Amy Helm: Letters to Women and the Legacy of The Barn

Amy Helm has had one of the most fascinating lives that any person can have. As you might have guessed from her famous last name, she comes from roots music royalty. Amy is the daughter of Levon Helm, the beloved late drummer for the incredible groundbreaking Canadian-American group The Band. She also continues to run The Barn, a music venue and recording studio built by her dad and Garth Hudson, which served as Levon Helm Studios.

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In her own career, she has created a new lineage of musical tradition, family, great songwriting, poetry, and a feminine power that emanates off of her. We’re talking about her new album, Silver City, but we’re also talking about songwriting. We’re talking about grief. We’re talking about single parenthood. We’re talking about family. We’re talking about being on the road. We’re talking about how our bodies change over time and how that changes us as a vocalist and as an artist.


Photo Credit: Ebru Yildiz

LISTEN: Zack Joseph, “Keeping Me Sane”

Artist: Zack Joseph
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee (via upstate New York)
Song: “Keeping Me Sane”
Album: Keeping Me Sane
Release Date: April 16, 2021

In Their Words: “I wrote ‘Keeping Me Sane’ while I was in the midst of a serious long-distance relationship. When loneliness and uncertainty would take hold, I’d turned to my vices to cope (whiskey & Coke, beverage of choice) and to serve as a distraction from my overactive imagination. It would feel like I was going insane — something I think most of us can relate to in navigating new relationships. In this instance though, the knowledge that my partner was out there thinking about me was enough to pull me through and keep the crazy at bay… or, ‘keeping me sane,’ if you will. While this song was recorded well before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, its meaning has only been amplified. Every person on this planet has now experienced the loneliness and struggles of being separated from a loved one. Let this song serve as a reminder that someone out there is thinking of you — a little something to carry you through these tough moments until you’re reunited.” — Zack Joseph


Photo credit: Ali Miller