Overview:
In a shakeup over controlling interests, Amy Helm has been forced out of her partnership in her late father's legendary music venue.
Earlier this week Amy Helm broke some news via social media.
“I have been informed that the August 1st & 2nd Helm Family Midnight Rambles have been ‘postponed,’” wrote the singer-songwriter and daughter of Levon Helm, the late drummer and vocalist of The Band. “Neither I, nor our long-time core staff, are currently part of Levon Helm Studios and have nothing to do with any decisions made or actions taken by the new ‘management.’”
The situation stems from a falling out between, on one side, Amy, widely regarded as the public face of Levon Helm Studios and its celebrated Midnight Ramble sessions, and, on the other side, Brian Parillo, who has been credited with co-creating the Midnight Ramble concert model at Levon’s former Woodstock home. Parillo, who was invited to Woodstock by Levon in 2000 to manage the site, officially became its CEO through his acquiring control of its operations when the drummer’s widow, Sandra Helm, recently signed over her share of the operation to him, thus giving him the dominant 60-percent interest ratio that led to Amy’s being forced out.
The break apparently became physically unpleasant at the Plochman Lane venue, which is colloquially known as the Barn. On May 28, according to Parillo, he was shoved and yelled at by Amy, who contends that Sandra was coerced into signing away her ownership rights to Parillo. The incident resulted in Parillo filing a police report against the singer.
A former New Jersey resident and ex-partner and manager of the Lodge restaurant in Woodstock, Parillo alleges that other stockholders believed that the business was being improperly operated by Amy, who, he maintains, was running it more for her own benefit than that of shareholders and not allowing them to access its financial records. A group of shareholders posted a joint statement defending the takeover, claiming that it was intended to bring financial stability and better protection of the venue’s legacy.
But not everyone is buying such takes. In the wake of Amy’s dismissal, Levon Helm Studios’ long-serving general manager Christy Newman and operations manager Jenn Vann Steenberg both resigned in protest (the pair are said to have deleted over 2,000 company emails before leaving; the emails have reportedly been recovered). To many, Amy, simply put, is Levon Helm Studios, and without her direct involvement its essence is no longer present. Some have vowed to boycott the venue (“No Amy = NO f’n Barn!!” wrote one Facebook commenter), and some of the acts who were booked to play there in the coming months, such as the Sam Grisman/Tim O’Brien Trio, have moved their shows or cancelled out of dissatisfaction with the change. Graham Nash is one of the other figures who has voiced support for Amy. Still another is her ex-husband and ongoing musical partner, saxophonist Jay Collins.
“Anybody who tries to tell you that Amy Helm should not be running Levon Helm Studios, or that she has engaged in some sort of ‘malfeasance’, or that she has bad character, is WRONG,’’ wrote Collins in a Facebook post. “[A]nd they are either lying, or they don’t know the facts and have been misled. Amy has paid the musicians and staff properly and been able to keep Levon Helm Studios going…She wishes to pass it on to our children and that’s what should happen. That is just the truth, no matter how some people want to spin it. If ANYBODY thinks that Levon would have wanted these clowns to take the venue away from his daughter, then they are out of their minds.”
At present, many of the shows that had already been booked at Levon Helm Studios remain on its website’s calendar alongside the cancellations, with some of the dates being sold out or having low-ticket alerts. The signature downhome Midnight Ramble events so identified with the rustic space, however, remain on hold.
“In time, I will be able to speak to the disturbing circumstances behind the current situation at my father’s home and recording studio,” said Amy Helm in her initial July 12 internet post. “My family and I are walking through this with faith in the legal system, and we thank everyone for the outpouring of love and support, it means so much to my family and me.”
