Amy Helm (born December 3, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She is the daughter of drummer Levon Helm and singer Libby Titus.[2] She is a past member of the Levon Helm's Midnight Ramble Band and Ollabelle,[3][4] as well as her own touring band.
Her debut solo album, Didn’t It Rain, was released in July 2015,[5] and her second release This Too Shall Light was released September 2018 on Yep Roc Records.[6]
Helm conducted an in-depth interview about her life and career with The Pods & Sods Network in 2016.[7] That year she and her band performed at the Edmonton Folk Music Festival.[8]
Early life
Helm was born in Woodstock, New York, United States, and spent her childhood between Woodstock, Los Angeles, and New York City. She attended Trinity High School[2] where she studied jazz with Dr. Aaron Bell, while singing in bands, playing in New York City clubs and bars.
Music career
In 1999, Helm joined her father in his blues band The Barn Burners. They toured the country playing traditional blues music.
In 2001, she was a co-founding member of alt-country ensemble Ollabelle, which toured and recorded for 10 years, releasing three critically acclaimed albums, Ollabelle (2004), Riverside Battle Songs (2006), and Neon Blue Bird (2011).
In 2004, she and her father built the Midnight Ramble concerts at his home in Woodstock, New York. The concerts began as a rent party and grew into a Woodstock institution, featuring artists such as Emmylou Harris, Allen Toussaint, Elvis Costello, Phil Lesh, and many others.
In 2015, she released her first solo album, Didn't It Rain which featured her father's last recorded drum performances. The album also featured members of the Midnight Ramble Band and Amy's touring band, as well as other players and singers such as John Medeski, Bill Payne, and Catherine Russell.
In 2017, Helm recorded her second album with producer Joe Henry in Los Angeles. The album features musicians Doyle Bramhall II, Tyler Chester, Jen Condos, and Jay Bellerose, as well as a background vocal section consisting of Allison Russell, JT Nero, and Adam Minkoff. The album, entitled This Too Shall Light, was released on September 21, 2018 on Yep Roc Records.[9] The album's title track premiered on Rolling Stone Country.[10]
^Ledgin, Stephanie P. (2010). Discovering Folk Music. Bloomsbury Academic. p. 37. ISBN978-0-2759-9387-0. OCLC276335257. Ola Belle was such a revered, influential figure, that young artists have promoted her music vigorously in recent years. The group Ollabelle, anchored by Amy Helm—daughter of rock music's Levon Helm of the Band who, in the traditional folk.
^Sweet, Brian (2008). Steely Dan: Reelin' in the Years. Omnibus Press. ISBN978-0-7119-3551-8. OCLC30913514. The latter group, a roots-rock band, features Fagen's stepdaughter Amy Helm. The intention is that Ollabelle will open the show and then act as backing band for Fagen and Snow. * * * With the passing of the years, it's no secret that like so [...]
