Thacker Mountain Radio Celebrates 18 Years Thursday at the Lyric

The Thacker Mountain Radio Hour celebrates its 18th year on the air this Thursday, October 15 at 6 p.m. at the Lyric Theatre. Guests will include bestselling author Sloane Crosley and journalist Jack Hitt with musical guests acoustic group, Locust Honey and Delta bluesman, Terry “Big T” Williams.

The show is hosted by Jim Dees and Thacker house band, the Yalobushwhackers featuring Delta musician, Alphonso Sanders. Admission is free and a cash bar will be available. The show will be broadcast on 92.1 FM in Oxford and online.

The Lyric Theatre is located at 1006 Van Buren Ave. on the Oxford square.

Host Jim Dees says the 18th anniversary falls 18 years to the day of the show’s first broadcast.

“Our records indicate that the first Thacker Mountain Radio Hour was broadcast on October 15, 1997,” he says. “We had one author, John Bentley Mays and one musical act, Tony Furtado. Our band was the Sincere Ramblers with [former Blue Mountain frontman] Cary Hudson playing fiddle. I wasn’t with the show back then but I’ve heard there were 11 people in the audience.” At that time, the show’s location was at the previous location of Off Square Books which is where the restaurant, McEwens is now.

Thacker producer, Kathryn McGaw York says the community of Oxford has the kept the show going and growing over the years.

“For a small town, Oxford has numerous entertainment options,” she points out. “It’s quite a compliment to the town of Oxford that for almost 20 years it has supported a quirky radio show that celebrates literature. We’re looking forward to the next 20.”

The show is known for its eclectic mix of performers and Thursday’s show will be no exception.

Sloane Crosley is author of the novel, The Clasp (Farrar, Straus, Giroux) which centers around three estranged former college friends who search for a historic necklace stolen by the Nazis during WWII. Author David Sedaris said Crosley’s writing is, “perfectly, relentlessly funny.” Crosley is the author of two previous collections of humorous essays, “How Did You Get This Number?” and The New York Times bestseller, “I Was Told There’d Be Cake.” Crosley lives in New York City.

The Locust Honey String Band – Chloe Edmonstone (fiddle, vocals), Meredith Watson (guitar, vocals) and John Miller (bass) – blend sweet harmonies with raging old time fiddle tunes. On their latest CD, Never Let Me Cross Your Mind, there are covers of the Carter Family, George Jones, and Kitty Wells as well as originals.

Jack Hitt is a contributing writer for Harper’s and GQ. He also writes for The New York Times Magazine, Outside, and Mother Jones, and contributes frequently to public radio’s This American Life. His most recent book is Bunch of Amateurs: A Search for the American Character (Crown). He is a past nominee for the James Beard Foundation’s MFK Fisher Distinguished Writing Award. A native of Charleston, South Carolina, he now lives in New Haven, Conneticut.

Guitarist Terry “Big T” Williams began his apprenticeship on guitar at age 11 in Clarksdale with blues legend, “Mr. Johnnie” Billington. Mr. Johnnie taught him the basics, and Big T learned the rest on the road backing up Big Jack Johnson, the Jelly Roll Kings, Wesley “Junebug” Jefferson, Big George Brock and many others. His CDs include Jump Back and Meet Me in the Cottonfield. Williams lives in Clarksdale.

The Thacker Mountain Radio Hour can be heard every Saturday night at 7 pm on Mississippi Public Broadcasting or online. More information is available at the show’s website. Photos from past shows can be found on the show’s Facebook page and podcasts can be heard on the show’s Soundcloud page.