The drama surrounding Levon Helm Studios continues. The late legend Levon Helm, most famous as the drummer and singer for the Band, founded the Woodstock, New York studio and music venue in the '70s. After Helm died in 2012, his daughter Amy Helm, herself a celebrated singer-songwriter, essentially took the space over, and she regularly headlined the Midnight Rambles, the annual shows that her father started in 2004. Earlier this year, though, Amy was pushed out of her role at Levon Helm Studios under what she described as "disturbing circumstances."
As the details of the story came out, we learned that Amy Helm controlled 40% of Levon Helm Studios, as did her stepmother, Leon's widow Sandra Helm. Brian Parillo and Barbara O’Brien, two of Levon's friends, controlled 10% apiece. In May, those shareholders removed Amy Helm from management and installed Brian Parillo as CEO. In a court filing, Amy accused Parillo of "financial exploitation and elder abuse" of Sandra, who is 76. In response, Parillo claimed that Amy had financially mismanaged the space and that the other shareholders were conducting an "investigation" for possible "malfeasance." Now, Levon Helm Studios is suing Amy, accusing her of millions of dollars in "self-dealing."
As The Overlook reports, Levon Helm Studios filed a federal lawsuit against Amy Helm and seven other defendants on Monday, claiming that Amy used money for her own personal and career interests, concealing transactions from the other shareholders and costing the company at least $2 million in damages, including about $400,000 charged to the company "with no apparent business purpose." The plaintiffs claim that Amy used company money over the years for her home and tax payments, health and life insurance, her driver and personal lawyer, and the lease on her tour van.
The lawsuit also claims that she used show cancellations to prevent the company's investigation into her activities. (A number of acts have canceled their shows at the Barn, the facility's main venue, since the company pushed Amy Helm out.) It also accuses her of copyright infringement and seeks to bar her from using the "Helm Family Midnight Ramble" name, as well as repayment and monetary and punitive damages. The Overlook has more details on the lawsuit, and you can read about it here.
On July 30, a couple of weeks after the dispute was made public, Amy Helm released a statement referring to her ousting from Levon Helm Studios as a "shakedown" and "extortion": "The question that should be asked is: Who is Brian Parillo and who is bankrolling him?... Although they have told me that I am barred from the property and have changed the locks, nobody will be kicking me out of a home I co-own or separating me from my father's legacy."
At his Newport Folk Festival headlining set a few days earlier, Nathaniel Rateliff dedicated his and Brandon Flowers' version of Bruce Springsteen's "Atlantic City," a song that the Band famously covered, to Amy and Levon Helm.
Yesterday, Amy Helm announced that the Ramble will continue as a touring act, though she is no longer using "Midnight" in the name.
