Over the past few months there's been a struggle over control of Levon Helm Studios, the studio space and live music venue in Woodstock, New York. The late Levon Helm, legendary drummer and singer for the Band, founded the studio in the '70s, and he began holding his Midnight Ramble shows in 2004. After his 2012 death, his singer-songwriter daughter Amy Helm has been essentially running the venue and performing at the Rambles. In May, the venue's board removed Amy and installed longtime shareholder Brian Parillo, a friend of Helm, as CEO of the space.
In an Instagram post on Sunday, Amy Helm made a vague statement about "the disturbing circumstances behind the current situation" at Levon Helm Studios. Soon afterward, The Overlook ran a long reported piece about the shareholder dispute over the facility, including a police report about a physical confrontation between Levon Helm and Brian Parillo, as well as Amy's allegations of "financial exploitation and elder abuse" on Parillo's part.
Both Amy Helm and her stepmother, Levon's 76-year-old widow Sandra, were 40% shareholders in Levon Helm Studios, with Brian Parillo and fellow shareholder Barbara O’Brien keeping 10% apiece. After Sandra Helm and O'Brien both turned their voting shares over to Parillo, he assumed control of the space. In her own Instagram statement last night, Sandra wrote that Amy's decision to go public has invaded her privacy and that Levon "would hate what is happening right now... This is no one else’s business. I welcome people to come here and enjoy what Levon left for us all to share and experience together." Here's the full text of her statement:
I am Levon’s widow, The Barn is where Levon and I lived for 44 years, through 2 Barns, a fire in 1991, now the present residence and studio.
Now our business has been presented to the public yesterday and my privacy invaded, which was Amy’s decision, not mine.
Levon built The Barn for a place to celebrate the glory of music. He would hate what is happening right now. He never liked conflict, he only wanted to make music, and “make people dance”.
I refuse to be any part of the erroneous portrayal of my private life, or to stand idly by and watch Levon’s legacy to be besmirched. This is no one else’s business. I welcome people to come here and enjoy what Levon left for us all to share and experience together.
Levon said “when trouble rears its ugly head, pour a little music on it”, and that’s what we will continue to do here at The Barn that Levon built!
Thank you, Sandy Helm
Brian Parillo has made his own statement on the Levon Helm Studios Instagram page, detailing his own history with Levon Helm and accusing Amy Helm of mismanaging the space. Parillo describes his own "investigation" into Amy Helm's "malfeasance," alluding to "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." Here's the full text of his 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.
The next Helm Family Midnight Ramble, initially scheduled for June, was rescheduled for August and then postponed indefinitely. In that Overlook piece, Parillo says that the future of the Midnight Rambles "kind of remains to be seen." Since then, the trio of Tim O’Brien, Sam Grisman, and Victor Furtado have also canceled a pair of planned shows at the Barn at Levon Helm Studios, replacing those gigs with a single night at Woodstock's Bearsville Theater.
