On air and online: Thursday, June 25 – Sunday, June 28
Recorded at the Tennessee Williams House Museum in Columbus, MS 11-2-25.
Sculpture of Tennessee Williams by Mississippi artist William “Bill” Beckwith
Performers:
Music: The W Jazz Combo – Tennessee Williams’ favorite American genre performed by local faculty/student group
Music: Hartle Road – Rootsy alternative from Lowndes County, MS
Author: Michael Farris Smith (Lay Your Armor Down) – International bestseller, former Columbus resident
Hosts: Jim Dees with house band, Paul Tate and the Yalobushwhackers with guest keyboardist, Valentin Bogdan
Presented by the Mississippi Hills National Heritage Area and the America 250 – Mississippi campaign. This Columbus, MS show is our second in a series (following our Holly Springs, MS show last week) of Thacker Mountain Radio Hour road shows honoring Mississippi’s creative history.
About the tour:
To help mark America’s 250th birthday, The Thacker Mountain Radio Hour is honoring the significant contributions of Mississippi voices to America’s cultural heritage.
In this four-part road series, we’ll not only highlight Mississippi’s distinct (and ongoing) musical talent and literary traditions, we’ll also ground our stage in the context of 250 powerful years of American history.
Lucy Gaines, Executive Director of Thacker Mountain Radio Hour explains.
“I immediately connected with Nancy Carpenter (Executive Director, America 250 Mississippi) through our love for southern writers and their homes.”
“We designed this series to extend that connection of writer’s homes to all Mississippians who can take pride in our creative roots which are still very much thriving today,” Gaines added.
From the porch to the airwaves, we’ll link the Mississippi author hometowns of Columbus, Holly Springs, New Albany and Jackson to illustrate what we’ve always known: local stories are America’s story.
This special America 250 series (airing each weekend from Thursday, June 18 through the Fourth of July) is intrinsically linked to the Mississippi Hills National Heritage Area, a region where Appalachian and Delta traditions meet. It is also where literature, music, civil rights, and Native American history weave together into a uniquely American tapestry.
Hosted on historic sites, the road shows unite live performance, place-based storytelling, and community memory to celebrate how the voices of Mississippi continue to echo through our national story.
Tune it in, crank it up!
Thursday, June 25 – 8 am (CT) WYXR 91.7 FM Memphis, TN.
Thursday, June 25 – 6 pm (CT) WUMS 92.1 University of Mississippi
Saturday, June 27
5 pm (CT) Mississippi Public Broadcasting
9 pm (CT) Alabama Public Radio
Sunday, June 28
2 pm (ET) WUTC 88.1 FM Chattanooga, TN
3 pm (ET) WUOT | 91.9 FM, Knoxville
2 pm (MT) KNCE 93.5 | Taos, New Mexico
6 pm (CT) Mississippi Public Broadcasting
One month archive: Thacker Mountain Radio Hour / WYXR 91.7 FM Memphis, TN.
Michael Farris Smith’s latest novel is Lay Your Armor Down, “an atmospheric and spare Southern gothic of two unsavory men on a mysterious criminal odyssey and their encounter with a mystical young girl.” (Publisher’s Weekly)
Smith is an award-winning writer whose novels have appeared on “Best of the Year” lists from Esquire, NPR, Southern Living, Garden & Gun, Oprah Magazine, Book Riot, and numerous other outlets.
Interesting note: Prior to publishing novels, Smith was an Associate Professor of English at the Mississippi University for Women (now known as the W) in Columbus, Mississippi.
Before teaching at the W, Smith lived abroad in France and Switzerland.
He now lives in Oxford, Mississippi with his wife and daughters.
The W Jazz Combo is an eclectic group of faculty/students from Mississippi’s University for Women, located in Columbus, MS, now known as The W.
The group is led by Valentin Bogdan.
Their performances feature a variety of styles, including classic swing, manouche jazz, and tango fusion, reflecting the group’s diverse musical influences.
Through their work both on campus and in the community, the W Jazz Combo fosters appreciation for jazz and its ever-evolving expression.
Hartle Road features siblings, Toby and Max Hartleroad. Together with cousin, Myles Jordan and childhood friend Tyler Carter, they formed the group in rural Columbus, Mississippi.
Their releases include the album, MAXX II and the single, “Rear Projection.”
Their sound is imaginative and even “alternative” but rooted in Lowndes County, not far from the childhood home of Tennessee Williams (just down US Route 45 from White Station, birthplace of Howlin’ Wolf).
