Healing Appalachia Festival and REVERB Join Forces to Put Clean Energy, Clean Water, and Recovery Center Stage
ASHLAND, KY, September 18–20, 2025—Healing Appalachia, the world’s largest recovery-based music festival produced by Hope in the Hills, returns this September with a mission to heal the people and the land of a region long impacted by the opioid epidemic, polluted waterways, and the legacy of coal mining. Headlined by festival co-founder Tyler Childers and Grammy-winning artist Chris Stapleton, with featured performances by Molly Tuttle, Remi Wolf, and more, the festival is bringing together artists, fans, and volunteers to celebrate recovery, power the event with clean energy, create pathways to new jobs, and raise awareness and funds to address Appalachia’s water crisis.
From Coal Mine to Clean Power
From the stage to the campgrounds, REVERB’s Music Decarbonization Project, which fast-tracks climate solutions to directly eliminate music’s carbon pollution, along with Overdrive Energy Solutions are transforming the festival’s footprint, slashing diesel use and greenhouse gas emissions with cutting-edge battery and solar technology.
In 2024, through the same partnership, Healing Appalachia cut diesel use by 94% and greenhouse gas emissions by 99% at its main stage. This year, that effort is expanding with the entire festival running on renewable power.
- Stage batteries will be backed by a single peak-efficiency generator that lowers fuel use by more than 80%.
- Six temporary grid connections and new solar arrays from local provider Solar Holler and Revolt will further reduce reliance on diesel, delivering clean, reliable power across the site—from stages and campgrounds to vendor areas and artist compounds.
“We’ve always wanted to support this event in a big way,” said Dan Conant, Founder and CEO of Solar Holler. “Our shop is located in Huntington, where too many of our neighbors have been hurt by the opioid epidemic, so recovery is a cause that’s near and dear to the hearts of many of our staff. Turns out, the folks at Healing Appalachia share our passion for rebuilding communities that have been impacted by environmental injustice. We’re totally mission aligned, and we’re honored to finally solarize their festival here in Boyd County, right in our back yard.”
In a joint statement, Charlie Hatcher, program director, and David Lavender, president and treasurer of Hope in the Hills, said: “Too often, Appalachia has been treated as a national sacrifice zone, and its people and its land get exploited and discarded. At Healing Appalachia, we’re writing a different story. By turning a former mine site into a place of music, recovery, and celebration, we’re proving that healing the land and healing the people are inseparable.”
That vision is shared by REVERB’s co-founder Adam Gardner, who said: “Music has the power to heal, and so does protecting the places we call home. Our hope is that by reducing diesel use and bringing clean power to Healing Appalachia, we’ll not only cut emissions, we’ll honor the health of this community, and help build a more resilient future for a region that’s given so much to music and the world.”
The intention comes to life through initiatives that tackle some of the region’s most urgent challenges like access to safe drinking water.
Tackling Appalachia’s Water Crisis
Fans will be able to stay hydrated and give back through RockNRefill, an 11-year collaboration between REVERB and Nalgene Outdoor that reduces single-use plastics at live venues, while raising funds for nonprofits. The program has become a cornerstone of REVERB’s sustainability efforts, helping festivals like Healing Appalachia reduce waste and channel support to critical community needs.
- This year at Healing Appalachia, Nalgene bottles will be sold at the festival with 100% of proceeds going directly to the Nalgene Water Fund that supports DigDeep’s Appalachian Water Project and other local nonprofits.
- Funds raised this year will expand access to safe drinking water for families across Appalachia, as well as other local causes, while every refillable bottle purchased helps eliminate plastic waste.
Building Appalachia’s Resilience with Clean Energy Jobs and Zero Waste Goals
With clean energy powering the festival and clean water initiatives flowing across the region, Healing Appalachia is also focused on building resilience for its people through education and career pathways.
- Festival partners TradesForce and the National Electrical Workers Unions will introduce attendees to job opportunities in renewable energy, turning a weekend festival into a launchpad for lasting opportunity.
- Additionally, Zero Waste Event Productions (ZWEP) is mobilizing a volunteer-based green team to advance zero-waste goals through reuse, recycling, and composting.
Together, these efforts ensure Healing Appalachia continues to grow as a celebration of music, recovery, and climate action to strengthen communities and build a more resilient future.
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
ABOUT REVERB
REVERB is the music industry’s leading sustainability partner. For 20 years, the nonprofit has harnessed the cultural influence of music to drive real-world change. Founded in 2004 by environmentalist Lauren Sullivan and Guster frontman Adam Gardner, REVERB has partnered with hundreds of artists across all genres, including Billie Eilish, Harry Styles, Dave Matthews Band, Dead & Company, Maroon 5, P!nk, Jack Johnson, and many more. Together, they’ve greened thousands of concerts and festivals, eliminated millions of single-use plastic bottles, brought large-scale clean energy solutions to live music, and raised $21 million for environmental and social causes. With its 360-degree model — from backstage operations and touring logistics to fan engagement and community action — REVERB makes it easy for artists and the music industry to reduce their footprint, while amplifying their collective voice for a healthier planet.
https://reverb.org
