The Thacker Mountain Radio Hour will hold a unique fundraiser on Thursday, May 15 at 8 pm when it hosts Thacker-Oke Night at Proud Larry’s.
Rather than singing with a cold, lifeless karaoke machine, attendees will have the rare opportunity to showcase their vocal chops onstage with an actual band, the Yalobushwhackers, the cool and eclectic Thacker Mountain Radio Hour house band.
The Yalobushwhackers, dubbed by Thacker host Jim Dees, “the Best Live Radio Band in the Land,” are drummer Ricky Burkhead, guitarist/vocalist Paul Tate, bassist Slade Lewis and pianist Keon Love.
Proud Larry’s is located at 211 South Lamar. Phone: 662-236-0050.
Tickets are $20 and may be purchased online at Proud Larry’s website or at the door. (Can’t attend? Support the show here).
Proceeds from the Proud Larry’s event go to the radio show, including any cash raised by individual performers.
“We know Oxford is a talented town,” Dees says. “We expect many singers to be spontaneously showered with cash.”
The current line-up of the Yalobushwhackers, together since 2022, is perfect for karaoke. With decades of experience between them, the group is adept in a variety of styles from rock to reggae, country to blues, jazz to soul, funky R&B to gospel. The band expects to have dozens of classic tunes at the ready for participants.
Sponsors of the event include Proud Larry’s and Cool Dog Sound, an innovative book publisher and record label based in Water Valley.
The Thacker Mountain Radio Hour, now in its 27th year, recently wrapped its spring season and will resume live shows in Oxford on Thursday, September 4.
In the meantime, the show can be heard every Thursday at 6 pm on WUMS 92.1 FM and every Saturday at 7 pm on Mississippi Public Broadcasting.
Favorite shows from the past year will be re-aired, as well as new ones, starting the weekend of May 8-11 with Oxford author Max Hipp, winner of the 2025 Mississippi Institute of Arts and Award for Fiction.
The next weekend (May 15-18) will feature two-time National Book Award winner Jesmyn Ward.
May 22-25 – Author Kate Medley (2024 Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters Award in Visual Arts/Photography) with bluesman, Jimmy “Duck” Holmes and keyboardist Beth McKee.
Author Richard Grant and Scottish chef/folklorist Coinneach Macleod with Oxford native Effie Burt will close out May broadcasts (May 29 – June 1).
Throughout June, July and August we’ll feature such artists as Charlie Musselwhite with Kenny Brown and author Ace Atkins
author Susan Minot
author, Netflix producer (and University of Mississippi MFA Creative Writing student) Via Bleichner
Mississippi poet A.H. Jerriod Avant
Before Elvis author Preston Lauterbach; Dylan Goes Electric author Elijah Wald (displaying his legit guitar skills); and West Georgian bluesman Jontavious Willis (double legit) plus many, many more.
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Check our schedule for all our comings and goings:
**NEXT LIVE SHOW – Thursday, May 29** 6 pm – Greenwood, MS Museum of the Mississippi Delta
Outdoor show – FREE Admission – Lawn chairs encouraged
Author: Boyce Upholt and his must-read history of the Mississippi River, The Great River: The Making and Unmaking of the Mississippi
Music: Songwriter Anne Freeman and blues dynamo, Nikki Hill
Details: The Great River! – Thacker Mountain Radio Hour
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See ya on the road!
July 26 Neshoba County Fair
Aug. 23 Walter Anderson Museum of Art in Ocean Springs. MS
Thanks, y’all, for keeping the party going! See ya on the radio!
(or your device of choice)!