Sponsored
A music festival that has featured Tyler Childers every year since 2018 has turned its latest proceeds into a case for using music events to support addiction recovery. The most recent festival raised more than $1.3 million for naloxone recovery housing and job training across Central Appalachia.
The festival will return September 10 and 11, 2027 at the Boyd County Fairgrounds in Ashland, Kentucky after taking 2026 off. Its proceeds support Hope in the Hills, which is a nonprofit that has turned a weekend of music into a major source of recovery funding in the region.
Past lineups have included Chris Stapleton, Trey Anastasio, Jason Isbell Margo Price and Gov’t Mule alongside Childers, according to Live For Live Music.
Where the Money Goes
The 2025 festival raised more than $1.3 million and directed the money toward recovery assistance overdose prevention education and awareness campaigns. Organizers distributed more than 20,000 doses of naloxone at the festival gates alone.
The funding also helps maintain permanent naloxone supplies at roughly 800 recovery houses across West Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee. Organizers hope to eventually cover every certified recovery residence in Central Appalachia.
The effort works with the Matthew Perry Foundation and connects with Save a Life Day. The September 24 event brought together more than 1,000 naloxone distribution events across all 50 states.
Turning Recovery Into a Job
ReStage Appalachia stands out among the festival’s programs. The workforce initiative helps people in recovery prepare for stagehand jobs, through completing a six week certification program.
It combines technical training with industry credentials, recovery support, employment guidance and help with job retention. The approach connects recovery with steady work in a region where unemployment can make recovery harder to maintain and it also fills a real need as festivals and other live events need trained stagehands.
Who Can Use the Programs
The festival funded resources serve people in early and long term recovery across Central Appalachia. That includes residents of participating recovery houses, people who attend distribution events and participants in the ReStage workforce program.
These services don’t require payment. Other free and low cost treatment options include state funded rehab centers, nonprofit providers, faith based programs and community organizations.
SAMHSA’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-4357 can also connect people with programs that accept Medicaid, offer sliding fees or charge nothing.
Free Recovery Resources
Naloxone or Narcan for overdose reversal is available at no cost through Save a Life Day events and many health departments
Participating recovery residences can receive permanent naloxone supplies across West Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee
ReStage Appalachia offers stagehand certification and job placement support to people in recovery
Hope in the Hills funds recovery assistance through its festival proceeds
You usually access these resources through local networks rather than an individual application. Recovery houses receive supplies through participating programs while community members can find naloxone at Save a Life Day events and local health departments. Hope in the Hills also handles questions about ReStage cohorts.
When you compare rehab centers in the region ask whether they connect patients with housing, employment and other recovery resources.
Rehabs.com lists free rehab programs across the country. If treatment costs are keeping you from getting help, call
800-914-7089
(
Sponsored)
to speak with a treatment specialist or reach SAMHSA’s Helpline at 1-800-662-4357. Both options can help you look at affordable treatment without paying for the referral.
More Articles Like This
