Hope In The Hills’ sixth annual Healing Appalachia festival will make its inaugural move along Kentucky’s Country Music Highway this year, taking place Sept. 19-20, on a mountaintop near the Boyd County Fairgrounds in Ashland, KY. Headlined by Kentucky natives Tyler Childers and Chris Stapleton, the largest recovery-based music festival will see performances by Molly Tuttle, Remi Wolf, Lukas Nelson, Blackberry Smoke, American Aquarium, The Infamous Stringdusters, Cole Chaney, Jesse Welles, Jonas Conner, Hill Country Devil, Corduroy Brown and The Montvales, Brad Goodall, Conrad Moore, Andy Frasco, Jeremy Short, and more. Fans can grab their tickets HERE.
Much more than a music festival, the two-day event connects more than 20,000 music lovers across the globe to celebrate recovery and raise awareness for the opioid crisis, spreading empathy, kindness and life-saving resources, promoting an economic impact of more than $5 million in rural communities. Held during National Recovery Month, concertgoers witness recovery in action, with the fest staffed by nearly 500 local recovery volunteers working all posts, from security, green team, hospitality and even help building stages, sharing their inspirational, personal journeys of recovery between musical acts. Healing Appalachia is also proactive in Naloxone education and training, teaming up with END Overdose last year to distribute more than 20,000 doses of free Naloxone at their fest, and were a major sponsor of SAVE A LIFE DAY East, aiding in the distribution of 84,000 doses across the Eastern U.S.
“We're stoked to welcome folks rolling in from all over the United States and across the globe, spreading the healing power of music and community throughout the festival and campgrounds,” said Dave Lavender, board president for Hope in the Hills. "We're excited about not only presenting inspirational, top-shelf national acts and speakers on the main stage, but we'll also kick off the weekend with a free show on Thursday night, with music tucked in the hills with our hike-in sets called Sauntersong, organized by Matt "Catfish" Williams, as well as a flow of music therapy, art and fun in our ‘Camp Grindstone’ recovery camp with many special guests organized by Margaret Moore.”
The grassroots built and run festival is fueled by local groups and businesses, teaming up with regional veteran, community, and youth organizations to assist the cause. It’s this community spirit that has enabled Hope in the Hills to distribute more than $1 million to boots-on-the-ground nonprofits offering life-saving prevention, recovery, and wellness programming across Appalachia and beyond since their inaugural event in 2018. All proceeds are funneled into inspiring programs of change, including everything from yoga in women’s prisons, mentoring for teen girls in foster care, and outdoors-based camps for trauma-impacted kids, to music therapy and festival outreach nationwide, harm reduction, recovery houses, and innovative reentry and recovery-to-work initiatives.
Founded and hosted by Lawrence County, Kentucky native Childers and members of WhizzbangBAM! (Booking and Management), Healing Appalachia is the flagship production of Hope in the Hills, a West Virginia-based nonprofit organization operated by an all-volunteer board of directors committed to combating the opioid crisis and supporting recovery across Appalachia and beyond.
About Healing Appalachia:
Healing Appalachia is music with a purpose, hosting the world’s largest recovery-based music festival across the Appalachian region, spreading addiction and recovery awareness, fostering empathy, and inspiring life-saving action throughout communities worldwide. The flagship production of Hope in the Hills, a West Virginia-based nonprofit organization operated by an all-volunteer board of directors committed to combating the opioid crisis and supporting recovery, will see its sixth annual festival Sept. 19-20 in Ashland, Kentucky during National Recovery Month. Founded and hosted by Kentucky native Tyler Childers and his team at WhizzbangBAM! (Booking and Management), the family-friendly event has featured a who’s who in country, rock, funk and Americana, using their musical gifts to gather kindred spirits. Concertgoers witness recovery in action, with resources, free Naloxone training, and hundreds of recovery volunteers working a variety of positions from security to building stages, sharing their inspirational, personal journeys to recovery between musical acts. Since 2018, Healing Appalachia has plowed 100% of proceeds (above production costs) into more than 100 boots-on-the-ground organizations combating addiction on every front, tallying over $1 million distributed to provide a spectrum of prevention, recovery and wellness aid across Appalachia and beyond. For more information, to make a donation, and to join the conversation, visit healingappalachia.org.
