“People have been playing music together in the small Appalachian town of Hindman, Ky., since it was founded in the late 1800s. Today, one of the few businesses still open in the town is the Appalachian School of Luthiery, which teaches people how to build wooden stringed instruments. Now that school is playing a role in helping the local community overcome drug addiction.”
“On a summer night, musicians warm-up for the Knott County Downtown Radio Hour. It is essentially a recorded open mic hosted once a month by Doug Naselroad, the founder of the program and the master luthier, someone who makes instruments like guitars and banjos.”
“Eastern Kentucky has been one of the regions hardest hit by both a dying coal industry and the opioid crisis. In Knott County, the drug overdose and mortality rates are more than double that of the nation’s and are even higher than the average within the state.”
View the whole story here: https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/12/06/785160143/a-new-start-in-recovery-and-learning-to-make-musical-instruments-in-appalachia