SCHUYLKILL HAVEN - In celebration of Women's History Month, Penn State Schuylkill is presenting "Women & Blues" on Thursday in the John E. Morgan Auditorium.
Debra Simpson-Buchanan, director of the Office of Educational Equity at the campus, said the free performance, which starts at 7 p.m., will featuring Teeny Tucker and her seven-piece band.
"I've gotten a lot of response and already 60 reservations from the community," Simpson-Buchanan said Friday. "They're really engaged in coming to see her."
She will be singing hits from her latest release such as "Ain't That the Blues," "Keep the Blues Alive" and "Respect Me and the Blues."
According to the Penn State website, Tucker, a native of Dayton, Ohio, is the daughter of Tommy "Hi-Heel Sneakers" Tucker, an American blues singer-songwriter and pianist who is best known for the 1964 hit song, "Hi-Heel Sneakers."
She has performed at major blues festivals in the U.S. and Europe, including Sweden, France, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany and Italy, and has performed on the same bill with blues greats such as B.B. King, Koko Taylor, Etta James and Buddy Guy, and is equally adept at intimate discussion, focusing on blues history.
In addition to her father, her influences are James, Taylor, Mihalia Jackson and Big Mama Thornton. Tucker was nominated by the Blues Foundation in Memphis, Tenn., for the Koko Taylor Award for Best Traditional Female Blues Artist; she and her band were invited to tape a 30-minute show at Sun Studios in Memphis for an episode of "Sun Session," which frequently airs on PBS nationwide and selected as the 2011 Federal Carter G. Woodson Award winner at the Black History/Carter G. Woodson Program in Columbus, Ohio.
Simpson-Buchanan said the event is open to the community and the campus would like those that want to attend to make a reservation by calling Simpson-Buchanan at 570-385-6254.