Thacker Mountain Radio Hour To Host Show At Rowan Oak On Faulkner’s 119th Birthday

Photo by Robert Jordan/Ole Miss Communications

The Thacker Mountain Radio Hour will perform a special edition of its show on the grounds of Rowan Oak, the home of author William Faulkner on Old Taylor Road, this Sunday 7 – 8 p.m. Admission is free and a free shuttle service will be available from the Old Taylor Road parking lot from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Guests for the show will be Mississippi native poet R. Flowers Rivera, Memphis “swamp sista” Marcella Simien and Louisiana songwriter Maggie Koerner.

The show is hosted by Jim Dees and Thacker house band, the Yalobushwhackers. There will be no live broadcast of Sunday’s show, it will air later in the fall on Mississippi Public Broadcasting.

Organizers say the show will be held on Rowan Oak’s west side greensward near the barn area. Lawn chairs and blankets are strongly encouraged but no coolers will be allowed. There will be food sales by Canoodle available as well as Yalobusha beer.

Thacker producer Kate Teague says Sunday’s show has added significance. “September 25th is Mr. Faulkner’s birthday so we’ll have a special moment to celebrate that. We have some very talented guests on the show Sunday and with it also being Faulkner’s birthday, we’re looking forward to a very exciting evening.”

This show is made possible by Sarahfest, Sarah Isom’s Center’s week long celebration of alternative culture. For a full schedule of events, please visit: http://sarahisomcenter.org/

Also, special thanks to Rowan Oak and the University Museum for the use of their beautiful space.

R. Flowers Rivera

Flowers Rivera is the recipient of the 2016 Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters poetry award for her second collection, Heathen (Lotus Press). Her debut collection of poetry, Troubling Accents (Xavier Review Press, July 2013), was selected by the Texas Association of Authors as its 2014 Poetry Book of the Year. A Mississippi native, Rivera teaches creative writing and poetry at the University of Texas at Dallas.

Marcella Simien

Marcella Simien grew up in Lafayette, Louisiana and onstage with her father, two-time Grammy winner Terrance Simien. Her band Marcella and her Lovers uses Memphis and Muscle Shoals sounds infused with Simien’s Creole ancestors. The latest release is the EP, The Bronze Age.

Maggie Koerner

Maggie Koerner, a Shreveport-born songwriter is the former front-woman for the New Orleans funk-band Galactic. Her CDs include, Neutral Ground (2013) and Quarter Life (2011). She is currently writing and recording her third album.

The Thacker Mountain Radio Hour returns to its usual home, Off Square Books on the square, next Thursday, Sept. 29 at 6 pm with Civil War author Robert Hicks.

Courtesy of Jim Dees.

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