The Kody Norris Show at Industrial Strength Summer Fest (7/17/25) – photo © Bill Warren
The inaugural Industrial Strength Summer Fest kicked off Thursday at the Greene County Fairgrounds and Expo Center in Xenia, OH. It was typical mid-July – hot and humid! – but that didn’t slow anyone down. Joe and Daniel Mullins and their crew put in a lot of effort and work to make this new festival a success.
Clay Hess and Kenny Smith kicked off the day with a guitar workshop. They are both masters of their instruments.
Annabelle Smith accompanied by Dad Kenny opened the stage show with a stirring rendition of America the Beautiful.
Joe Mullins led the crowd reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.
Seven Mile Bluegrass is an Ohio Band that also promotes its own festival in central Ohio. It is a show that benefits veterans. Billy Self leads the bands and is the festival promoter. Their festival is next weekend in Circleville, Ohio.
Lincoln Mash and Heather Alley were up next, also an Ohio Band. Heather is an alumni of the Alternative Strings program started by the late Doug Eyink.
The theme of the day was Ohio. Larry Efaw and the Bluegrass Mountaineers came from the Akron area to perform. They have nearly a fifty-year history. The band was started by Larry’s Dad, the late Ed Efaw. Larry’s grandson, Chris Wilcox keeps the family tradition alive as the band’s guitar player. He has also started singing some lead.
The Clay Hess Band is also based out of Ohio. Clay is the newest member of the legendary Seldom Scene, but also keeps his own band playing some events. Fellow Scener Ron Stewart played fiddle for this show.
Host Band Joe Mullins and the Radio Ramblers – yes, they are from Ohio – played their first set of the weekend. They will play a set each day of the festival.
The last two bands of the day broke out of the Ohio mold. Both hail from Tennessee.
The Kody Norris Show had a couple fill-ins. Josiah Tyree was unavailable, so Trustin Baker filled in on banjo and 13-year-old Hayden (Jim) Hensley sang tenor. Kody always puts on a high energy show that brings the crowd to their feet. He “sold that hog for a 35-dollar bill” to end his show.
The Grascals closed out the day with lots of old favorites and some new ones as well. They invited 13-year-old banjo player, Dante Flores, to join them for a tune. Dante is one of Kristin Scott Benson’s students.
There are two more big days of entertainment on tap. The Next Paige, Daryl Mosely, Kenny & Amanda Smith, The Larry Stephenson Band, Junior Sisk, The Malpass Brothers, The Lincoln Highway Band, Tony Holt & the Wildwood Valley Boys, Hammertowne, Fast Track, and Rhonda Vincent & the Rage. Whew!!
Join us for two more days os Industrial Strength!
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