Riffs and Recovery – Where Music Meets Healing
In a city as creatively charged as Richmond, it’s no surprise that music and community continue to find powerful ways to intersect. One of the most meaningful examples? Riffs and Recovery—a weekly, peer-led sobriety support meeting hosted at Gallery5 that invites musicians and music lovers into a safe, welcoming space to connect, share, and heal.
What started as a simple idea has grown into a vital community resource, offering the rhythm of solidarity and the harmony of shared experience. Whether you’re in recovery or simply seeking connection, Riffs and Recovery is proof that music and community can be a lifeline.
We sat down with the team behind Riffs and Recovery to learn more about how this unique space came to be, why it matters, and what’s next.
CultureWorks: What inspired the creation of Riffs and Recovery, and how did it find its home at Gallery5?
Matt: Aspen and I met at a similar ‘all-recovery’ group called Ben’s friends that focuses on recovery for people who are within the restaurant and service industry (bensfriendshope.com). One day after a meeting, Aspen and I were discussing how great the meeting had been, and Aspen mentioned that they had been thinking about how we needed a meeting like that for the music scene. I promptly agreed since it was something I had also thought about before. I had been working at Gallery 5 for about a year at the time, and so I asked to run the idea by the board and see if we could hold the meeting there on a low-activity day, such as Monday’s. The board readily accepted the idea, and we were able to have our first meeting there on 7/8/2024.
Aspen: I remember at the time I had been approaching 4 years of sobriety, and had been getting increasing questions from friends and clients about how I stay sober while being at shows. I began to think, “What if there was a space that wasn't a 12-step program where we could discuss this?”
CultureWorks: How would you describe the mission of Riffs and Recovery to someone hearing about it for the first time?
Aspen: Matt and I are both sober and in the music scene, and know personally how difficult it can be to be sober in music spaces. Our mission is to offer hope, fellowship, and a path forward to anyone who is dealing with substance abuse, alcoholism, or addiction in general and wants to pursue any path of sobriety. Our group focuses on anyone involved in the music industry or music scene, but anyone interested in sobriety is welcome to come. We believe that anyone can enjoy music and shows AND stay tapped into their creativity without using alcohol or substances that they feel are harming them. We just hope to provide a safe space for people to share what’s on their hearts as it relates to trying to eliminate a substance from their lives.
CultureWorks: Why do you think it’s important to create a sobriety-centered space specifically for musicians and music lovers?
Matt: As an active musician, I have been immersed in the alcohol and drug culture of the music scene since before I even started taking music seriously. As many musicians know, it is hard to escape the propaganda of alcohol sales at most music venues, and it isn’t hard to find drugs if you’re actively looking for them. Drug culture in music in general has been pushed on us as kids growing up with our favorite bands and watching them party on and behind the stage. So naturally, as a kid, I felt that in order to be accepted into that culture, I had to partake in the drug and alcohol use as if it was some sort of ticket to get into the scene. I continued to think this way throughout my 20’s and halfway through my thirties, and “spoiler alert” it doesn’t get you anywhere. I watched my own bands and relationships crumble because of falling into the regrettable behavioral patterns addiction has to offer. There is no problem that giving into addiction won’t make worse. The idea behind creating a group based discussion about the experience of addiction is about bringing like-minded individuals together for positive reinforcement of the decision to get sober. It’s okay no matter where you are on your journey and we let you know that it does work. There is hope and success is still obtainable.
Aspen: Alcohol/substances and music seem to go hand in hand. I am a photographer for musicians, and am always being offered alcohol or substances, and know from so many of my clients that they feel like they need to drink or use to have the courage to get on stage and let loose. I also have heard from so many friends about how difficult it is not to drink at a show, and I remember that feeling myself when I went to my first show sober. I remember thinking, “what do I do with my hands?” and feeling social pressure from those around me to drink. I think it's important to focus on this niche because it is so normalized and ingrained in the nature of the industry, and we think it should be equally normalized to decide to cut back or abstain. We also wanted to create a space with a harm-reduction approach because addiction is not linear, and for some, it can be harm reduction to just cut back or cut one specific substance and not others.
CultureWorks: Can you share a story or moment that illustrates the impact the group has had on someone in the community?
Aspen and Matt: This excerpt from our recent Style weekly article sums up the experience from one of our members well:
“Musician Andrew Georgieff wanted to get clean from substance use, but things like 12-step programs weren’t working.
“I just felt out of place and couldn’t connect with it,” he says, adding that he wanted more than just a meeting, but something with people who understood him. “I had no idea how to find it. I just knew I needed to get clean and sober, but I didn’t know anyone in my world that was doing that.”
Georgieff, who makes music under the name TORTURETWINN, is one of many creatives in Richmond’s music scene struggling with substance abuse and addiction who found help through Riffs and Recovery, a support group focused on members of the music community.
“It was everything that I could have hoped for,” he says. “It was centered around people like me—creatives, musicians, artists—and it was just like a conversation with people who got me, and I’ve been going ever since.”
CultureWorks: How has hosting the meetings at Gallery5 shaped the atmosphere or accessibility of the group? In what ways does the creative energy of the venue support the spirit of the meetings?
Matt: The support and resources of Gallery5 have been nothing short of miraculous. If it wasn’t for them allowing us to exist in that space, we would have had a much different, more challenging start to our journey. Just having a roof over our heads is a wondrous start, but to be indoors in a climate-controlled environment with access to bathrooms, seating, ADA compliance, and excellent lighting, really makes setting up the meetings a truly accommodating experience. The wonderful owners of Sefton coffee provide us with free coffee so we have fresh-brewed java for our guests each week. The Gallery has a chair rack with fold-up chairs that we use. They also provide tea, trash bags, and cups and some amenities for our coffee and for the water cooler. The atmosphere is truly a home to us and harbors the positive vibes of community running strung through that old fire station as it is home to so many artists and musicians for over 20 years!
Aspen: Also, Gallery 5 is a show space itself, and just to be in the same room where so many of us used to drink at shows can be so powerful.
CultureWorks: Are there any new initiatives, performances, or collaborations coming up for Riffs and Recovery?
Aspen and Matt: Absolutely! This entire month of July marks our 1-year anniversary of being active in the Richmond community, and we are celebrating with a full art gallery and 3 events all happening at our beloved home, Gallery5. The exhibit features art by artists who are on a path of sobriety, and there is at least one musician in each musical act who is on a path of sobriety as well. The first event was on the 4th, our birthday event on 7/11, and the last event is on 7/24th. Each of these events features an alcohol-free bar with a craft mocktail menu assembled by our co-founder, Matt. We were blessed with donations from Point5, located in Carytown, and Mother Shrub, located in Stony Point Fashion Park. The exhibition will be up all month long until 7/27, so don’t miss out! Ticket links below:
CultureWorks: How can people support your mission, whether they’re in recovery, in the arts, or simply looking to be part of something positive?
Aspen and Matt: We are always welcoming new guests to our group and are excited to see any new faces that may want to sit in on a meeting! You can share our flyer or tell your friends about Riffs. We are in the process of establishing ourselves as a 501c3 non-profit so that we can open up meetings in other cities, go through specialized trainings, and have other events! Once we receive the appropriate status, we will be able to accept donations that can be used as a tax write-off. For now, we can only take funds given to us as a gift. Our email or Instagram are the best places to reach us for now with any questions! If anyone would like to offer gifts, partnerships, or if they have any questions about who we are and what we do, please contact us at riffsandrecovery@gmail.com