Healing Appalachia Festival Heads to Kentucky, Tackling Opioid Crisis Through Music
Healing Appalachia, a music festival founded to support recovery and healing in Appalachia, will move to Ashland, Kentucky, for its 2025 edition. To be held September 19 and 20 at…
Healing Appalachia, a music festival founded to support recovery and healing in Appalachia, will move to Ashland, Kentucky, for its 2025 edition. To be held September 19 and 20 at the Boyd County Fairgrounds, the event will be headlined by Kentucky's own Tyler Childers and Chris Stapleton.
“Moving the festival to Eastern Kentucky and to the heart of The Country Music Highway, we could not be more excited or humbled to have two of the Commonwealth's greatest songwriters and voices for their people – Chris Stapleton and Tyler Childers,” said event organizers. “Not only have they both urgently and boldly shared their journeys and songs of home with the world, but both are first in line to roll up their sleeves and help folks in need. We can't wait to leave the porch light on for them here in the hills of home at Healing Appalachia.”
Joining them on the lineup are Molly Tuttle, Remi Wolf, Lukas Nelson, Blackberry Smoke, American Aquarium, and many more, representing a blend of country, rock, and Americana. Additional artists include:
- Desert Hollow
- Jesse Welles
- Cole Chaney
- Jonas Conner
- The Hill Country Devil
- Corduroy Brown
- Brad Goodall
- Conrad Moore
This sixth annual event has expanded significantly since its 2018 launch, growing from a 1,500-person show in West Virginia to drawing over 20,000 attendees. Its new mountaintop location along Kentucky's Country Music Highway marks a symbolic return home for many involved. “We are thrilled to host Healing Appalachia in Kentucky for 2025,” said local leaders. “We are beyond excited to show off the Country Music Highway with a few of our very own! The mission behind this festival is so important to our region, and we can't wait to help the event grow.”
Organized entirely by volunteers in recovery, Healing Appalachia is the country's largest Narcan distribution and certification site and has raised over $1 million since 2018. Coinciding with National Recovery Month, the festival spotlights the ongoing opioid crisis — linked to over 87,000 U.S. deaths in 2024 — while celebrating more than 20.9 million Americans in recovery. Nearly 97% of proceeds are reinvested into local outreach, making it both a musical and charitable force. Tickets are on sale now.
