Recorded in 2011 at Levon’s great Midnight Ramble series at his barn in Woodstock, NY, this new release captures two of our favorites with their bands having a great time playing together. “It never crossed my mind that it might be the last time we’d see each other,” says Staples. “He was so full of life and so happy that week. He was the same old Levon I’d always known, just a beautiful spirit inside and out.” “My dad built The Midnight Rambles to restore his spirit, his voice, and his livelihood,” says Helm’s daughter, Amy, who sang backup vocals with her father and Staples at their performance. “He’d risen back up from all that had laid him down, and to have Mavis come sing and sanctify that stage was the ultimate triumph for him.”
Mavis Staples and Levon Helm were friends and on-and-off music collaborators going back to the days when The Staples Singers joined The Band to record their star-studded farewell concert The Last Waltz in the 1970s.
Friday springs eternal, even in the heat of summer. And this week is especially steamy because it’s almost 100 degrees outside and because the lineup of Finally Friday is fantastic and it is live and in person at the Eastside Bowl in Madison once again. The triple bill features Alabama country soul stalwart Adam Hood, the rockin’ and rollin’ Youngers from PA and Canada’s answer to Little Feat, the Brothers Landreth.
Myles Mancuso was born in 1995 near Poughkeepsie, New York into a family of Italian heritage. His parents, Rebecca and Nick Mancuso, have always been his biggest fans.