Guitars, Fiddles, and Dobros: Thacker Mountain Radio

David Wesley Williams

This evening’s show is strung with steel strings

It’s another Thacker Mountain Thursday, March 28 at Off Square Books at 6 p.m. Guests on this week’s Thacker Mountain Radio show will include Memphis author David Wesley Williams, fiddler Lisa Lambert, bluegrass band Magnolia Drive and Canadian yodeler, Petunia. Admission is free, and the show can be heard on Rebel Radio 92.1 FM or online: www.myrebelradio.com.

Lisa Lambert

David Wesley Williams is the author of the novel Long Gone Daddies (John F. Blair), the story of three generations of guitar players, set in and around Memphis. His fiction has been published by Harper Perennial and others. He blogs about music and writing at The Soundcheck & the Fury and tweets fiction at @damnshortstory. By day he is the sports editor of The Commercial Appeal in Memphis. Of Long Gone Daddies, Publisher’s Weekly said, “The historical backdrop, including a cameo by young Elvis as a busboy, adds delightful texture and rich depth to Williams’ fictional account of the early days of rock ’n’ roll.”

For the past five years, Lisa Lambert played guitar and fiddle with the Pine Hill Hearts, one of the most popular bluegrass bands in Mississippi. Together, they performed over 100 venues a year throughout the Mid-South. Lisa is now a solo artist who has just released her first

CD, Come On Home: Songs and Stories from Tishomingo County. She is currently on tour with her husband (and co-songwriter) Scott Nunley on bass and harmonica with Nolan Wells on dobro.

Magnolia Drive is a Mississippi bluegrass band hailing from the southern part of the state, whose four members have a combined 100 years experience playing in various bands over the years. The band is Don Robinson, banjo/guitar/vocals; Steve “Speed” Nowell on bass; Mike Nowell on guitar and vocals; and Cory Burton on mandolin and vocals. Their latest CD is Magnolia Drive. Don Robinson’s song, “Sunday Morning Without You,” is currently #9 on the bluegrass charts. Magnolia Drive is at work on a new CD to be released later this year.

Ron Fortugno, a.k.a. Petunia, practices the lost art of yodeling. The animated Canadian singer-songwriter’s voice ranges from the classic country twang of Hank Williams to the rough, raucous energy of Tom Waits. Petunia has been a regular on the Canadian touring circuit for the past decade. He plays 150 shows a year all over Canada and has recently begun touring the United States, including his current solo swing through the American South. He has seven CDs out, including his latest, Petunia and the Vipers, with more due in the coming months. Following his Thacker appearance, Petunia will play a full show Thursday night at the Lamar Lounge.

Magnolia Drive

Ron Fortugno, a.k.a. Petunia