Gates: 6:30PM / Doors: 7:30PM / Show: 8:00PM
Levon Helm Studios Presents: The Helm Family Midnight Ramble
with Special Guest Leslie Mendelson
The Helm Family Midnight Ramble is a musical tribute to the founding songbook of Rock and Roll. Born inside the hallowed walls of Levon Helm Studios in Woodstock, NY, the Midnight Ramble has preserved and furthered Levon Helm's legacy for nearly two decades, playing the iconic music of The Band, and Levon Helm.
The Helm Family Midnight Ramble crosses generational and musical lines, featuring an ever-evolving family of musicians. Amy Helm honors her father's penultimate vision for both Levon Helm Studios and the Midnight Ramble - to create a community for musicians to share their art, and "keep it going."
For the next three Rambles in February, March and April, we will be celebrating and honoring Phil Lesh. Each show will hold a curated selection of songs within the set to pay tribute to Phil, his relationship to the Midnight Rambles, and his long and enduring friendship with my dad. — Amy Helm
With her enchanted voice and evocative songwriting, Leslie Mendelson has won the hearts and minds of both an adoring fanbase and fellow artists alike. No less than Jackson Browne has declared, “Leslie's melodies are timeless. They reach me way back in my youth somewhere. I hear traces of Burt Bacharach and Carole King, and hooks and passages that remind me of the pop songs I grew up hearing on the radio,” while The Wallflowers frontman Jakob Dylan shares: “Voices like Leslie’s can get away with almost anything. Along with being a great songwriter, this leaves her with few if any peers.”
A Grammy Award-nominated artist, Mendelson recently released her fourth studio album, After The Party. For this latest effort, she collaborates with not one, but three producers: the legendary Peter Asher (James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt, Bonnie Raitt), the young, in-demand Tyler Chester (Madison Cunningham, Sara Bareilles, Sara Watkins) and her longtime songwriting partner, three-time Grammy Award-winner, Steve McEwan. Recorded at Jackson Browne’s studio Grove Masters in Santa Monica, CA, she was joined by an ace band featuring guitarists Waddy Wachtel and John Jorgenson, bassists Leland Sklar and Derrick Anderson, and drummers Jim Keltner and Abe Rounds.
Throughout After The Party’s ten tracks, Mendelson crafts a distinctive folk-rock, pop-Americana flavor, evoking the sounds of Laurel Canyon, but with the downtown grit and sharp wit of Brooklyn, the city she has called home for over two decades now. There’s a refreshing realness and effortless musicality that feels both nostalgic and new on songs like “Rock And Roll On The Radio,” “Signs Of Life,” and “I Know A Lot Of People.” The album’s first single “Other Girls” is an intoxicating twist of aural voyeurism mixed with a healthy dose of sexual openness. Other standout tracks, “Have a Little Heart,” "The Good Life” and the title track offer warm musings on a life worth living and a newfound appreciation for the little things.
“Leslie is one of these very rare singers who can combine elegant precision with the soul and emotional resonance of a deeply moving writer and performer,” concludes producer, Peter Asher. "She has a remarkable voice and one we need to hear.”