Thacker Mountain Kicks Off Thursday at Nutt Auditorium

The Thacker Mountain Radio Hour begins its fall season 6 p.m. Thursday at Nutt Auditorium (500 University Ave., across from the Ford Center) with a free show with a hodgepodge of performers.
Guests for the season premiere will be classical pianist Bruce Levingston, historical fiction author Karen Abbott and local soul/funk band, Silas Reed N’ Da Books. The show will be hosted by Jim Dees and Thacker house band, the Yalobushwhackers and will be broadcast on Rebel Radio (92.1 FM) and online: www.myrebelradio.com.
Following the show, at 7 p.m., the public is invited to a free reception at the University Museum (University Avenue and Fifth Street) located two doors down from Nutt Auditorium. The reception will feature all the Thacker performers and highlight the current exhibit at the museum. That exhibit is called “Bloomingdale’s Fashion Touchdown.” It features one-of-a-kind football helmets, created by world-famous fashion designers to be auctioned at a later date to benefit the NFL Foundation. The Museum has acquired three helmets featured in the exhibition with photographs of the remaining 45 helmets.
Pianist Bruce Levingston is one of today’s leading figures in contemporary music whom The New York Times called, “one of today’s most adventurous musicians.” He will perform on a Steinway grand piano on the Nutt stage and his repertoire spans from Bach and Scarlatti to Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, and Brahms. His CDs include, Still Sound, Nightbreak, Heart Shadow, Portraits and the upcoming, Heavy Sleep.
This fall Levingston will reside in Oxford as he serves as Artist-in-Residence for the Barksdale Honors College at Ole Miss.
In Karen Abbott’s Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy (Harper) the author illuminates one of the most fascinating yet little known aspects of the Civil War: the true stories of four courageous women–a socialite, a farm girl, an abolitionist, and a widow–who were spies. Edgar Award-winning mystery writer, Megan Abbott says, “Thrilling, illuminating, and heart-pounding, Liar, Temptress, Solider, Spy reads like a crackling espionage novel.” Karen Abbott will sign copies of her book at 5 pm at Off Square Books.

Silas Reed N’ Da Books combine electro, gospel, soul, rock, and jazz into one textured live experience. The band has been in existence since the summer of 2007 after Silas graduated from Oxford High School. Their soul driven, high-energy performances are one of a kind. Reed lives in Oxford.

“We’re delighted to work with the University Museum to present music, literature and art to the Oxford community,” said Thacker producer Kathryn McGaw. “We invite everyone to come out and celebrate these great performers, our new Thacker season and this one-of-a-kind art exhibit – all with no admission charge.”
The Thacker Mountain Radio Hour returns to its usual location, Off Square Books, on Thursday, Sept. 11. For a schedule of this year’s shows or to support to the show, visit the Thacker website. Photos of past programs can be found at the show’s Facebook page.
Courtesy Jim Dees.