PHOTOS: MiZ at Love of Recovery Free Music Festival at Kirby Park in Wilkes-Barre, 09/09/17
We have lost so many good people – and many great musicians – to drug addiction, so Rockers in Recovery is doing something about it.
“Dedicated to carrying the message of addiction education through music, news, interviews, events, and festivals taking place within the clean and sober community since 2008,” Rockers in Recovery held the first-ever Love of Recovery Free Music Festival at Kirby Park in Wilkes-Barre on Saturday, Sept. 9, offering an afternoon of free music, arts and crafts, food vendors, recovery speakers, addiction education, evidence-based treatment options, and veteran information.
As with other Love of Recovery festivals held across the country, this event was held to help addicts and those affected by addiction by fighting the stigma associated with these issues, which have had a profound effect on Northeastern Pennsylvania in recent years with the growing opioid epidemic.
The music began with Muddy Shews and Friends, followed by singer, songwriter, and guitarist Mike Mizwinski (known simply as MiZ) and his band; The Stickies, a punk rock trio that features MiZ on bass; and the RIR Special Guest Rockers, which featured band director George Massengill on keys (Chillbillies), Andy “Babe” Pace on drums (C&C Music Factory and Gary U.S. Bonds), David Uosikkinen on drums (The Hooters), Muddy Shews on bass (Southside Johnny and Billy J. Kramer), Don Taylor on the sax (Lynyrd Skynyrd Band), Davis Mitchell on guitar (Chillbillies), and Daniel Holt on bass (Johnny B. and The Road Dogs).
Photos by Robb Malloy/Moon’s Eye Media
