In June, Lucy Gaines, executive director for Thacker Mountain Radio Hour was meeting with Nancy Carpenter, the executive director for America250 Mississippi campaign, for the first time at a coffee shop in Oxford.
The two instantly connected over their shared love of southern literature, Gaines said.
Their conversation eventually shifted towards the recent renovations of the Tennessee Williams Home and Welcome Center, which brought back an idea to Gaines.
“I told her that this is always kind of a vision that I’ve had of going and celebrating Mississippi writers on the writers trail, using Thacker Mountain Radio Hour as the outlet, and together we came up with the idea to host it at these historic sites throughout Mississippi,” Gaines told The Dispatch.
Thacker Mountain Radio Hour is a weekly public radio show based in Oxford that features author readings and musical guests. The radio show, in partnership with Mississippi Hills Heritage Alliance and the America250 Mississippi campaign, will be kicking off its Three Cities-One American Story tour Sunday at the Tennessee Williams Home and Welcome Center.
The show, which was rescheduled due to weather concerns on Oct. 26, will feature food trucks, live music and a discussion with author Michael Farris Smith during the roughly one-hour recording on the welcome center lawn.
“We don’t do that many outdoor shows, but when we do we try to make it festival-like,” the show’s host and associate producer Jim Dees said. “… (We) encourage families and kids to throw a blanket down, obviously, bring a good lawn chair. … The idea is to make it a fun event.”
The radio show will also be producing shows in Holly Springs and New Albany as part of the tour, Gaines said. The locations are meant to highlight the importance of Mississippi Literary figures like Ida B. Wells and William Faulkner.
“I think it’s great. … We’re showcasing Mississippi, so we’re showcasing the local talent as well, from musicians and authors,” Carpenter said. “And I think it’s going to be delightful.”
The goal through the tour was to showcase the lesser known areas that have literary significance on the Mississippi writer’s trail, Gaines said.
“Mississippi writers are globally recognized … but there are so many places that aren’t as recognized as they should be along (Mississippi’s Writer’s Trail),” Gaines said. “So we wanted to take it to those places.”
The shows produced in the three cities will all be aired later in the winter when Thacker Mountain Radio Hour takes its annual hiatus, Dees said.
Gaines said the weekly show typically averages about 200 attendees and she hopes to see a similar number at Sunday’s recording.
The show Sunday will kick off at 3 p.m. with a performance from Mississippi University for Women’s Jazz Combo before launching into a 15-minute discussion with Smith, Dees said. The show will then close with a performance from Hartle Road band.
Gaines said she’s excited to be kicking the tour off in an “underdog” city like Columbus that is often overlooked and underappreciated for its literary significance.
“It just feels more exciting to us because we get to go honor the local talent and the local spirit of the places where we’re going, and that’s really our mission,” Gaines said.
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