This season boasts an Academy Award-nominated speaker and a Lubbock Lights musician who is a Lubbock native in the truest sense.
Texas Tech University announces the 17th season of the Presidential Lecture & Performance Series (PLPS). The series is hosted by the Office of the President and brings world-renowned performers and artists to the Lubbock community each year.
“Texas Tech is proud to continue the Presidential Lecture & Performance Series, which, for 16 seasons, has promoted cultural and artistic expression within our community,” said Texas Tech President Lawrence Schovanec. “This series brings people together and fosters connections. We look forward to another outstanding season.”
Created in 2006 by former Texas Tech President Jon Whitmore, the series' mission is to enhance the intellectual and cultural landscape of not only Texas Tech but also the Lubbock community.
“I'm excited to share we are moving into this season with a critical mindset of our role in the community,” said Dóri Bosnyák, lead administrator for the PLPS. “Our programming has changed slightly over the years, and I think it's important to reflect this. While we certainly want Lubbock patrons to continue attending the series, we're also focused on attracting even more students.”
One of the ways the series plans to do this is by offering free admission for any students with a valid Texas Tech ID.
This year's events are:
In Conversation with Filmmaker Taylor Sheridan
- 7 p.m. Oct. 28
- Buddy Holly Hall of Performing Arts & Sciences
Sheridan is an Academy Award®-nominated writer and actor and a member of the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame. A Texas native himself, Sheridan excels in the Western horse performance industry as an avid supporter and competitor in reining and cutting. He also owns and operates two Texas ranches including the legendary 6666 (Four Sixes) Ranch (a 2015 Environmental Stewardship Award Program regional winner) and Bosque (BOSS-KEY) Ranch. Sheridan recently launched Four Sixes® Ranch Brand Beef which retails beef sourced from the 6666 and a network of other ranches.
The Queen's Cartoonist
- 7 p.m. Nov. 15
- Allen Theatre
Pulling from more than 100 years of animation, The Queen's Cartoonist's performances are perfectly synchronized to films projected on stage. The band matches the energy of the cartoons, leading the audience through a world of virtuosic musicianship, multi-instrumental mayhem and comedy.
The band's members, who hail from Australia, Bulgaria and Washington, D.C., now all reside in Queens, New York. Since the group's inception in 2015, it has become a part of the New York jazz scene and been featured in more than 50 publications, including The Wall Street Journal, The Chicago Tribune, NPR and Mashable.
The Suffers
- 7 p.m. Feb. 28
- Allen Theatre
The Suffers are a Gulf Coast Soul band from Houston that bring elements of classic American soul and rock ‘n' roll to crowds that love to dance. The band's members are influenced by the environment around them – Cajun, African American, Mexican and Caribbean sounds – and their music has taken them to the late-night TV stages of “The Daily Show,” “Jimmy Kimmel Live” and “The Late Show.”
The Suffers revel in the multidimensional and multicultural possibilities of their take on soul. Their vividness and conviviality are quickly becoming festival favorites across the nation.
10th Annual Lubbock Lights: Angela Strehli
- 7 p.m. April 18
- Allen Theatre
Lubbock-born and raised blues singer and composer Angela Strehli has often been called the “First Lady of Texas Blues.” An avid student and historian of blues, she helped build the Austin blues scene in the 1980s with club owner Clifford Antone, Jimmie and Stevie Ray Vaughan, Kim Wilson and others. In addition to her own performance career, she helped manage the legendary Antone's club and record label.
Strehli produced her own records and has recorded with Stevie Ray Vaughan, Marcia Ball, Lou Ann Barton, and in more recent years Elvin Bishop, Tommy Castro and Joe Louis Walker.
