Outlaw country music is supposed to come from the dusty plains of Texas or the neon honky-tonks of Tennessee. Whitey Morgan forged it instead in Flint, Michigan, turning rust-belt, blue-collar grit into one of the most powerful, award-winning outlaw country acts of the modern era.

Through a punishing 200-shows-a-year grind and a revolving door of more than a dozen band members, Morgan proved that the anxiety of a closing auto plant in Michigan is the same as a closing coal mine in Kentucky — and the music is just as real. His story dismantles the idea that geography is destiny in country music.

• Built an authentic outlaw country sound from the industrial grit of Flint, Michigan

• Ground out roughly 200 shows a year, a burnout pace that kept the lineup churning

• Cycled through over a dozen band members, becoming th ...