Thacker Mountain Radio Hour Expands into New Mexico

The Thacker Mountain Radio Hour, Oxford, Mississippi’s weekly music and literature show, is announcing a new station that will begin carrying the show.

KNCE, an independent, locally-owned, community-supported radio station in Taos, New Mexico will begin carrying the Thacker Mountain Radio Hour starting Sunday, April 2 at 2 pm (MT). The unique station, heard locally on 93.5 FM, broadcasts from a 1978 Airstream Excella RV travel trailer parked next-door to the Taos Mesa Brewing Mothership in El Prado, New Mexico. True Taos Radio, as it’s known, began broadcasting as a volunteer community station in October.

At that time, Dan Irion, one of four owners said, “We don’t know what we’re doing, but we’re looking at that as a strength rather than a weakness.” Nine years later, the station boasts over 100 volunteer DJs, playing multiple genres of music, as well as hosting live music in its compact RV studio. The show can be heard online here.

KNCE Program Director John Henderson, happens to be a knowledgeable fan of Mississippi blues and has attended the North Mississippi Hill Country Picnic in Waterford, Mississippi, for several years. He explains the connection: “Taos is a small but diverse arts community in the Northern New Mexico mountains that has developed a deep connection to the music of Mississippi over the last two decades. Over fifteen Mississippi musicians—such as T Model Ford, Bilbo Walker, Cedric Burnside, R.L. Boyce, and Reverend John Wilkins, to name just a few—have played Taos in recent years.

“Our local audience has really come to understand the importance of the roots of American music by the artists keeping it alive,” he adds. Henderson visited Thacker Mountain Radio last fall during a swing through the Southeast and a broadcast deal was quickly reached.

Thacker production director, Tim Lee, says it was an easy call for the show. “After meeting with John Henderson last year, it was obvious that his station would be a good fit for Thacker Mountain,” Lee says. We’re excited to be moving into new territory with KNCE.”

KNCE joins Thacker’s six other affiliates which include WUMS, 92.1 FM in Oxford; the network stations of Mississippi and Alabama Public Radio, plus three Tennessee stations, WYXR in Memphis; WUTC in Chattanooga, and WUOT in Knoxville.

Longtime Thacker host Jim Dees says the show welcomes all listeners. “We’re thrilled to have John champion the show out there in the mesas of New Mexico,” Dees says. “We’re always looking to make the show stronger,” he added, noting a spring fundraiser with partial proceeds going to Thacker is set for April 27 at the Powerhouse.

For his part, John Henderson doesn’t need convincing of the importance of Oxford’s 25-year-old “original music and literature showcase.” “The Thacker Mountain Radio Hour’s seamless marriage of music and literature on the airwaves is inspiring,” Henderson enthuses.

“Having listened for years and now, experienced the show live, has proven to me how real The Thacker Mountain Radio Hour is. The show lets artists tell their stories and shares with the world what needs to heard.”

The Thacker Mountain Radio Hour is heard locally in Oxford every Thursday at 6 pm on WUMS, 92.1 FM and every Saturday at 7 pm on Mississippi Public Broadcasting (90.3 FM) in Oxford. The show celebrated 25 years on the air in October 2022.