Ellington

THACKER MOUNTAIN RADIO RETURNS WITH A NEW HOUSE BAND AND TWO JACKSON PERFORMANCES. Legendary Memphis producer Jim Dickinson fronts new house band. Two shows in Jackson, Fri., Feb. 11. Thacker Mountain Radio will kick off its 18th season with three special back-to-back programs and a new house band, the Yalobushwackers. The words and music radio program begins its regular season on February 10, from its home venue at Off Square Books in Oxford, where it has been staged since its debut in October 1997. The show will feature a reading by author David Anthony Durham, whose new novel, Pride of Carthage, is an acclaimed historical epic depicting Hannibal's war on Rome. Music guests will be One Ring Zero, a Brooklyn duo who perform pop songs with unconventional instruments such as the claviola and theremin.

This season Thacker Mountain Radio is proud to announce the addition of legendary producer/musician, Jim Dickinson, who has agreed to lead our refried house band, the Yalobushwackers. Dickinson's career includes work with Sam Phillips at Sun Records, the Rolling Stones at Muscle Shoals, and Bob Dylan, with whom he shared a Grammy for Album of the Year in 1997. "I can't believe he's leaving his hot tub every Thursday to be here," says host Jim Dees. Dickinson can be counted on to bring eclectic surprises, including the occasional famous guest, for his weekly appearances.

The Thacker Mountain Radio cast and crew packs up and heads to the state capital of Jackson for two shows on Friday, February 11. First, executive producer and co-founder Richard Howorth will accept the 2005 Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts with the show's other founding members, Bryan Ledford and Caroline Herring, who conceived of the show and fronted its first house band, The Sincere Ramblers.

To accept the state honor, Thacker Mountain Radio will perform an abbreviated show with host Jim Dees, a musical reunion by Ledford and Herring, and a reading by poet Aleda Shirley. The public ceremony will take place at 2 p.m. in the House Chamber of the Old Capitol Museum.
Later that evening, Thacker Mountain Radio will celebrate its Governor's Award honor with a special fund-raising show at Hal & Mal's Restaurant & Brewery (200 S. Commerce St., 601-948-0888, http://halandmals.com Admission to the show is $10 and will feature a 90-minute production with music by Caroline Herring, Louis "Gearshifter" Youngblood, and Delta bluesman and former Governor's Award recipient James "Super Chikan" Johnson. The literary guests will include Aleda Shirley and best-selling mystery novelist Nevada Barr. Also, as with any Thacker get-together, expect some surprise guests. It all begins at 7 p.m.

Other guests on this season's Thacker Mountain Radio include authors Celia Rivenbark, John Dufresne, George Pelacanos and Randy Wayne White, and musicians Precious Bryant, Watermelon Slim, and Jimbo Mathus.

For more information, contact the show's director, Jamie Kornegay, 662-236-2262 or [e-mail missing]
http://thackermountain.com