Levon Helm kicks off the Americana Music Festival

Levon Helm at the Ryman
Chris Parker
The legendary drummer and vocalist from The Band, Helm is fluent in the entire spectrum of Americana including blues, gospel, country and folk, making him an apt choice to kick-off the Americana Music Association's annual festival. His strong lean tenor will forever be associated with "The Weight," but his career has continued beyond The Band's Last Waltz. He recorded a couple solo albums and reunited The Band (minus guitarist Robbie Robertson) in the '80s, then again in the '90s (without keyboardist/vocalist Rick Danko, who committed suicide during the '86 tour). A battle with throat cancer several years ago almost took Helm's voice, but he continued to host his famous late-night hootenannies--dubbed The Midnight Ramble--at his Woodstock, N.Y., farm. Last year, Helm returned with his first solo album in 25 years, the bluegrass-flavored Dirt Farmer. Showcasing a recovered voice, it won the Grammy for Best Traditional Folk Album.