Levon Helm & Emmylou Harris’ Summerstage Ramble
Two of America’s musical legends teamed up this past Monday in Central Park, when Emmylou Harris and Levon Helm delivered a perfect night of music. Emmylou’s set leaned heavy on newer cuts from her Hard Bargain album, but also touched on classics like “Red Dirt Girl” and a gorgeous rendition of “Long Black Veil.”
Levon and his band, anchored by the amazing Larry Campbell, took the stage next to deliver a fantastic set of Band chestnuts, newer cuts, and covers. Levon himself seemed complacent to stick to the drums, handling vocals only on the opening “Ophelia,” an amazing take on The Last Waltz classic “Evangeline” (with Emmylou helping on vocals), and taking one verse of “The Weight” to close the evening. Other highlights included a powerful one-two punch of Grateful Dead staples “Deep Elem Blues,” followed by “Attics Of My Life,” which saw Levon take a step back and let Larry, Theresa Campbell, and daughter Amy Helm shine. David Bromberg made a surprise appearance for his new song, “Tounge,” which had been recorded at Levon’s barn recently. The night closed with an appropriate rendition of “The Weight,” featuring several sit-ins from folks including Emmylou, Joan Osborne, Shawn Colvin, and David Bromberg. I caught the whole thing below (pardon my singing…it was that much fun!).
