The Thacker Mountain Radio Hour, the award-winning music and literature show based in Oxford, MS, will bring its program to Meridian for the Threefoot Festival, Saturday, May 15th at 6 pm. The show will be held at the historic Temple Theater as the finale of the city’s two day arts and music event. (State health protocols will be in effect).
Guests for the show will include author Michael Farris Smith who will read from, and discuss, his “prequel” to The Great Gatsby entitled, Nick, with music by The Lucky 7 Brass Band and rock band, Monsters At Large. The show is hosted by Jim Dees and Thacker house band, the Yalobushwhackers.
The Temple Theater is located at 2320 8th St, Meridian, MS 39301. (NOTE: This show will not be broadcast live but will be recorded for air later in the spring).
Tickets: $20 – available online at Eventbrite.
Tickets may also be purchased at the Temple Theater box office:
2380 8th St., Meridian, MS
M-F 10-4 p.m.
601-693-5353 or 601-678-1162
Tickets are good for the show and an after party featuring live music that begins at 8 pm in the Temple Ballroom.
Concessions will be available at the Temple Theater during the show including hotdogs, nachos, popcorn, candy, etc. Soft drinks, beer, wine, wine coolers will also be offered for sale. The after party will also feature light snacks along with soft drinks, beer, wine and wine coolers.
A full schedule of Threefoot events is available here.
In 2005, The Thacker Mountain Radio Hour received the Mississippi Governor’s Award for Broadcast Excellence. In 2017, the show was awarded a “Citation of Merit” from the Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters. In October of 2022, The Thacker Mountain Radio Hour will celebrate 25 years on the air.
Critically acclaimed novelist Michael Farris Smith pulls Nick Carraway out of the shadows and into the spotlight in his new novel, Nick, a “masterful” look into his life before Gatsby (Richard Russo, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Empire Falls and Chances Are).
Before Nick Carraway moved to West Egg and into Gatsby’s world, he was at the center of a very different story – one taking place along the trenches and deep within the tunnels of World War I.
Floundering in the wake of the destruction he witnessed firsthand, Nick delays his return home, hoping to escape the questions he cannot answer about the horrors of war. Instead, he embarks on a transcontinental redemptive journey that takes him from a whirlwind Paris romance – doomed from the very beginning – to the dizzying frenzy of New Orleans, rife with its own flavor of debauchery and violence.
An epic portrait of a truly singular era and a sweeping, romantic story of self-discovery, this rich and imaginative novel breathes new life into a character that many know but few have pondered deeply.
The book’s many accolades include, Entertainment Weekly’s Top Reads to Start 2021; O Magazine’s Best Books of the New Year; Town & Country 27 Books to Sink Your Teeth Into; and Garden & Gun Top-of-2021 Reading List for Southerners.
Michael Farris Smith is the author of the novels Blackwood, The Fighter, Desperation Road, Rivers, and The Hands of Strangers.
The Lucky 7 Brass Band is a Memphis powerhouse that brings a multitude of influences into their dynamic live sets from the sweet soul sounds of Stax to rock, pop and hip-hop. The band is Ryan Peel (drums), Neal Bowen (bass), Randy Ballard (trumpet), Jawaun Crawford (trumpet), Nathan Duvall (trombone), Victor Sawyer, trombone), and Jeremy Louis (alto sax). Veteran alto sax man, Jim Spake, often performs with the band.
Based on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, the Monsters at Large is a classic rock, funk, cover band that enjoyed immediate success and appreciation since it’s inception in 2015. It’s original members included seasoned players from The Dock of the Bay Music Company Band, including former Blood, Sweat, and Tears singer Jerry Fisher.
The band is currently led by veteran saxophonist Casey Ray Lipe.
A professional musician for over 40 years, Lipe is a member of the Ole Miss Jazz Hall of Fame and has performed in venues from New York to New Orleans. He studied jazz education at the University of North Texas. Lipe currently has two releases out, Down the River and The Scavengers.
