Thacker Mountain Radio Welcomes Jack Pendarvis and Keith Sykes

The Thacker Mountain Radio Hour welcomes author Jack Pendarvis and acclaimed songwriter Keith Sykes this Thursday, April 7 at 6 p.m. at Off Square Books (129 Courthouse Square). Admission is free.

Along with Pendarvis and Sykes, guests include novelist Dominic Smith; Texas band, The Folk Family Revival; and songwriter Sam Mooney. The show is hosted by Jim Dees and Thacker house band the Yalobushwhackers, featuring multi-instrumentalist, Eric Lewis.

The show can be heard on WUMS 92.1 FM in Oxford and online at: MyRebelRadio.com.

Jack Pendarvis’ new collection of stories is Movie Stars (Dzanc Books). The stories are linked by humor, setting, themes and recurring characters — cat lovers, murderers, gamblers, ghosts, and fools — but mostly by the movie stars, gods and goddesses who look down on us struggling mortals with a mixture of benevolence and wrath. Pendarvis is the author of three previous books of fiction and one of nonfiction. A former columnist for the Oxford American and The Believer, he is a writer and story editor for the Peabody award-winning television show Adventure Time. In 2015, Pendarvis shared an Emmy Award for his work on the show. He lives in Oxford.

Memphian Keith Sykes (featured video-top) has been a singer/songwriter and touring musician for over 40 years. A troubadour and storyteller, Sykes’s songs have been recorded by Jimmy Buffet, Jerry Jeff Walker and Rodney Crowell, among others. To date, his tunes have sold more than 25 million copies worldwide. He has released 13 full-length albums including his latest, the four-song EP, Songs From a Little Beach Town (KSM Entertainment). Last month, Sykes was awarded a Brass Note on Beale Street’s Walk of Fame joining such Memphis luminaries as Elvis, Al Green, Isaac Hayes and our own, Jim Dickinson.

Following his Thacker performance, Sykes will perform a full set at the Shelter on Van Buren (located across the street from Off Square Books in the basement of Neilson’s) at 1221 Van Buren Avenue.

Dominic Smith grew up in Sydney, Australia and now lives in Austin, Texas. His fourth novel, The Last Painting of Sara de Vos (Sarah Crichton Books) has just been published. Spanning three continents and 400 years, the book tells the story of a single painting and two women—their mistakes (including forgery) and love affairs, their devotion to art and their struggles to thrive in a male dominated profession. Smith’s previous novels include, Bright and Distant Shores, The Beautiful Miscellaneous, and The Mercury Visions of Louis Daguerre.

Folk Family Revival’s latest CD is Water Walker (Rock Ridge Music). The band, from Magnolia, TX, are brothers, Mason, Barrett and Lincoln Lankford, plus family friend Caleb Pace. Their previous CD was 2011’s Unfolding. The group’s sound mixes folk, rock and blues with touches of psychedelia.

Sam Mooney is a singer/songwriter from Brookhaven. His debut EP is Somewhere in Between. The CD charted three songs on the iTunes Singer/Songwriter chart, including, The Love You Never Knew which also won the Performing Songwriter Competition at Berklee College of Music in Boston. His newest release, the 5-song, EP, Find My Way, is being released this week. Following his Thacker appearance, Mooney will be featured at a CD release party at Proud Larry’s Thursday night at 9 p.m. where he’ll play a full set.

The Thacker Mountain Radio Hour can be heard every Saturday night at 7 on Mississippi Public Broadcasting, radio or online: MPBOline.org/ThackerMountain.

More information is available at the show’s website: ThackerMountain.com. Photos of past shows can be found on the show’s Facebook page and podcasts can be heard on the show’s Soundcloud page at SoundCloud.com/ThackerMountain.

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Jeff McVay is a staff writer and graphic designer for Hottytoddy.com. He can be reached at jeff.mcvay@hottytoddy.com.

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