Dulé Hill explores how music can provide solace and healing in Appalachia.

In Appalachia, Dulé Hill explores how music can provide solace and healing. He meets a master luthier rehabilitating opioid addicts, a black folk musician, and the creator of “Latin-grass,” a fusion of Latin-American folk and bluegrass music.

The Appalachian region has some of the highest poverty and addiction rates in the nation. Dulé Hill visits the region to connect with artists who are improving life for themselves and their communities through music. Up first is Doug Naselroad, founder and director of Troublesome Creek Stringed Instrument Company and  co-founder of The Culture of Recovery - a program that assists individuals on the road to recovery from opioid addiction by teaching them to make stringed instruments. Dulé learns about the power of peer mentoring and the impact learning this new trade can have for those combating addiction. In Johnson City, Tennessee, Dulé meets Amythyst Kiah, a queer, black, bluegrass musician whose dedication and talents have earned her a Grammy nomination. Amythyst teaches Dulé about the black community’s contributions to traditional American music, and shares how she processed her grief from the loss of her mother to suicide. Finally, in Durham, North Carolina Dulé meets Grammy-nominated artist Joe Troop, who created “latin-grass,” a fusion of Latin and American folk music played with traditional bluegrass instrumentation. Joe explains how, by blending the cultural elements he’s picked up abroad with the traditional music of Appalachia, he can take a stand against xenophobia and racism. Joe has partnered up with Venezuelan refugee Larry Bellorín on a new musical odyssey that’s out to show the world, music has no borders. Dulé discovers artists who are not only transmuting their pain into art, but also re-defining the rhythm and music of Appalachia.