This week, we return to our show that first aired in August, 2021 from the stage of The Grove, the legendary ten-acre green space in the heart of the campus of the University of Mississippi. This was our first live show in Oxford since March 2020 and the crowd did not disappoint!
Guests: Author Melissa Ginsburg and her literary thriller, The House Uptown with musical guests, vocal group Damein Wash and the Venture Fourths plus R&B singer, Effie Burt.
Hosts: Jim Dees and our house band, the Yalobushwhackers
This show is part of the Summer Sunset Series and is sponsored by the Ford Center, Mississippi Arts Commission and the Yoknapatawpha Arts Council.
Air times – On line and on air:
Thursday June 2 – 6pm (CT) WUMS – University of Mississippi
Friday, June 3 – 6 am – (CT) WYXR Memphis Community Radio
Saturday, June 4 – 3pm (ET) University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
7pm (CT) Mississippi Public Broadcasting
9pm (CT) Alabama Public Radio
Melissa Ginsburg is author of the literary thriller, The House Uptown, a story rooted in trauma and grief, told with a vivid eye for detail and love for New Orleans.
“A beguiling page-turner” – Jonathan Lethem
“…a superbly written, intriguing character study of how the past impacts on the present.” – The Guardian (London)
Ginsburg was born and raised in Houston, Texas, and attended the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. She is the author of the novel, Sunset City, and the poetry collection Dear Weather Ghost. She teaches creative writing and literature at the University of Mississippi in Oxford.
Damein Wash and the Venture Fourths are an acapella group who bring rich harmonies to their exciting, eclectic set list.
The group is Thomas Cesario, tenor; Brady Bramlett, baritone; Joey Miller, bass and Damein Wash, tenor.
Wash, a frequent Thacker Mountain Radio Hour collaborator, has served as choirmaster and pianist at East St. Peter Missionary Baptist Church in Abbeville for 10 years and as an adjunct musician and guest soloist to many churches in the Oxford area.
His current projects include his solo performances and recordings as well as duo work with Thacker drummer, Ricky Burkhead (Us, the Duo) and singing and playing with the R&B group, the Soultones.
Effie Burt was born and raised in Oxford, Mississippi as one of twelve musically gifted siblings. Effie has been singing since the age of 13 with her family at churches and local musical events in Mississippi and Tennessee.
A now-proven performer at festivals and concert halls, Burt brings excitement to jazz, her first love, and engages audiences by belting R & B, her soothing blues and the homegrown sounds of gospel.
