Amy Helm Addresses Midnight Ramble Postponements Amid Turmoil At Levon Helm Studios

Singer-songwriter Amy Helm, posted a message addressing the postponement of her upcoming Midnight Rambles at Levon Helm Studios, the facility established by her late father, Levon Helm of The Band, at his home in Woodstock, New York. Amy Helm was scheduled to perform a pair of The Helm Family Midnight Rambles on August 1 and August 2.

Those two concerts, billed as the “Sun Records Ramble Weekend,” were postponed, without an announcement of new dates. Along with Amy Helm, the no-longer-happening Midnight Rambles’ participants were slated to include Robert Randolph, Ruthie Foster and Duane Betts, among others.

Levon Helm began hosting Midnight Rambles at his recording studio and concert venue in 2004. The longtime member of the influential Americana group The Band was inspired to host the late-night shows after attending F.S. Walcott’s Midnight Ramble as a youth growing up in Arkansas.

For several years, Amy Helm was a member of her father’s Midnight Ramble House Band. Levon Helm died in 2012 at age 71. Levon Helm Studios continued to host Midnight Rambles and other concerts at “The Barn” in the years following Levon’s death.

Writing about the postponement of the August 1 and 2 Helm Family Midnight Rambles, Amy Helm stated:

“I have been informed that the August 1st & 2nd Helm Family Midnight Rambles have been ‘postponed.’

“In time, I will be able to speak to the disturbing circumstances behind the current situation at my father’s home and recording studio.

“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.’

“What’s paramount to us right now is making sure that The Barn — both the legacy and the community of which we’re family — is safe and protected.

“It’s not only been my responsibility, but my privilege to carry on my Dad’s vision. Along with an endless family of musicians and friends who were close to him, we have honored his memory and music, and will continue to do so.

“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.”

According to The Overlook, shareholder Brian Parillo, who became involved in the company in the 2000s, is now in charge of Levon Helm Studios. Parillo explained to the local news outlet that “shareholders removed Amy Helm from management on May 26 and later appointed him chief executive officer. He said he now controls 60% of the company’s voting power after Sandra ‘Sandy’ Helm, the widow of Levon Helm, and shareholder Barbara O’Brien assigned him their voting rights.” Parillo purported that Amy Helm and Sandra Helm each maintain part ownership of the Levon Helm Studios, with Parillo and O’Brien also owning shares.

The Overlook also reported that local Woodstock police responded to call from The Barn on May 28 due to a fight between Amy Helm and Parillo. Charges were not filed as a result of the allegedly physically altercation. The report also described a court document recently filed by Amy Helm that sought to intervene with Sandra Helm’s care.

Amy alleged in a June 4 filing in Ulster County Surrogate’s Court that Sandra was vulnerable to manipulation during the shift in control. She accused Parillo of “financial exploitation and elder abuse” and asked the court to appoint a guardian to represent Sandra’s interests in a long-running proceeding over Levon Helm’s estate.

Sandra denied that she had been coerced.

“I deny that,” she said. “Absolutely” …

Amy’s filing portrays Sandra as confused and distressed during their conversation that day. Amy alleged that Sandra cried, expressed regret over putting Parillo in charge, and asked her to help undo the decision. She also alleged that Sandra said she had been “conned” and was being taken advantage of.

Amy wrote that she was “truly concerned about Sandy’s ability to act rationally and protect herself from further manipulation.”

Visit The Overlook for further details on the situation.

Through a Levon Helm Studios social media account, Parillo posted the following statement:

“My name is Brian Parillo, and since May 2026, I have been the president of Levon Helm Studios, Inc, but that’s not the beginning of my story with LHS. Back in 2000, Levon invited me and my band to come play with him in Woodstock. A lifelong friendship with Levon and his wife, Sandy, quickly developed. I am saddened that Amy Helm, his daughter, has chosen to make a private family matter public, and we now have no choice but to respond to set the record straight.

“In 2004, Levon started the Midnight Rambles, which were a runaway success. Levon, I and two other partners became the founding stockholders of LHS when the company was formed on October 22, 2004. I have never received a penny in connection with my shares in LHS. I have also not received a penny from LHS since becoming president.

“LHS is not a birthright. It is Levon Helm’s legacy.

“After Levon passed away too soon on April 19, 2012, Sandy and Amy split his shares, each becoming 40% owners of LHS. What transpired for the next 14 years was a concerted effort by Amy and her advisors to deny Sandy, me and the other stockholders access to any corporate records or any meaningful updates on how the company was being run. Sandy and I care deeply about Levon’s legacy, and we were worried it was being coopted and mismanaged by Amy.

“After attempting for years to resolve the dispute, our patience ran out. Sandy, I and the other stockholder elected me as the sole director of LHS, and I was appointed the president of LHS, so that I could conduct an investigation into how LHS has been run. No one is above being held to the legal, ethical and moral standards of running a company for the benefit of all of its stakeholders, which we believe includes Levon, our performers, guests, employees, officers, directors and stockholders. No claim of “birthright” washes clean a decade plus of malfeasance.”

Amy Helm is slated to perform next at this weekend’s Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival in Oak Hill, New York.