Have you heard of
​INDUSTRIAL STRENGTH BLUEGRASS?

This title refers to bluegrass music created or connected to southwestern Ohio. Bluegrass Hall of Fame member Dr. Neil V. Rosenberg first used the phrase over thirty years ago describing the music made by those of Appalachian heritage who landed in the Cincinnati/Dayton region and made music that has been celebrated around the world. The Osborne Brothers, Jim and Jesse, Red Allen, Larry Sparks, Jimmy Martin and other Bluegrass Hall of Fame members lived and performed in my neighborhood for a portion of their careers. Flatt and Scruggs, The Stanley Brothers, Dave Evans and many others recorded in Ohio recording studios. The Boys From Indiana, The Allen Brothers and The Radio Ramblers among others past and present, began their career in this region. And Joe's dad, the late Paul “Moon” Mullins, featured ALL of this music and its history on radio and on stages for decades. 

INDUSTRIAL STRENGTH BLUEGRASS:
Southwestern Ohio’s Musical Legacy

is a new book AND  recording of all-star talent presenting bluegrass songs connected to Ohio history. 

Industrial Strength Bluegrass [CD]

$19.95
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The ALBUM
Available Now from Smithsonian Folways

Featuring Performances By...

Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers
Vince Gill
Sierra Hull
Bobby Osborne
​Lee Ann Womack
The Isaacs
Mo Pitney
Dan Tyminski
Rhonda Vincent

And Many More!

The BOOK
Available Now from ​UNIVERSITY of Illinois Press

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Contributors: Fred Bartenstein, Curtis W. Ellison, Jon Hartley Fox, Rick Good, Lily Isaacs, Ben Krakauer, Mac McDivitt, Nathan McGee, Daniel Mullins, Joe Mullins, Larry Nager, Phillip J. Obermiller, Bobby Osborne, and Neil V. Rosenberg.
Revelatory and multifaceted, Industrial Strength Bluegrass shares the inspiring story of a bluegrass hotbed and the people who created it.

The Festival

Fall 2021

Join us for three days of bluegrass and more, featuring...
  • Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver
  • Bobby Osborne & The Rocky Top X-Press
  • The Quebe Sisters
  • The Po Ramblin' Boys
  • Darin & Brooke Aldridge
  • The Malpass Brothers
  • Alan Bibey & Grasstowne
  • Danny Paisley & The Southern Grass
  • Donna Ulisse
  • The Kevin Prater Band
We hope to see you on Nov. 11th, 12th and 13th!

Industrial Strength Bluegrass [CD]

$19.95
Shop
Every Friday after work, thousands packed their old cars to go “down home” for the weekend. Those who couldn’t headed to the bars and honky tonks of Cincinnati, Hamilton, Middletown and Dayton, to be sung back home by bluegrass bands performing on makeshift stages through MacGyvered sound systems. Playing five sets a night for drunken, brawling, homesick Kentuckians, the bands and their music became tougher and louder, blazing through the smoke and noise like a fast-moving train.

That sound is celebrated on
Industrial Strength Bluegrass
"My family left Jackson County, Kentucky, in the late 1950s to find work in Ohio. The sounds and songs from home naturally tagged along with us. Riding around in Dad’s truck there as a kid, the first music I remember hearing was the Osborne Brothers and Flatt and Scruggs on WPFB. Industrial Strength Bluegrass brings to life how bluegrass developed in the Cincinnati/Dayton region. I love the vivid stories of how the genre came of age and all the fascinating characters who catapulted it onto the world’s stage."
--Dan Hays, former Executive Director of the International Bluegrass Music Association

use the offer code F20UIP at the website below to get 30% off ​

Order your copy here:
https://go.illinois.edu/f20bartenstein