The Thacker Mountain Radio Hour returns to the historic Grove on the campus of the University of Mississippi on Sunday, June 5 at 6 pm to kick off the 2022 Summer Sunset Series. The event will also serve as a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Yoknapatawpha Arts Council (YAC).
Guests on the Grove show will include bestselling authors Aimee Nezhukumatathil and Taylor Brown, plus singer-songwriter Kate Teague and Oxford rock band, Madrik.
The show is hosted by Jim Dees and Thacker house band, the Yalobushwhackers led by guitarist Paul Tate. Admission is free and lawn chairs and picnics are welcome.
This show will not be broadcast live but will be recorded for air this summer.
Following the radio show at 7 pm, Madrik will play a 45-minute set.
The Summer Sunset Series is a community event made possible through a collaboration of Visit Oxford, Yoknapatawpha Arts Council, the Center for the Study of Southern Culture, the University of Mississippi Museum, the Ford Center for Performing Arts, the Oxford-Lafayette County Chamber of Commerce and the Mississippi Arts Commission.
Upcoming concerts in the series include, June 12th – Bill Perry Quintet; June 19th – Alice Hasen and the Blaze; June 26th – Aaron Hall.
Aimee Nezhukumatathil is the author of the memoir World of Wonders – In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments (Milkweed Editions). A heartfelt collection of essays in praise of the natural world, the slender volume became something of a phenomenon, spending weeks on the New York Times bestseller’s list and named the Book of the Year by Barnes and Noble.
World of Wonders was also named a Book of the Year by the New York Times, NPR, Wall Street Journal, Smithsonian Magazine, Lit Hub, Indie Next, Esquire, Garden and Gun and the New York Public Library.
Nezhukumatathil writes poetry, stories and essays and is professor of English and Creative Writing in the University of Mississippi’s MFA program.
Taylor Brown’s latest novel is Wingwalkers (St. Martin’s Press), an epic historical novel about a female wingwalker and her husband, a former World War I ace pilot, and their journey across Depression-era America performing acts of aerial daring. During a 1934 visit to Mardi Gras in New Orleans, they encounter a young William Faulkner, mirroring a real-life incident.
Brown spins this chance meeting into a joyride of a novel in which he gives voice (flight?) to Faulkner and his brother Dean Swift as well as their beloved Mammie Callie and father Murry. Skeptical Oxford townsfolk are also heard cracking wise about the fanciful Faulkner, deriding him as “Count No Count.” Brown lives in Savannah, GA.
Singer-songwriter Kate Teague’s releases include the EP, Kate Teague, and the singles, The Temporary and Play For Time. A new album is forthcoming.
Teague is an Ole Miss graduate, former Oxford resident and a former producer at Thacker Mountain Radio Hour.
Madrik is an electronica fusion band from Oxford. Members include Austin Smith, Bradley Gordon, Chris Steiner, Eric Carlton, Jonny Lott, Nathan Robbins, and Preston Boutot.
Founded in 1975 the Yoknapatawpha Arts Council remains committed to a diverse offering of artistic and cultural opportunities. The National Endowment for the Humanities has recognized YAC’s efforts and offered a challenge grant to support an expansion of the Powerhouse Arts Center in Oxford. The NEH has challenged the Oxford community to match their gift.
The Thacker Mountain Radio Hour has been honored with a Mississippi Governor’s Award for Broadcast Excellence and a “Certificate of Merit” from the Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters.
After a series of summer shows around the state of Mississippi, Thacker Mountain Radio Hour will resume live shows in Oxford on Thursday, Sept. 1. The program will celebrate 25 years on the air on October 20, 2022.
Courtesy of Thacker Mountain Radio
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