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Back in October 2022, the honky tonk band Andrea Maddox and the Hey Y’alls played another set during a busy fall. The band’s frontwoman, piano and voice teacher Andrea Maddox, would normally pay her band in cash. Except at the O+ Festival in Kingston, NY, they would receive a different kind of compensation.

The O+ Festival is an exchange between artists and healthcare practitioners who offer care in exchange for a ticket to the show.

“I was able to offer my band healthcare,” says Maddox. “We had access to dental work, chiropractic and acupuncture, massage and alternative treatments like sound baths and Reiki.”

Founding the O+ Festival

The O+ Festival was conceived after a 2010 party conversation between painter and O+ co-founder Joe Concra and a dentist who wanted to bring a band to Kingston and compensate them with teeth cleanings.

“That night, I couldn’t sleep,” says Concra. “As a painter with no healthcare in a system that is completely broken, I [thought] if they would offer that, who else would offer that?”

The next morning, Concra called his friend, Dr. Art Chandler, who was a musician and a primary care physician, and asked if he would be on board. Dr. Chandler was in. And the two of them put together a plan. Four months later, the result was a festival.

“[Concra] came up with the idea, and a lot of people got on board,” says Dr. Chandler. “Kingston kind of started pretty socially active and conscious that way. Our initial cry was [that] artists are being treated unfairly, and we want to have healthcare. [The organizers] got a bunch of great bands to show up… and I set up the first pop-up clinic.”

How Artists Access Healthcare

With many creative professionals self-employed or working side gigs to support their art, cost is always a barrier to obtaining healthcare.

The Affordable Care Act resulted in millions more Americans with health insurance but hasn’t fixed the problem.. Sometimes the income requirements actually make it harder to afford care, according to Concra.

“People don’t know that they do qualify, and if they don’t qualify, they’re usually so close to qualifying, so they don’t make it,” says Concra. “And then they can’t afford healthcare on the open marketplace.”

O+ helps artists navigate the healthcare system by relying on partners that understand the often-complicated marketplace, but Concra says it’s not enough.

“The [healthcare marketplace] system was not a solution,” says Concra. “It was a good step, but it’s not the solution. And I don’t even know if it was meant to be the solution.”

Meanwhile, Concra worries about cuts to Medicaid and Medicare, like those pushed through in the GOP’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, because “most artists that we work with will no longer be below the threshold for government assistance.”

The Popup Clinic at O+

O+ started with 25 providers in the pop-up clinic, now that number has grown to 125, expanding the variety of care.

Milwaukee-based artist David Najib Kasir was painting a mural at O+ in 2022 when he found himself unable to concentrate on his work due to tooth pain.

“They got me into [a dentist’s] office right away,” says Kasir. “I had to do a root canal, and that was a couple hours of procedure but got me working.”

Thanks to her band’s performance, Maddox was able to see her own chiropractor instead of paying out of pocket.

“It’s really fun to be in this environment where you can just walk into this clinic and say, Well, I think I’ll have a massage now,” says Maddox. “There’s food everywhere. You just kind of feel like you’re in a VIP green room the whole weekend.”

Year-Round Care Through the Exchange Clinic

Providers offer many types of care, including massage, acupuncture, primary care, and mental health services. As of January 2024, festival alumni can access care year-round.

The O+ Exchange Clinic is open to all artists who have participated in the festival. The system has 2,000 alumni and 350 providers.

“So you go online, you say that you’re an alumni or a provider, and you literally can go into a menu and see what’s available and just take it,” says Concra. “You can add something or just take something.”

Growing Community Care

About 5,000 people attend O+ Festival every year, with a festival wristband costing the public whatever they can pay. Festivalgoers pay nothing at all or up to $100 per wristband, with people often purchasing extra wristbands just to support the festival.

The festival doesn’t just benefit its artists. Volunteers receive access to the pop-up clinic, as well. And the Kingston community benefits not only from improved health of its people and great entertainment, but also in the painting of 65 murals across the city—and counting.

Although Concra is worried about dwindling sponsorship, he said the political climate doesn’t matter in a broken system.

“Healthcare doesn’t care who you voted for,” says Concra. “Everybody should come together and figure this out [without politics]. It’s divided us to the point where we have to do something like this festival.”

This year’s O+ Festival will be held from October 10-12 in Kingston, NY, and wristbands are now available by donation.

This sponsored content is paid for by the Center for Cultural Innovation (CCI), as part of its AmbitioUS initiative. This series explores how alternative economic models can empower artists and culture bearers, with an eye toward financial freedom and long-term sustainability.

This post was originally published on Next City.