The Thacker Mountain Radio Hour is live at the Lyric Theatre (1006 Van Buren Avenue) this Thursday, Feb. 18 at 6 p.m. Admission is free and guests will include songwriter Cary Hudson, Memphis soul/funk band, Hope Clayburn and Soul Scrimmage as well as southern author, Dennis Covington.
Following her Thacker Mountain Radio Hour performance, Hope Clayburn will perform an acoustic set at 8 p.m. at the Music in the Hall space (McDavid Law Office, 1109 Van Buren). This set requires a small donation to help support the Yoknapatawpha Arts Council.
Photo by Jeff McVay
“Guests are encouraged to make a suggested donation of $10 which will benefit two local charities: Horizons program and the Arts Council,” Andrews explained. “Those familiar with the Music in the Hall series will be familiar with the experience; which is a chance to relax, claim a seat, enjoy the refreshments you brought and hear great live music.”
Back to Thacker:
This week’s Thacker performance at the Lyric is part of opening night activities for the Oxford Film Festival which continue at 7:30 with the screening of a community film made by a cast and crew of Oxonians. This year’s film, Once a Month, is directed by Alice Walker. Both events are free and open to the public.
“We are really proud to be in partnership with the Oxford Film Festival,” Thacker producer Kathryn McGaw York said. “We consider ourselves a community program so we’re delighted to be the ‘opening act’ for this year’s community film. We think we’ll help kick things off in an energetic way.”
Oxford audiences will definitely be familiar with Cary Hudson. The singer-songwriter, former Oxford resident and front man for Blue Mountain, has released six solo albums including his latest, Town and Country (Daddy Rabbit Records). Hudson has been named one of the Top Ten Alternative Country Guitar Players by Gibson magazine and continues to tour and write songs in a career spanning 30 years. Hudson lives in New Orleans and hopes to someday, “whistle like Professor Longhair.”
Dennis Covington is author of two novels and four nonfiction books, including Salvation on Sand Mountain, a finalist for the 1995 National Book Award. His articles have appeared in The New York Times, Vogue, Esquire, Georgia Review, Oxford American, and other periodicals, and his work has been widely anthologized in the US and translated into eight languages abroad. His most recent book is Revelation: A Search for Faith in a Violent Religious World (Little, Brown). Born in Birmingham, Ala. Covington has taught creative writing at Texas Tech University since 2003.
Hope Clayburn’s funky saxophone (check out the featured video-top), flute chop and soulful vocals have heralded her arrival on the Memphis music scene. Her band, Soul Scrimmage, mixes soul and funk with Afrobeat and reggae. The band has released a 6-song EP, Love is on The Way. The Soul Scrimmage ensemble has had a revolving cast of players over the years but the current line-up includes guitarist Robert Allen Parker Jr., bassist Khari Wynn, trumpet player Victor Darnell Sawyer and drummer Paul Taylor. Again, following her Thacker Mountain Radio Hour performance, Hope Clayburn will perform an acoustic set at 8 p.m. at the Music in the Hall space (McDavid Law Office, 1109 Van Buren).
The Thacker Mountain Radio Hour can be heard every Saturday night at 7 on Mississippi Public Broadcasting, radio or online: MPBOnline.com
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
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