The Thacker Mountain Radio Hour closes out its spring season of live shows Thursday at 6 p.m. at the Powerhouse Arts Center. Admission is free and the public is invited.

A special fundraising event with food, drink and music, A Taste of the Delta, will commence at 7 p.m. at the Powerhouse. Partial proceeds will benefit the radio show.

Guests for the season finale will include gospel rockers The Staples Jr. Singers, New Orleans author Tom Piazza and fife/drummer Sharde Thomas.

The show is hosted by Jim Dees and house band, the Yalobushwhacker Big Band with the Thacker Horns and vocalist Mary Frances Massey.

The Powerhouse Arts Center is located at 413 S. 14th St, across from Newks. Doors open at 5:30 pm for refreshments with the radio show at 6 p.m. and the after party at 7 p.m. Tickets for the after party are $20 and are available at the door or online at https://oxfordarts.com/deltarising. Patrons can donate an extra $5 to benefit Thacker.

Author Tom Piazza’s new novel is The Auburn Conference. The book imagines a literary conference in 1883 with attendees such as Mark Twain, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Walt Whitman and Herman Melville. Kirkus Reviews said the book is “…an intriguing mix of humor and underlying seriousness that makes for an engaging change of pace.”

Gospel rockers The Staples Jr. Singers (no relation to Mavis Staples and the Staples Singers) are one of the more intriguing stories in pop music. They released their only album, When Do We Get Paid, in 1975 when they were teenagers in Aberdeen. The album was forgotten until 2023 when it was reissued by David Byrne’s world beat record label, Luaka Bop.

The Staples, Jr. Singers now find themselves playing sold out theatres throughout Europe.

Sharde Thomas is the granddaughter of the late fife master Otha Turner. She will present a scaled-down version of her usual Rising Star band that features just Thomas on fife and vocals and Chris Mallory on bass drum.

The “Taste of the Delta” event at 7 p.m. will feature soul food chef Michael Banks and BBQ pitmaster James Butler with cuisine and cocktails by Georgia Abraham, artwork by Bill Abel and live music by Blue Mother Tupelo, Sharde Thomas and John Mohead.

The Thacker Mountain Radio Hour will hit the road this summer for a series of shows before returning to Oxford for its fall season. The first show of fall is scheduled for Thursday, Sept 7 at 6 p.m. at the Graduate Hotel.  More information is available at the show’s website at https://thackermountain.com/.