Navigating Recovery One ‘Jam Band’ Show at a Time

MUSIC, ACID, RECOVERY!!! –

June 21, 2023 – Wharf Rats apply to all derivatives of the Dead, including Phil Lesh & Friends and Bob Weir & the Wolf Bros. Recovering fans of Joe Russo’s Almost Dead and Melvin Seals simply go by the Yellow Balloon Community. The Phellowship applies to Phish heads, and recovering Ween fans call themselves the Sunny Bunny Recovery or Clean Ween. Dusty Baggies is the newly developed community showing up for Billy Strings concerts. There’s The Jellyfish, for String Cheese Incident fans, and The Gateway, for Widespread Panic. Happy Hour Heroes is the recovery group for moe … fans, and Umphrey’s McGee sober fans are called Much Obliged. Disco Biscuits fans can find the Digital Buddhas, and The Werks’ sober community is called Better Than Before. Then there’s Camp Traction, for sober camping at music festivals.

There is even recovery support outside the jam scene, such as Bassnectar’s recovery group, the Hummingbirds. There’s Rave Sober, in many EDM environments. In the punk realm, there are Punk Rock Saves Lives and Team No Head in the Oven; both can be found on Facebook.

Yellow is becoming a universal signal for sobriety safe zones in every part of the music scene and even in some sports scenes. A quick Facebook search can locate like-minded friends in recovery. Don’t be afraid to ask for additional resources, especially as many groups remain anonymous to protect their powerful principles against outside corruption.

Have an Escape Route; Don’t Be Afraid to Bounce

If there’s a Plan B in place, the overall experience will be less stressful. Time at the concert can be spent enjoying the music without anxiously trying to calculate five moves ahead.

Locate yellow flags/balloons ahead of time and head over to them for extra support. Let a friend know if things become uncomfortable. Step outside and call someone, whether it’s a sponsor, a parent or just a good friend. Never stay where it feels unsafe. If there’s no safe ride home, hang with the yellow balloon folks until there’s a better solution.