The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Amy Helm returns to Space Ballroom on Friday night
HAMDEN — Amy Helm was pretty well received when she performed at the Space Ballroom back in June — well enough that she’s back again Friday to play for the second time in seven months.
After all, what’s not to like?
Helm long ago moved beyond the simple fact that she’s the late Levon Helm’s daughter. She’s a fine performer in her own right who writes and sings beautiful songs with some of the best musicians in the business.
Showtime is 8 p.m. (Doors at 7.) Tickets for Helm are $25 in advance or $30 at the door, available in
advance at spaceballroom.com. The Space Ballroom is at 295 Treadwell St. The show is presented by Premier Concerts and Manic Presents.
Helm may have just put out her first solo album, “Didn’t It Rain,” in 2015, but she’s pretty much been making music her entire life — including as a longtime member of her father’s live band.
In addition to her work with her father, a roots music icon who was the drummer for The Band, she was part of the well-respected, alt-country collective Ollabelle, among other projects.
She has a simple formula for what she’s trying to accomplish.
“I’m just trying to tell some stories as honestly as I can,” Helm said in a promotional bio.
She does that with songwriting skills that are deeply immersed in American musical traditions — and a voice that makes you perk up and pay attention.
Levon Helm, a member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, was by no means the only musical influence in her life. . Amy Helm’s mother is singer/songwriter Libby Titus and her stepfather is Steely Dan co-founder Donald Fagen.