works. Nationally acclaimed for producing more original work than any other company its size, the Tennessee dance company has been recognized by the Ford Foundation as a “national treasure.”
—April 21, The Delphi Trio, a chamber music group praised for beautifully blended sound, rich string tone, artistic piano skills and rhythmic flexibility.
Selected by the MSU Performing Arts Committee, annual Lyceum programs are designed to expose residents of campus and surrounding communities to national and international artists in dance, music and theater. Follow the series on facebook.com/MSULyceumSeries or twitter.com/MSU_Lyceum.
For more information on the 2015-16 events schedule, contact the Center for Student Activities at 662-325-2930 or www.lyceum.msstate.edu. The office is located in Colvard Student Union, Suite 314.
Support for the Lyceum Series also is provided by MSU’s Division of Student Affairs, Richard Holmes Cultural Diversity Center and the Judy and Bobby Shackouls Honors College, as well as Starkville arts patron Ida Cunetto. The performing arts committee also accepts tax-deductible donations via Lynn Durr of the MSU Foundation at 662-325-8918 or ldurr@advservices.msstate.edu.
MSU is Mississippi’s flagship research institution online at www.msstate.edu.