In the past year Julian Rankin has 1) moved to Ocean Springs, MS, 2) been named Executive Director of the Walter Anderson Museum of Art, 3) taken a six-day canoe trip to Anderson’s favorite barrier island, Horn Island, and 4) won the Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters award for ‘Best Non-Fiction Book of the Year’ for his first book, Catfish Dream.
The multi-talented Rankin will be the featured literary guest this Saturday, Aug 24 at 7:00 pm on The Thacker Mountain Radio Hour. The music-literature program returns to The Mary C. O’Keefe Cultural Center of Arts and Education in Ocean Springs for the tenth year.
Along with Rankin, guests will include up and coming singer-songwriter Erin Rae and New Orleans show/funk band, Water Seed. Check out Water Seed’s funky new single, “Arithmetic,” here.
Doors: 6:30 pm. Tickets are $20 for reserved seating (includes an after party with the Thacker house band plus catered appetizers and cash bar) and are available at the door or at The Mary C’s website online.
There will be no live broadcast. The program will air on Mississippi Public Broadcasting, Saturday, Aug. 31 at 7 pm and 9 pm on Alabama Public Radio. Hosts of the show are Jim Dees and house band, the Yalobushwhackers.
The Mary C. O’Keefe Cultural Center of Arts and Education is located at 1600 Government Street in Ocean Springs.
Catfish Dream – Ed Scott’s Fight for His Family Farm and Racial Justice in the Mississippi Delta (Univ. of Georgia Press) centers around the experiences, family, and struggles of Ed Scott Jr. (born in 1922), a prolific farmer in the Mississippi Delta and the first ever nonwhite owner and operator of a catfish plant in the nation. Rankin eloquently describes Scott’s struggles and ultimate triumph over the bureaucracy of racism.
Rae, who was recently featured on NPR’s Tiny Concert series, is rooted in modern-day indie folk. Rolling Stone said, “Her songs rustle up comparisons to Joni Mitchell and Jackson Browne.” Rae’s album, Soon Enough, made several “Best of Year” lists including those of NPR and Rolling Stone. Her latest album, released June 8, is Putting On Airs (Single Lock Records).
Water Seed, from New Orleans, draws from classic funk, 60s and 70s soul and hip hop influences. Their latest album, released June 22, is Say Yeah! Live at the Blue Nile. Gambit Magazine said of the band’s first album, We Are Stars, “Within 15 minutes, the band spans the funk encyclopedia, leafing through pages of gospel, R&B and soul.”
The Thacker Mountain Radio Hour can be heard every Saturday at 7 pm on WMAH 90.3 FM Biloxi.
Photo: Facebook page of John Ruskey