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Miami Regionals Appalachian Studies Announces Spring Events

Since the early 20th century, artists, business figures and places in southwestern Ohio have played key roles in the history of bluegrass music. Miami Regionals Appalachian Studies proudly partners with the Southwestern Ohio Bluegrass Music Heritage Project and the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County for a unique series: The Bluegrass Music Heritage of Southwestern Ohio. Each date in the series will feature presentations by two prominent figures who will explore Appalachian migration, performance venues, media, recording studios, record labels and stores, amateur musical gatherings, gospel and sacred music, urban communities and the 1970s bluegrass revival. The series includes a live performance of music from the region's bluegrass heritage.

March 7, Appalachian Migration: Setting the Musical Stage in Southwestern Ohio, 7 p.m. in the Harry T. Wilks Conference Center on Miami Regionals' Hamilton Campus. Phillip Obermiller, Senior visiting scholar, University of Cincinnati School of Planning, and Research fellow, University of Kentucky Appalachian Center, explores one of the largest internal migrations the U.S. experienced in the 20th century with maps, photographs and audio clips illustrating causes of Appalachian migration, migrant families, neighborhoods, workplaces and organizations.

March 7, All the Way to the Fence: Moon Mullins and Bluegrass Broadcasting in the Miami Valley, 7 p.m. in the Harry T. Wilks Conference Center, Hamilton campus. Daniel Mullins, host of The Daniel Mullins Midday Music Spectacular, investigates bluegrass media in the Miami Valley, highlighting Middletown's WPFB tent shows that introduced bluegrass pioneers to southern Ohio, the legendary radio career of Paul "Moon" Mullins, and Classic Country Radio, Xenia.

March 28, Bluegrass Music and Urban Appalachian Identity, 7 p.m. in the Harry T. Wilks Conference Center, Hamilton Campus. Nathan McGee, Ph.d., University of Cincinnati, explores urban community formation and bluegrass music in Cincinnati and other cities.

March 28, Bluegrass Recording Studios, Record Labels and Record Stories, 7 p.m. in the Harry T. Wilks Conference Center, Hamilton Campus. Russell "Mac" McDivitt, independent scholar from Beavercreek, Ohio and avid student of bluegrass history, considers the region's music business heritage.

April 25, Joe Mullins & the Radio Ramblers with Bobby Osborne, 7 p.m. in the Harry T. Wilks Conference Center, Hamilton Campus. Enjoy a live performance and discussion of music from the Miami Valley bluegrass heritage with prominent, historically significant national artists.

May 10, Green to Bluegrass, 7 p.m. in the Harry T. Wilks Conference Center, Hamilton campus. Nashville-based Lily Isaacs, gospel singer with The Isaacs, and author, considers bluegrass sacred music.

May 10, The Bluegrass Revival of the 1970s in Southwestern Ohio, 7 p.m. in the Harry T. Wilks Conference Center, Hamilton Campus. Jon Weisberger, independent journalist, broadcaster, songwriter, and musician from Nashville, Tennessee looks at the bluegrass revival.

May 21, Early Venues Featuring Bluegrass Performance in Southwestern Ohio, 2 p.m. at the Public Library of Cincinnati & Hamilton County, Cincinnati. Larry Nager, Nashville based independent journalist and former music critic editor, Cincinnati Enquirer and Memphis Commercial Appeal, discusses the region's early performance venues.

May 21, Amateur Bluegrass Gatherings as Cultural Expressions of Community, 2 p.m. at the Public Library of Cincinnati & Hamilton County, Cincinnati. Katherine Rowell, Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning at Sinclair Community College in Dayton, and Jeffrey Gaver, Department of History, University of Cincinnati, consider the social significance of amateur bluegrass gatherings.

For more information, call (513) 785-3277 or visit MiamiOH.edu/regionals/app-studies. All programs are free and open to the public. Miami Regionals' Hamilton campus is located at 1601 University Blvd., Hamilton, Ohio.