Levon Helm

Of all the members of seminal ’60s rock act The Band, none have continued to embody the group’s ethos like singer-drummer Levon Helm. After being treated for throat cancer in the late ’90s, Helm began holding a weekly jam session called the “midnight ramble,” open to the public, in his Woodstock barn. It’s the kind of event where Elvis Costello or Emmylou Harris might show up unannounced at any point—and where the music doesn’t end until the very wee hours. The rambunctious spirit of the ramble is integral to all activities held under the banner of the Levon Helm Band, be it their pair of Grammy-winning records of foot-stompin’ Americana—Dirt Farmer and Electric Dirt—or roadshows. 

Updated 11/03/2010