Combining wellness with the arts for over a decade, Kingston’s own O+ Festival is here again this weekend, October 6-8th. In venues across town including the Old Dutch Church, Keagan’s, Rough Draft and others, the festival is brimming with musical acts, art, comedy, and wellness activities.
The concept behind how O+ connects wellness with art and music is both radical and simple:
“During the festival, hundreds of musicians, artists, and creatives share their talents and performances with the public in exchange for holistic health and wellness services,” explains Erin Edge, communication director for O+. “Over the last 13 years, O+ has provided over 5,000 health treatments and 1,400 dental services, making a real impact on the lives of thousands of un-and-underinsured people.”
This year’s headliners are Gail Ann Dorsey, Amythyst Kiah, and comedian Bobcat Goldthwait. There are literally almost 100 other acts including Carsie Blanton, The Goddess Party, and Richard Buckner. Indie, hip hop, classical, funk, punk, almost every genre of contemporary music is represented, plus art programs, wellness activities, and a bike tour.
“I am so happy to be making a return appearance at O+ this year!” says Gail Ann Dorsey, fresh from a string of shows in France. “I feel really fortunate and blessed to be part of a community like Kingston. The O+ Festival was conceived by creative, compassionate, and committed people from this community who showed what a righteous and beautiful thing is possible when you are inspired, courageous, and lead with the heart. I am totally down with that!”
Mural art is always part of O+. This year’s festival brings five new murals to the bricks of Kingston, including (finally!) a first-ever contribution by O+ cofounder Joe Concra. His lovingly depicted anvil hanging over the heads of passers by on the corner of Pearl and Wall Streets is entitled “Someday After I’m Gone.”
The big news at O+ this year is the introduction of a year-round clinician.
“We’re super excited to have Dr. Lizette Edge on the O+ Team!” says Erin Edge. “Our new year-round clinic is located at 36 St. James Street. It’s a multi-use space that will serve primarily as a clinic and wellness studio, but can also be used for hosting workshops, art exhibitions and even intimate live music performances, so we think of it as a place where creativity and well-being intersect.”
Will anyone be able to take advantage of the services at the new space?
“We’ll start by opening up the clinic to a small group of past O+ participants/alumni,” Edge says. “We’ll expand as we’re able to bring on more providers and get a better sense of what the needs are in that community of artists and musicians.”
Speaking of inclusivity, the festival aims to include everyone who wants to attend. O+ says they’re always grateful to those who can swing $75, but the event is on a sliding scale, so you can pay what you can afford and still get a wristband.
“Every dollar we make from wristband sales goes back into putting on the festival and supporting our year-round health clinic,” Edge says. “But, no matter what, no one gets turned away for lack of funds, we just want people to experience what O+ is all about.”
O+ is a non-profit organization, promoting wellness and the arts throughout the year. You can catch the O+ Radio Hour every Tuesday from 8-9pm on Radio Kingston.
For more information on the festival, how to get a wristband, and more, see the O+ website at opositivefestival.org.
An interview with O+ headliner Amythyst Kiah
Amythyst Kiah has a commanding voice so timeless you can almost hear it ringing from the Blue Ridge Mountains near her home in Johnson City, Tennessee.
Sometimes described as “southern gothic,” Amythyst emerged ten years ago with a minimalist, roots-style album called Dig. Over time she’s fleshed out her sound with additional instrumentation, as can be heard on her most recent album, Wary + Strange.
Currently signed to Rounder Records, she’ll begin work on a new album in Nashville shortly after her appearance at O+.
Adam Snyder: Can you talk a little bit about the music on your new album?
Amythyst Kiah: For this record I’m wanting to reincorporate some Appalachian, old-time folk music. There’s gonna be fiddle, banjo, pedal steel, hopefully dobro depending on how that goes…
AS: What’s your show in Kingston going to be like? Is it going to be solo kinda like Dig or full band like Wary + Strange?
AK: The Kingston show’s gonna be a full band. It’s going to have a very similar sound to Wary + Strange. Moving forward, there’s definitely going to be those alternative elements mixed in, I want the record to sound modern and have that low end punch but with different textures.
AS: You’re a student of traditional bluegrass. As a songwriter, to what extent are you balancing your personal experience with a kind of homage to American music of the past?
AK: The moment I started playing traditional music, it was entirely unavoidable not to infuse my own lived experience. One of my strengths was to be able to take the old-time songs and breathe a different life into them, and put my own sound on it.
That’s what happens when you don’t have anybody in your ear saying, “Hey, don’t do this, don’t do that.” If anything, my dad has always encouraged me. He would hear me in my room playing, even when I got into playing this old-time music, he’s a big fan of music himself, I always had support, finding my path.
For this next record, I kinda want to go for an acoustic rock spooky Appalachia kind of thing. I want all my future albums to be distinctly different from one another, but capture the essence of my voice being at the center of it, so that no matter what I do, you can tell that it’s me.
AS: I wanna ask you about Johnson City. What’s behind your choice to live in a small city?
AK: First of all, it’s the mountains for me, like, the mountains have been a mainstay for me throughout my life, and so mountains have to be part of the landscape. Also being able to come back home to a place where over time I’ve gotten to know so many people in my community, and everybody’s been such huge cheerleaders for me.
Me and my partner bought a house out in the county, twenty minutes from Johnson City. The peace and quiet is something you can’t really find in a larger city, and also being able to drive downtown, watch my downtown grow with different restaurants, activities, and artist collectives. To be able to watch the artistic side of my community grow is really special, and I wanna be here to support that. So many awesome people live there, it just feels like my home, I can’t really picture myself living anywhere else right now, you know?
AS: I think people in Kingston can really relate to that these days. It sounds a lot like what’s been going on around here. Have you played Kingston or the mid-Hudson Valley before?
AK: I have in fact. In Johnson City, like, five or six years ago, there was this coffee house called The Acoustic Coffee House. I walked in on a Monday night, when they usually have open mic or whatever, and Lara Hope and Matt Goldpaugh were playing as The Gold Hope Duo, and I was, like, these guys are amazing. So we talked, I helped set up some shows, then I came up and played that brewery, Keagan’s. They let me and my dad stay at their house. So I’ve known them for, like, five or six years. And the way that we felt about our towns, that was a big connection with us, wanting to see our towns grow, like, our little mountain towns, you know?
So it means a lot to finally be part of O+ Festival, because she’s talked a lot about it for years and I’m so stoked to be able to come back to Kingston and be part of this event.
Join the family! 
