News release Public Information Office   SLU 10880   Hammond, LA 70402   phone: 985-549-2341   fax: 985-549-2061 publicinfo@selu.edu     www.selu.edu/news Contact: Christina Chapple Date: 6/27/03   Click on image for publication quality photo DEL MCCOURY BAND TO PLAY AT COLUMBIA THEATRE JULY 11  HAMMOND -- Bluegrass music legend Del McCoury and his band will perform at Southeastern Louisiana University’s Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts at 7:30 p.m. July 11.        Over the past decade McCoury has been credited with making bluegrass hip again, exposing a new generation to the “high lonesome” sound of this distinctly American music. Named Entertainer of the Year six times by the International Bluegrass Music Association, the group’s stringent rhythm guitar and piercing lead vocals have made it a cornerstone of traditional bluegrass music.       McCoury learned his trade well as one of Bill Monroe's Bluegrass Boys. The elder McCoury passed his talent and skill on to his two sons, Ronnie, who plays mandolin, and Rob, who picks on the banjo. Together with Jason Carter on fiddle and Mike Bub on  bass, they are “as good as it gets in bluegrass.”        Del McCoury Band tickets are $23, Orchestra 1; $20, Orchestra 2; $23, Loge; $20, Balcony 1; and $18, Balcony 2.       Tickets will be available at the Columbia box office, located in the theater’s lobby at 220 E. Thomas St., 985-543-4371. Box office hours are noon to 5 p.m., weekdays, beginning July 7. Tickets also are available online at www.ti cketweb.com.       For information, visit www.selu.edu/columbia or call 985-543-4366. Return to News Releases