By Emma Johnson, Executive Director
Welcome to the second installment of Cutting Edge Encore! I’m WMUL-FM Executive Director Emma Johnson, and all throughout the weekend, we are going to be talking about Healing Appalachia, the three-day music festival that is being held at the Boyd County fairgrounds in Kentucky.
Night one of Healing Appalachia took place on the smaller stage right outside the main venue. Jeremy Short and Andy Frasco and The U.N. took the stage to set the tone for the weekend.
Before the show began, Cledus T. Judd came out to share his story on addiction and recovery. Once Judd was on stage, he made all the audience members stand; many, including WMUL-FM music director John Boggess, took their hats off as a sign of respect. Still, Judd pulled a fast one on the audience and said, “I just wanted a standing ovation before Jeremy Short”.
Judd did have a compelling message, stating he had been “21 years clean from addiction”, which really seemed to resonate with the audience. He offered hope to those in the audience who could face the same thing he once faced.
After Judd’s heartwarming message, Jeremy Short took the stage. He kicked
the night off with “Falling into a Trance”, one of my personal favorites. Short played a variety of funky-soul music throughout the night that offered soothing healing, which is what the festival is all about. Rocking a sky blue and maroon tie-dye shirt and vibrant purple boa, Short brought soul to the venue both lyrically and visually. Short played “Midnight Train to Glasgow,” about halfway through the set, offering some rock ‘ n ‘ roll to the night and one of John’s personal favorites of the night. In addition to Short’s outstanding vocals, his band helped elevate his performance even further with groovy instrumentals and pristine choreography, such as simultaneously turning in circles together while not missing a beat of music. A one-man mosh pit even formed in the middle of Short’s performance. To close the night, Short honored the late Ozzy Osbourne, someone he said was a hero to him, with “Mr. Crowley”.
The night before Short’s performance, he released a new album, “Live from Healing Appalachia (Deluxe)”. The album featured performances from his first Healing Appalachia performance in 2023 in Lewisburg. We were able to get our own copy of the CD, and that music can be heard during WMUL-FM 88.1’s alternative hours in the near future.
The headliner for the night was Andy Frasco and The U.N. I have to say, they put on an amazing show. Frasco immediately jumped into performing some crowd favorites, such as “Try Not to Die” and “Life is Easy”. Frasco and the band had the crowd up and dancing as the night went on, and the performance continued to grow.
At one point, Frasco and the entire band switched instruments, their bass player started playing the drums, and their saxophone player started playing the keyboard. Frasco then shared that he was really excited to meet Tyler Childers. He said, “I’ve never met him before, but come on, it’s Tyler Childers!” While I didn’t know too much about Andy Frasco and The U.N. before last night, I have to say, I am definitely a fan of their work.
The night was packed with fun music and testimonies from recovering addicts to bring hope to those who may need it.