Stories of Music, History and Myth in Kent, Ohio

A visual and documentary archive tracing Walsh’s relationship to Kent State, Kent, Ohio and the immediate surrounding area from 1965 to present day — flyers, clippings, photographs and more. 

A rare set of photos taken by Richard Underwood in the fall of 1966 at Kent State opens a door back to the very first Kent band scene, when a young Joe Walsh and the Measles were shaking up a brand new generation of students.  

An inside look at how a college bar called JB’s became the crucible for the James Gang, as unearthed photos, first-hand memories, and guitar lore trace Joe Walsh’s evolution on that tiny Kent stage—including the Les Paul he’d soon pass to Jimmy Page. 

Through rooftop photos, barroom memories, and musician eyewitnesses, this chapter reconstructs the long Friday night on the North Water Street strip when a street race, a trash-can fire, and one terrible tactical decision by police helped tip Kent’s legendary music district into a riot—and set the chain of events in motion that led to the shootings on May 4, 1970. 

An almost lost Kent legend comes back into focus as eyewitness memories, barroom lore, and a few surviving scraps of evidence retrace the day in July 1970 when Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young quietly walked the campus, streets, ate pizza, and slipped into JB’s - exploring the town that had just inspired “Ohio.” 

How a basement bar in Kent briefly became a blues crossroads, hosting Johnny Shines, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Hound Dog Taylor, Koko Taylor, and more.

A vivid retelling of George Carlin’s improbable 1972 day in Kent—touring dorms, joking with students, sampling campus contraband, and delivering a razor-sharp set that night. 

The story traces how Emmylou Harris, fresh off a Blossom performance and weeks away from recording with Dylan, wandered into Kent’s Water Street Saloon in 1975 for an unplanned three song set that became legend.  

The inside story of how Jimmy Bell's Still in Town survived doomed recording attempts, a skeptical Marley crowd, a blown 16-track session, and nearly two years chaos to become one of the great cult masterpieces of all time.

The story of spring 1978, when a hustled letter and three jam-packed showcase nights at JB’s brought Village Voice critic Robert Christgau and Warner Bros. heavyweights Karin Berg and Jerry Wexler to Kent. 

An investigative dive into how a postponed Louisville date put Aerosmith in Kent on a random weekend night, where they discovered The Numbers Band, swapped backstage access for bar-room authenticity, and briefly crossed paths in Northeast Ohio music history. 

A deep dive into the lost barroom years when Dan Auerbach, Patrick Sweany, and drummer Jason Edwards turned sleepy Kent rooms like Mugs and the Grooveyard into a relentless blues laboratory, shaping the sound that would soon explode as a prelude to The Black Keys. 

Foreword by Joe Walsh!

Foreword by Joe Walsh!

Foreword by Joe Walsh!