The Delta Cultural Center will present a symposium on “Arkansas Music: Blues and Beyond” on Saturday, October 8, from 10:30 a.m. to noon. The event will be held at 223 Cherry Street in historic downtown Helena (one block from the Delta Cultural Center’s Visitors Center). It is free and open to the public.

The panelists – music experts Robert Cochran, Stephen Koch and Jim O’Neal – will explore the rich musical heritage of Arkansas, including the Arkansas Delta region, focusing on blues, R&B, rock’n’roll, country and gospel.

The symposium is being scheduled during the 20th annual Arkansas Blues and Heritage (formerly known as the King Biscuit Blues) Festival, a time when thousands of fans from around the region, the nation and the world flock to Helena for three days and nights of blues music. It is just one of a series of events, including special performances and workshops, which the Delta Cultural Center will schedule during the Festival. Panelist Robert Cochran is director of the Center for Arkansas Regional Studies at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville and author of Our Own Sweet Sounds: A Celebration of Popular Music in Arkansas. Stephen Koch is host of the "Arkansongs" radio program on Little Rock’s National Public Radio affiliate KUAR FM-89 and founder of the annual Louis Jordan Tribute. Jim O’Neal is founding co-editor of Living Blues Magazine and co-editor of the book Voice of the Blues. He currently runs BluEsoterica Archives and the Stackhouse Recording Company.

The panel will be moderated by Steve Hoffman, a blues researcher and radio personality who serves as a consultant to the Delta Cultural Center. “A panel discussion like this gives those attending the Festival a great opportunity to learn more about the history of music in addition to enjoying all the live music being offered at the Festival,” says panel coordinator Steve Hoffman. “This year’s discussion will include blues but will also explore other related music forms that are rooted in the Arkansas Delta and are still making their mark in American popular music.”

For further information on the panel, contact Steve Hoffman at (301) 270-8520 or by email at steve@goodnote.com. For more information about other Delta Cultural Center events during this year’s Arkansas Blues and Heritage Festival, contact the museum at (870) 338-4350 or (800) 358-0972.

The Delta Cultural Center is a museum of the Department of Arkansas Heritage.

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