Timothy John, known by the stage name “Papa Tim,” jumps while singing a song during Papa Tim & the Whiskey Throttle Band’s headlining set at the Music Heals Festival at Ripple Retreat in West Paris Saturday. Evan W. Houk/Advertiser Democrat

WEST PARIS — Despite a day of rain showers Saturday, the show went on at Ripple Retreat with the Music Heals Festival – a family-friendly and “dry,” or non-alcohol, event celebrating “bands for recovery, playing for discovery.”

Timothy John, lead singer of the headlining act at the Music Heals Festival in West Paris, Papa Tim & the Whiskey Throttle Band, pulls a 50/50 raffle winner from festival organizer and owner of the Ripple Retreat sober event center, Jeffrey John “J.J.” Holley on Saturday. Evan W. Houk/Advertiser Democrat

Instead of plugging in on the outdoor stage and playing to the natural amphitheater that is the 11-acre West Paris property’s backyard, Ripple Retreat owner Jeffrey John “J.J.” Holley simply moved the eight acts inside the event space’s barn to perform.

Throughout the all-day event, seven different musical acts took the stage and aerialist AerialJade performed acrobatic maneuvers and poses while suspended in the air with large rings. About 100 people attended throughout the day, coming and going, Holley said.

“They kept coming in, it’s been an all-day thing,” he said.

The musicians and bands ranged from folk and country-rock to blues-rock and heavy metal with the band, In the Wind.

Holley said “the barn was on fire” for that act. 

Papa Tim & the Whiskey Throttle Band headlined the event, bringing their unique brand of energy to the hard-rocking blues numbers they closed out the night with, even improvising some recovery-focused lyrics.

A crowd dances along to Papa Tim & the Whiskey Throttle Band’s hard-charging blues-rock tunes, at the Music Heals Festival at the Ripple Retreat sober event center in West Paris on Saturday. Evan W. Houk/Advertiser Democrat

The Music Heals Festival is a rarity in that the focus was on recovery and sober living – in contrast to most festivals where alcohol and drugs are prevalent. This was a very deliberate decision by Holley, who is a five-year-sober, recovering alcoholic and military veteran.

With Ripple Retreat, Holley is providing a “safe space” for those in recovery where there isn’t pressure to use substances and the sober lifestyle is celebrated. 

Ripple Retreat’s website says that the goal of the festival was to “first and foremost have fun at a sober event, to create positive ripples in the community, and to raise awareness of what’s available for those in recovery.” 

“I believe we all put out a ripple, we all put out a vibration,” Holley said. “I want mine to be a positive ripple in the community. I dream big and I want to affect lives in a big way.”

Holley also hosts a podcast called “What’s Your Ripple?” that is available on Spotify and YouTube, where he interviews ordinary people about how they are “making extraordinary Ripples in people’s lives, changing their lives forever,” the website says.

Another goal of the event was to raise money to convert part of the event space into a multi-purpose room to be used for recovery meetings and holistic healing activities like yoga and reiki.

Leah Hersom performs at Ripple Retreat’s Bands for Recovery, Playing for Discovery concert on June 22. Lisa McCann/Advertiser Democrat

Holley said his plan is to host these events during the week and then rent out the retreat and event center on weekends for 100% sober events.

Currently, there are no recovery meetings held in West Paris, with the closest in Norway.

In addition to the food vendors like Rocket Ron’s American Grill, there were about 12 recovery organizations – such as Norway-based The Hills Recovery Center – which set up information tables and handed out harm-reduction supplies like Narcan to attendees.

“Lots of traffic at the recovery tables,” Holley said.

The festival also held a “Power Hour” with three guest speakers who are prominent members of the Maine recovery community.

“I had three guest speakers who told their stories of who they used to be as an addict, who they are today, and the ripple that they’re making in the world,” Holley said. “There was a lot of people crying in the audience. It touched a lot of people.”

The impact of Ripple Retreat started two years ago when Holley organized a free benefit concert “that brought together great musicians, donations from local businesses, and neighborhood families as we raised funds, love and support for Maryann Palmer,” who lost her house in a fire earlier that year, the website says.

“We raised enough money and awareness and help from the community that we built her a brand new one-bedroom, one-bath house,” Holley said. “She moved in 11 months after the fire into a new home that was 100% through donations.”

Now, Holley is looking to extend that “ripple” and continue to have a positive impact in the community for years to come.