Thacker Mountain Radio is back in season with live broadcasts every Thursday. Today’s broadcast will take place at 6 p.m. at Off Square Books and is sponsored by the Sarah Isom Center for Gender Studies’ annual Sarahfest series.
Thacker Mountain Executive Director Lucy Gaines described the show’s impact on the lives of local creatives as invaluable and said it is a statement to the rest of the region.
“I think that it shows people you don’t have to leave Mississippi in order to make it as an artist here,” Gaines said. “And we’re broadcasting all over the Southeast on the radio, and so I think it shows the rest of the Southeast that the South has got something to say, like ‘Pay attention to what’s happening here in Oxford.’”
Today’s show will feature M.L. Rio, author of “Graveyard Shift,” a gothic thriller; Alice Hasen, a Memphis-based song-writer and violinist; Julie Williams, a country singer-songwriter, hosted by Jim Dees and Paul Tate and the Yalobushwhackers.
Last week’s broadcast, which took place on Thursday, Oct. 3, included a variety of topics in front of an excited and packed audience at the Powerhouse.
Host Jim Dees started by introducing photographer Chuck Steffen, whose work was exhibited in the Powerhouse foyer. “The Body Politic” showcased Steffen’s photography of homeless people in downtown Atlanta. Dees described Steffen’s exhibit as “very stunning stuff.”
Steffen captured the stories of those residing in the shelter amid a highly charged battle between downtown businesses that wanted to shut down the shelter and the Metro Atlanta Task Force for the Homeless that fought to keep it open.
After the Supreme Court ruling of Grants Pass v. Johnson, which found that municipal authorities are allowed to fine, ticket and arrest those for camping on public land, Steffen decided to compile his photographs into an exhibit.
“To be unsheltered is to be exposed to public view in the most literal and degrading sense imaginable,” Steffen said in his artist’s statement. “The body and its most basic functions are stripped of its protective covering afforded by the domestic space that most of us take for granted.”
After Steffen’s interview, Dees introduced the musical guest, Atlanta-based quartet W8ing4UFOs, which promoted their new single, “Killer Robots,” and performed a three-song set.
Their music is a blend of alternative rock, folk and country, all centered around informing listeners of what they call an “impending alien invasion.”
“We’re in this together! We can win!” lead singer Bill Taft said amid applause at the end of the set and just before leaving the stage to rally listeners against an alien attack.
Dees then introduced Erin Austen Abbott, an author residing in Water Valley, Miss. Abbott promoted her new book, “Small Town Living: A Coast-to-Coast Guide for People, Places, and Communities.”
Dees called Abbott’s book “a celebration of the joys of small town life that will make readers feel good about small town living.”
Abbott and her son drove across the country for four months doing research for her book. They covered 18 states in the book and drove through 28 during the process.
“People were looking to make a change and slow down,” Abbott said. “They realized that maybe they could have their big city career but somewhere outside of a big city. I realized there wasn’t a guidebook for that, so I took that on.”
Dees said that Abbott did not “pull any punches” in describing the cons of her trip.
“I made sure to include negatives, like maybe how far away a hospital is,” Abbott said. “I was thinking about ways to make it more inclusive, like what can make your community better for everyone.”
Abbott read an excerpt from her book that described why she decided to move back to the Oxford area in 2005 after 20 years of living in different cities across America.
Abbott left the stage, and Dees introduced the final guest of the night, blues musician Willie Farmer of Duck Hill, Miss. — or as Dees called him, “The Man from the Hill.”
Farmer closed the night with an electric performance. His powerful voice instantly won over the audience. Farmer showed love to famous Mississippi blues artist B.B. King with a cover of King’s classic, “The Thrill Is Gone.”
“Thacker is a good escape from the everyday busyness of Oxford life, especially in college and getting out of the college sphere,” Thacker Mountain Radio Backstage Producer Phoebe Goodwin said. “It’s nice to get to know real Oxonians and enjoy a free concert every week.”
Thacker Mountain Radio broadcasts live every Thursday from 6-7 p.m. on Rebel Radio. The recorded show is also broadcast on several other local and regional radio stations. More information can be found on the Thacker Mountain website.
