The Thacker Mountain Radio Hour will hold a unique fundraiser on Thursday, May 15, at 8 pm when it hosts Thacker-Oke Night at Proud Larry’s.
Rather than singing with a karaoke machine, attendees will have the rare opportunity to showcase their vocal chops with an actual band, The Yalobushwhackers, the veteran Thacker Mountain Radio Hour house band.
The Yalobushwhackers, dubbed by Thacker host Jim Dees as, “the Best Live Radio Band in the Land,” are drummer Ricky Burkhead, guitarist/vocalist Paul Tate, bassist Slade Lewis, and pianist Keon Love.
The group, together since 2022, are perfect for karaoke. With decades of experience between them, the group is adept in a variety of styles from rock to reggae, country to blues, jazz to soul, and funky R&B to gospel. The band expects to have dozens of classic tunes at the ready for participants.
Tickets are $20 and may be purchased at Proud Larry’s website or at the door. Proceeds go to the radio show, including any cash raised by individual performers.
“We know Oxford is a talented town,” Dees says. “We expect several singers to be spontaneously showered with cash.”
Sponsors of the event include Proud Larry’s and Cool Dog Sound, an innovative record label/ book publisher based in Water Valley.
The Thacker Mountain Radio Hour, now in its 27th year, recently wrapped its spring season of live shows and will resume live Oxford performances on Thursday, September 4.
The show can be heard locally every Thursday at 6 pm on WUMS (92.1 FM, University) and every Saturday at 7 pm on Mississippi Public Broadcasting (90.3 FM in the Oxford area).
Favorite shows from the past year will be re-aired, starting the weekend of May 8–11 with Oxford author Max Hipp, winner of the 2025 Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters Award for Fiction.
The next weekend (May 15–18) will feature two-time National Book Award winner Jesmyn Ward; followed the next week by author (and former Oxford resident) Kate Medley on May 22–25 with bluesman, Jimmy “Duck” Holmes and keyboardist Beth McKee.
Author Richard Grant and Scottish chef/folklorist Coinneach Macleod with Oxford native Effie Burt will close out May broadcasts (May 29 – June 1).
More information on the show’s spring/summer schedule including upcoming live shows in Greenwood, the Neshoba County Fair, and Ocean Springs at: https://thackermountain.com/.
