Music educators and clinicians from Ohio and across the country gather annually for the Ohio Music Education Association (OMEA) professional development conference. Dr. Phillip Hash, professor and researcher from Illinois State University, was the featured keynote speaker of the Graduate Research Forum in February 2023. Hash has presented on primary topics of music education history, instrumental music pedagogy, student teacher mentoring, and music teacher evaluation. Not only is he a notable scholar in the field, but also an accomplished arranger for band, strings, and small instrumental ensembles. The focus of this research forum centered on the historical development of popular music in the United States spanning from the 17th-century to present day, along with implications for practice in the music teaching and learning community.