by Jim Dees – If there are two subjects that pique the southern reader, it’s dogs and the Civil War. This week on The Thacker Mountain Radio Hour, our authors address both of these oft-covered topics in entirely inventive and surprising ways. Acclaimed poet Eileen Myles (pictured with unknown fur friend) has stepped out of…
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by Jim Dees – The Thacker Mountain Radio Hour kicks off its fall season (and 20th anniversary year!) today in the friendly confines of Off Square Books on the Oxford square. Today’s show is a homecoming after the most successful summer road season in our history. Thacker played to full houses in Clinton, Tupelo, Jackson,…
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The Thacker Mountain Radio Hour, the long-running music and literature program heard weekly on Mississippi Public Broadcasting, was awarded a “Certificate of Merit” by the Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters (MIAL) at the group’s annual award ceremony on June 3 in Cleveland, Mississippi. MIAL honors Mississippi’s artists each year in the categories…
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By Jim Dees If the American South – and Mississippi in particular – is known for stories and songs, the work of the late Willie Morris and Jim Dickinson ordains them as cultural ambassadors. Neither was a cookie-cutter hero; each brimmed with the quirks of genius. We lost Willie in 1999, Jim in 2009…
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by Jim Dees – Greg Iles is our “headliner” on Thacker this week but our “other” author is a powerhouse as well. Troylyn Bell and her husband, Charlie, an engineer and real estate investor, had spent their entire lives in Texas. Following a near fatal trip to the emergency room with one of their two…
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by Jim Dees At age 85, Sonny Burgess may be the oldest guest we’ve ever had on The Thacker Mountain Radio Hour. He’s definitely the oldest rock and roller. “I like fast music,” he recently told NPR. “You need to be able to dance to it.” Burgess is from Newport, Arkansas and formed his…
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The disco ball at Off Square Books puts it own spin on each edition of the Thacker Mountain Radio Hour. by Jim Dees – This week produced the heart-warming sight of hundreds, if not thousands, of Mississippians becoming enthusiastically active in the affairs of their government. In this case, citizens rose up to defend the independent expression…
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by Jim Dees – In the early frontier days of Thacker, there was no mission statement or outreach strategy, other than getting through the hour without knocking something over. Seventeen years ago, with the Taylor Grocery Band and then later with shaman legends, Duff Dorrough and Jim Dickinson, the only “outreach” was from Chip and…
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by Jim Dees – The Thacker Mountain Radio Hour is ringing down the curtain on a great fall season this Thursday, Nov. 17 at 6 pm at the Lyric Oxford. Admission is free and drink service will be available. Doors at 5:30. Our headliner, Southern Avenue, is a rocking blues band from the Bluff City…
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by Jim Dees – The first time I met George Plasketes he quoted Groucho Marx, “You can leave in a huff. If that’s too soon, you can leave in a minute and a huff.” I did a double take at this towering figure (former SEC defensive end) with blonde hair flowing down around his shoulders,…
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