Healing Appalachia 2024
Words and photos by Brooke Landers

The town of Lewisburg, West Virginia, recently hosted Healing Appalachia, a festival of hope, music, and community. Its purpose is to create a space for recovery and raise awareness to combat opioid addiction, an epidemic that has stricken Appalachia for decades. Through song, dance, and stories of hope from those in recovery, Healing Appalachia succeeded in creating a safe space where attendees could rejoice in the camaraderie of rebirth and rehabilitation.

The festival was a true celebration of Appalachia and its communities, with the music of its mountains bringing people together each evening on Sept. 19-21.

The first day of the festival was headlined by a true Appalachian fairy, Sierra Ferrell. With her near ethereal presence, Ferrell held the unwavering attention of the entire festival grounds. While switching from fiddle to guitar, she projected her signature whimsical folk sound in songs like “West Virginia Waltz” and “In Dreams” from her album, Long Time Coming. Even with such a large and diverse crowd, Ferrell’s songs evoked an atmosphere of homogenous emotion in the festival crowd; one of nostalgia, longing, and love. Her voice seems as easy to listen to as the mountains are to gaze at. Ferrell’s music is a beam of strong Appalachian femininity in her somewhat monotonous designated genre of country.

Watch Sierra Ferrell play “New West Virginia Waltz” live for Little Orange Room Sessions on YouTube:

To follow up the magical first headliner of the weekend, My Morning Jacket closed the festival’s second day with a jovial performance that catered to both lifelong fans and first time listeners alike. Each song they performed seemed to have an exclamation point put on it by the frontman, Jim James. His flamboyant performance pierced the atmosphere with an undeniable sense of joy. With this cheerful performance also came striking lyrics from songs like “Golden” from their album It Still Moves, which tackle the unexpected hardships of accomplishing a dream. Some of the audience seemed to know every beat and stomp that came from James, and some seemingly watched in awe of a performance they never expected to see.

Watch My Morning Jacket perform “Golden” live from Bonnaroo 2004 via YouTube:

The familiar music of Tyler Childers closed out the very last show of this year’s Healing Appalachia festival in an astounding note. Childers injected a soulful chorus of true Appalachian sound into the largest audience of the weekend. Listeners belted every word of thrashing folk songs, love ballads, and simple hymns of hope. It was clear to see the crowd was enthralled by every chord and pluck of a string that came from the stage. Childers’ folk sounds begged to be danced, frolicked, or gently swayed to; there wasn’t a single still person in the crowd for the entirety of his show. An acoustic performance of his most famous song of loss, “Follow You to Virgie,” elicited a palpable energy of understanding and comfort from the crowd. There were even tears evoked from his performance of “Lady May” from his album Purgatory, a candid love song that details the beauty of falling in love in Appalachia.

Watch Tyler Childers perform “Lady May” live for Red Barn Radio on YouTube:

Once Childers left the stage, Healing Appalachia 2024 came to an end. It was clear that along with the remarkable performances of talented musicians, the festival catalyzed connections of hope and recovery. From each story told and poem recited, hope blossomed throughout the festival fields. There is no doubt Healing Appalachia did as its name describes; it helped Appalachian communities heal from the effects of the opioid epidemic and curate a safe space for healthy rehabilitation.

Here are some photos of Sierra Ferrell performing at Healing Appalachia on Sept. 19, 2024. All pictures copyright and courtesy of Brooke Landers.

Here are some photos of My Morning Jacket performing at Healing Appalachia on Sept. 20, 2024. All pictures copyright and courtesy of Brooke Landers.

Here are some photos of Tyler Childers performing at Healing Appalachia on Sept. 21, 2024. All pictures copyright and courtesy of Brooke Landers.