Industrial Strength Bluegrass: Southwestern Ohio’s Musical Legacy

The premise of Industrial Strength Bluegrass is an intriguing one. In the 1950s and 60s, destitute migrants from the backwoods and hollers of Appalachia sought employment in newly opened factories in south-western Ohio. Arriving in droves, the ‘hillbilly’ transplants carried scant possessions, among which were musical instruments with which they played songs that reminded them of home. Performing in the region’s innumerable honky-tonks, dance clubs and bars, the best musicians pushed each other to ever-greater heights of artistry. The upshot of this phenomenon forever altered the trajectory of bluegrass.

Produced by Joe Mullins, whose father was a fiddler and radio personality who moved from eastern Kentucky to Ohio in 1964, this album serves as an exceptionally fine companion to a book of the same title. Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers trace the initial journey in a pitch-perfect cover of Dwight Yoakam’s ‘Readin’, Rightin’, Route 23’. Lee Ann Womack exposes the melancholy plight of the displaced community in a heart-rending rendition of south-west Ohio native Dave Evans’ song, ‘From Life’s Other Side’. The hits just keep coming, performed by contemporary bluegrass greats including Sierra Hull, Dan Tyminski, Jim Lauderdale, Vince Gill, Rhonda Vincent and Bobby Osborne. This is an invaluable addition to the genre’s legacy.