{"id":68428,"date":"2026-07-13T20:53:30","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T20:53:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/13\/amy-helm-removed-amid-takeover-fight\/"},"modified":"2026-07-13T20:53:30","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T20:53:30","slug":"amy-helm-removed-amid-takeover-fight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/13\/amy-helm-removed-amid-takeover-fight\/","title":{"rendered":"Amy Helm Removed Amid Takeover Fight"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\n\tA dispute at Levon Helm<\/a> Studios, the Woodstock studio and venue founded by the late Band drummer<\/a>, has led to the removal of Helm\u2019s daughter, singer-songwriter Amy Helm, from the management group.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tPer The Overlook<\/a><\/em>, a Hudson Valley news outlet, Levon Helm Studios is now being run by Brian Parillo, a musician and longtime shareholder in the space. Parillo has the support of Helm\u2019s widow, Sandra \u201cSandy\u201d Helm, but Amy has alleged that her stepmother was manipulated into backing Parillo (which Sandra has denied). <\/p>\n

\n\tThough news about the shake-up has only emerged now, Amy was ousted, and Parillo was put in charge, after a shareholder vote on May 26. (Parillo is backed by both Sandra and Barbara O\u2019Brien, another key shareholder, and Helm\u2019s former manager.) Along with Amy\u2019s ouster, several core staff members at the Barn, as the space is known, resigned, including the general manager, operations manager, and studio manager.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tTwo days after the May 26 vote, police were called to the Barn about an altercation between Amy and Parillo. Parillo claimed Amy \u201cbegan shoving him,\u201d while Amy said she put her hands on Parillo to stop him being aggressive toward her. A police report did not say who initiated the physical contact, and no charges were filed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tIn early June, Amy laid out her version of events in a filing in Ulster County Surrogate\u2019s Court, in which she asked the court to appoint Sandra a guardian in the ongoing matter of Helm\u2019s estate. Amy claimed that Sandra was susceptible to manipulation, and accused Parillo of \u201cfinancial exploitation and elder abuse.\u201d And she alleged that during the confrontation at the Barn on May 28, Sandra expressed regret over backing Parillo and said that she\u2019d been \u201cconned.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tThe police report from the May 28 incident also mentions that Amy and Sandra \u201creported that Parillo is trying to take over the company and obtain ownership.\u201d And the two reportedly mentioned \u201congoing issues with the business and business partners\u201d to the police.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\n\tIn her new interview with The Overlook<\/em>, however, Sandra denied Amy\u2019s claims and reiterated her support for Parillo. Sandra said she wanted to see new leadership at the Barn after growing concerned that the venue wasn\u2019t booking enough shows, and the shows it was hosting weren\u2019t in-line with its original rock & roll character. Backing Parillo, Sandra said, \u201cwas a way to show Amy that I was serious about restructuring and a new administration, and this is who it\u2019s going to be.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tAs for what happened on May 28, Sandra admitted to being disoriented, but said it was because of the confrontation and the departures of several key Barn employees. (\u201cI didn\u2019t fire anybody,\u201d Sandra said. \u201cI didn\u2019t want anybody to quit.\u201d) She also said her behavior was not evidence that she was being coerced and stated her opposition to Amy\u2019s request for a court-appointed guardian.<\/p>\n

\n\tOn Sunday, Amy posted her first public statement on Instagram<\/a>, writing, \u201cIn time, I will be able to speak to the disturbing circumstances behind the current situation at my father\u2019s home and recording studio. Neither I, nor our long time core staff, are currently part of Levon Helm Studios and have nothing to do with any decisions made or actions taken by the new \u2018management.\u2019 What\u2019s paramount to us right now is making sure that The Barn \u2014 both the legacy and the community of which we\u2019re family \u2014 is safe and protected.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tA rep for Amy declined to comment further. <\/p>\n

\n\tIn a statement shared with Rolling Stone<\/em>, Parillo noted his long friendship with Helm and Sandy, which began after the late drummer asked Parillo and his band to play with him in Woodstock. \u201cI am saddened that Amy Helm, his daughter, has chosen to make a private family matter public, and we now have no choice but to respond to set the record straight,\u201d Parillo said.<\/p>\n

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\n\tParillo alleged that, in the 14 years since Helm\u2019s 2012 death, Amy had denied him, Sandra, and the other shareholders \u201caccess to any corporate records or any meaningful updates on how the company was being run.\u201d They also had concerns that Amy had \u201ccoopted and mismanaged\u201d Helm\u2019s legacy. This, Parillo said, is what prompted Sandra and the other shareholders to back his takeover, so that he \u201ccould conduct an investigation into how LHS has been run.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cNo one is above being held to the legal, ethical and moral standards of running a company for the benefit of all of its stakeholders, which we believe includes Levon, our performers, guests, employees, officers, directors and stockholders. No claim of \u2018birthright\u2019 washes clean a decade plus of malfeasance,\u201d Parillo said in the statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tWhile he did not level any specific allegations of malfeasance, Parillo said that the \u201cinitial phase\u201d of the investigation had been completed and sent to Amy \u201cin connection with a settlement offer.\u201d But, he stated, \u201cAmy has made her response publicly known. She would rather burn her father\u2019s company to the ground by mobilizing ignorance and hatred against LHS instead of accepting responsibility for her actions. If she can\u2019t have it, then no one can.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n\tAmid the dispute, some concerts at the Barn have continued, but several Helm Family Midnight Ramble shows \u2014 a special concert series that Helm himself launched in 2004 to stave off foreclosure \u2014 have been postponed. While Parillo told The Overlook<\/em> it \u201cremains to be seen\u201d if the Midnight Ramble shows will continue, he\u2019s pushing ahead with a new manager and plans to book more shows. He also said he\u2019s not taking a salary at the moment.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tWhile the shakeup has left Parillo in control of Levon Helm Studios, and with a majority of shareholder votes, he does not have a majority ownership position. Amy and Sandra each maintain 40 percent of the company, while Parillo and O\u2019Brien still have 10 percent each.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n