Blues legend Riley B. King, better known as B.B. King, will be appearing at Emens Auditorium Friday at 8 p.m. King's special guest for the show will be the Bobby "Blue" Band.
Bob Myers, Director of Emens, stated that Ball State has been trying to book King for almost two years, and his appearance was confirmed within the last few months. The last-minute booking actually came as a shock to Myers.
"I'm not sure if we'll ever be able to book him again, so I'm very excited about this performance," he said.
So far about 2,500 tickets have been sold, but the show is not sold out yet. Tickets are still available for $37.50 and $32.50 for reserved seating. Tickets can be purchased up until two hours before the show at the box office or at any Ticketmaster location.
The 76-year-old performer has gone from playing on street corners for mere dimes to releasing over 50 albums since the late 1940s. Instructed by his cousin Bukka White, a famous blues performer himself, King has developed one of the most unique and rare guitar styles ever known to music.-รก
King has been awarded five honorary doctorate degrees from universities across the country, was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1984 and into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.
In February he performed at Radio City Music Hall as part of the "Salute To The Blues" benefit show. He joined Bonnie Raitt, Chuck D, Aaron Neville and others. The proceeds went to the Blues Music Foundation, a non-profit international organization dedicated to preserving blues history.
King was the recipient of two Grammy Awards at last year's 45th annual show. He added these to his previous 11 Grammy wins. He has captured every award he has been nominated for.
Professor of music Doug Ammon has heard great things about King's live performances.
"I'm attending a dinner with people from the College of Fine Arts before the show, and then we are all going to watch together," he said. "I might not have otherwise gone on my own, but it sounds like a fun time. I'm excited about the performance because of all the good things I've heard about B.B. King."
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