Industrial Strength Bluegrass has a great thing going – in Southwestern Ohio and on social media, too. Awarded Event of the Year by IBMA in 2022 and 2024, the Xenia and Wilmington, Ohio-based festival – run by Joe Mullins, and his family and staff at Real Roots Radio – have amassed tens of thousands of followers on TikTok. Clips from their Summer Fest, indoor festivals, and the radio station have racked up millions of views on TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook. And rightly so, their events and airwaves always boast the absolute best in bluegrass.
BGS has partnered with Industrial Strength Bluegrass over the years and this time we’re excited to bring you full-length videos of ISB’s most popular and veritably viral performances. First up, it’s a performance from Industrial Strength Bluegrass’s March 2024 edition indoors in Wilmington, Ohio at the Roberts Centre. In a rare duo appearance, fiddling phenomenons Michael Cleveland and Ron Stewart wowed the ISB crowd. In this video, the pair perform a rip-roaring rendition of “Roanoke” with Joe Mullins himself joining in on banjo, as well as IBMA Award winner Vickie Vaughn on bass, and members of High Fidelity including Jeremy Stephens, Corrina Logston Stephens, and Daniel Amick.
It’s easy to tell why this video was so popular in its shortened, vertical format! Stewart and Cleveland are two of the best, both having won IBMA’s Fiddle Player of the Year (Cleveland an unprecedented 12 times) and both beloved by legions of bluegrass fans, from jamgrass to mash and back again. For an impromptu sort of jam session on stage, it’s a magnetic and impressive performance of a classic fiddle tune. Since 2024, many snippets and clips from Cleveland and Stewart’s 3o-minute performance together at Industrial Strength Bluegrass have taken off on social media. We know we aren’t the only ones who appreciate ISB bringing bluegrass to the masses with their festival content.
Follow Industrial Strength Bluegrass on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook. Make plans to attend their Summer Fest held July 16-18, 2026 in Xenia, Ohio, and future indoor festivals, too. More information can be found here.
