Jim Dees is sporting his regulation Hawaiian shirt, with a black undershirt to ward off the night chill and mist, as he prepares to hold forth as host of the Thacker Mountain Radio Hour. He sits on the first row as he reads over his notes and chats with the night’s literary and musical guests. The house band, The Yalobushwhackers, ...

GREENWOOD SPRINGS, Miss. — Leah Rose Duncan has been mumbling tunes since before she could talk. Adding to that, she used to get in front of the TV screen at home when “American Idol” was on and perform for her parents, stealing the spotlight from notable artists in the making. The 18-year-old Smithville High School graduate is hopeful to have ...

Elvis Presley fans can take to the road in his personal stretch limousine, on his last motorcycle or in a pickup truck if they have the money, an auction house announced Wednesday. Kruse GWS Auctions said the items will be part of its Artifacts of Hollywood auction on Aug. 31. Presley drove the white-on-white 1973 Lincoln Continental stretch many times ...

By JACK WEATHERLY The movie industry in Mississippi has dropped precipitously since a key incentive was allowed to sunset on July 1, 2017. But legislation to restore that incentive – a cash rebate of 25 percent of the payroll for out-of-state cast and crew members – has made it to the final stages of approval with strong support in both ...

For nearly 10 years, residents in a California farming community have had to drive nearly 40 miles (64 kilometers) to see the latest film, a rare trip for some in a place where a third of the population lives in poverty. That all changed in May when Moctesuma Esparza, a Latino movie producer, opened his latest Maya Cinemas theater in ...

The wonders of Spain, the majesty of Russia and some of the greatest works of art from throughout the world may soon have a home in Vicksburg. The Mississippi Commission for International Cultural Exchange, which previously organized four international exhibitions in Jackson, is working to bring a permanent museum focusing on international art to downtown Vicksburg. The Mississippi International Arts ...

By JACK WEATHERLY Dave Matthews and Hank Williams Jr. are among the musical acts that will perform in the C Spire Concert Series at the Brandon Amphitheater after the facility opens in April. The $20 million amphitheater is being built by the city on 250 municipally owned acres. The city sold $14 million in tax-free 30-year municipal bonds in 2016. ...

JAKE COYLE, AP Film Writer NEW YORK — The movies have tended to skip from slavery to the Civil Rights movement, but Dee Rees’ “Mudbound” plunges into the complex tragedies of the in-between era of Jim Crow. The film, which Netflix hopes will be its first feature-film Oscar contender, follows two neighboring families — one black, one white — on ...

By JACK WEATHERLY The bad news is that a key component in the Mississippi Motion Picture Incentive Program will fade to black after July 1. The good news is that the cash rebate on 25 percent of the salaries paid to nonresidents of Mississippi is the only part that was lost. Going into the current session of the Legislature, talk ...

By BECKY GILLETTE SEMINARY — Claudia “Ka” Cartee, 69, has been “telling a story with clay” since she was a little girl and her father, a professional mold maker who had a regional ceramic slip business, gave her a potting wheel. A professional potter since 1973, Cartee has averaged making two tons of clay per year into art ranging from ...