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THE KNICKERBOCKER MUSIC CENTER

35 Railroad Avenue, Westerly, RI 02891 (Misquamicut) | (401) 315-5070

Closed Today

05 April

Amy Helm

8pm

Friday, April 5, 2019 at 8:00pm

The Knickerbocker Music Center. 35 Railroad Avenue, Westerly, RI 02891

knickmusic.com/events/2019/4/5/amy-helm

Live Music

Opening with Neyla Pekarek (Formerly of the Lumineers)

Amy Helm sought what she calls a “circular sound” for her new album. It’s a well-rounded one, one marked by streaks of Americana, country, blues, and gospel, and the kinds of four-part harmonies that can burst open a melody and close the loop of an octave. And sentimentally, it’s a sound that represents the feeling of community.

This Too Shall Light, released ​September 21, 2018 on Yep Roc Records, comprises 10 songs produced by Grammy-winning producer and songwriter Joe Henry. Helm left her home and comfort zone of Woodstock, NY, choosing ​to record in Los Angeles within the confines of just a four-day window. The musicians were directed not to overthink the songs, and Helm herself barely performed any of the selections while leading up to the recording. As a result, the sessions forced fast musical trust among the collaborators and yielded the vibrant instrumental improvisations heard throughout This Too Shall Light.

Although a profound songwriter herself, Helm and Henry jointly arranged a diverse collection of songs for the record, which range from Rod Stewart’s “Mandolin Wind” to Allen Toussaint’s “Freedom for the Stallion” and even the Milk Carton Kids’ “Michigan.” The title track in particular, written by Hiss Golden Messenger’s MC Taylor and Josh Kaufman (Josh Ritter, Bob Weir, Craig Finn), ​is a brilliant summation of the record’s sound and spirit. Seemingly a play on the old adage that “This too shall pass,” Helm’s voice veers from commanding to supplicating within a single soulful verse, as she manipulates that message so that light leads throughout even the darkest of times.

A lifelong musician and music-lover, Helm’s parents —The Band’s legendary drummer and singer Levon Helm and singer/songwriter Libby Titus — guided her training and influences. She later became a founding member of the alt-country collective Ollabelle and served as a backing musician in her father’s Midnight Ramble Band. And on This Too Shall Light, Helm says that two songs in particular pay homage to Levon — “The Stones I Throw,” a song he released in 1965 with Levon and the Hawks, and the closing traditional number, an a cappella version of the hymnal “Gloryland,” which was passed from father to daughter.

While This Too Shall Light is only Helm’s second album under her own name, it serves as a comprehensive portrait covering her life’s journeys and recoveries; They’re the stories that, no matter where they take her, seem to end and begin in the same place like a circle.

About Neyla Pekarek
Neyla Pekarek began playing cello at age 9 in her native city of Denver, CO. She studied Musical Theatre and got a degree in Music Education at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, CO. Back in Denver and searching for a teaching position, she answered a Craigslist ad for a local folk band needing a cello player. This band was The Lumineers, and she soon became a core member of the group, playing on their GRAMMY-nominated self-titled debut and follow-up album, and performing on every continent (except Antarctica!). Neyla is a member of Sweet Adelines International, a women’s barbershop quartet organization, and she won the 2009 Rising Star championship with her quartet, Vogue. When not making music, Neyla enjoys collecting rubber stamps, true crime TV, and spending time with her pet bunny rabbit, Barbara.

The Rattlesnake live show consists of Neyla and with her 5-piece band.

Rattlesnake is an album inspired by the life of a Colorado pioneer woman, Rattlesnake Kate, who was infamous in the 1920’s for her death-defying encounter with a rattlesnake migration. The collection of songs, produced in the studio with Matt Ward (M. Ward, She & Him, Monsters of Folk), were written as a “Folk Opera,” recounting stories from her life, extracted from a 40-year love letter correspondence she kept with Colonel Charles D. Randolph, aka “Buckskin Bill,” during which they never met.

Show: 9p | Doors: 7p

Tickets: $25 advance / $30 door ($2 Service Charge Included With Online Tickets. All sales are final, no ticket refunds or exchanges.)

Visit Website: http://www.amyhelm.com

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