New Mavis Staples, Levon Helm Live Album, ‘Carry Me Home,’ Set to Release

Music royalty Mavis Staples and Levon Helm (of The Band) have a new collaborative live album, Carry Me Home, set to release on May 20.

The new record, which was announced Tuesday (March 15), was recorded in Woodstock, New York at Levon Helm Studios in the summer of 2011. The collaboration marks one of Helm’s final recordings before his death in April 2012.

Fans can check out the just-released track, “You Got To Move,” which features footage from the show’s rehearsals below.

“It never crossed my mind that it might be the last time we’d see each other,” said Staples of their time together during the recording. “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.”

Staples is also set to perform with Amy Helm, Levon’s daughter, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music on May 20 and at Upstate New York’s Dirt Farmer Festival on May 21.

“My dad built The Midnight Rambles to restore his spirit, his voice, and his livelihood,” said 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.”

Opened to the public in 2004, Levon Helm Studios—which still hosts regular concerts and recording sessions—is a picturesque, rustic space with broad wooden beams and a soaring, vaulted ceiling. Helm and fellow Band-mate Garth Hudson designed the room.

After the 2011 recording, Staples and Helm embraced. Remembered Staples, “We hugged and hugged and hugged. I just held on to him. I didn’t know it’d be the last time, but in my heart and in my mind, Levon will always be with me because I take him everywhere I go. Yes, indeed. I can see him right now. And some sweet day, we’ll be together again.”

Pre-Order Carry Me Home and see the tracklist here below:

1. This Is My Country
2. Trouble In My Mind
3. Farther Along
4. Hand Writing On The Wall
5. I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free
6. Move Along Train
7. This May Be The Last Time
8. When I Go Away
9. Wide River To Cross
10. You Got To Move
11. You Got To Serve Somebody
12. The Weight

MAVIS STAPLES TOUR DATES
4/1 – Savannah, GA – Savannah Music Festival
4/14 – Beverly, MA – The Cabot
4/23 – Oxford, MS – Double Decker Festival 2022
4/24 – North Charleston, SC – High Water Fest 2022
4/28 – New Orleans, LA – Mardi Gras World
4/30 – Charlotte, NC – Tuck Fest
5/14 – Huntsville, AL – Orion Amphitheater
5/20 – Brooklyn, NY – BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music)$
5/21 – Accord, NY – Dirt Farmer Festival at Arrowood Farms$
5/28 – Toronto, Canada – Massey Hall
6/4 – Barcelona, Spain – Primavera Sound 2022
6/7 – Brussels, Belgium – Ancienne Belgique$
6/8 – Paris, France – La Cigale$
6/10 – Hilvarenbeek, Netherlands – Best Kept Secret 2022
6/11 – Kidlington, UK – Kite Festival 2022
6/13 – Stroud, UK – Subscription Rooms$
6/14 – Edinburgh, UK – Usher Hall$
6/16 – London, UK – Union Chapel$
6/17 – London, UK – Union Chapel$
6/19 – Newport, UK – Isle of Wight Festival
7/9 – Orillia, Canada – Mariposa Folk Festival
7/19 – Cincinnati, OH – The Andrew J. Brady Music Center%
7/20 – Huber Heights, OH – Rose Music Center at The Heights%
7/22 – Rochester Hills, MI – Meadow Brook Amphitheatre%
7/23 – Chicago, IL – Wrigley Field w/ Chris Stapleton
7/26 – Madison, WI – Overture Center for the Arts%
7/29 – Waite Park, MN – The Ledge Amphitheater%
7/30 – Sioux City, IA – Sioux City Orpheum%
8/2 – Lincoln, NE – Pinewood Bowl Amphitheater%
8/3 – Cedar Rapids, IA – McGrath Amphitheatre%
8/5 – St. Louis, MO – Fabulous Fox%
8/6 – Kansas City, MO – Starlight Theatre%
8/9 – Salina, KS – Stiefel Theatre for the Performing Arts%
8/11 – Morrison, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheatre%
8/14 – Boise, ID – Idaho Botanical Garden%
8/17 – Walla Walla, WA – Wine Country Amphitheater%
8/22 – Bend, OR – Hayden Homes Amphitheater%
8/23 – Eugene, OR – The Cuthbert Amphitheater%
8/26 – Troutdale, OR – McMenamins Edgefield %
9/17 – Napa, CA – Oxbow RiverStage%
9/18 – Berkeley, CA – The Greek Theatre Berkeley%
9/20 – Paso Robles, CA – Vina Robles Amphitheatre%
9/22 – Santa Barbara, CA – Santa Barbara Bowl%
9/24 – Los Angeles, CA – The Greek Theatre%
9/27 – San Diego, CA – The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park%
12/9 – Costa Mesa, CA – Segerstrom Center for the Arts
% – with Bonnie Raitt
$ – with Amy Helm

AMY HELM TOUR DATES
3/17 – Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium^
3/19 – Knoxville, TN – Tennessee Theatre^
3/20 – Birmingham, AL – Alabama Theatre^
3/22 – Atlanta, GA – Atlanta Symphony Hall^
3/23 – Mobile, AL – Saenger Theatre Mobile^
3/25 – New Orleans, LA – Saenger Theatre^
3/26 – Houston, TX – 713 Music Hall^
3/27 – Dallas, TX – Majestic Theatre^
4/1 – Turners Falls, MA – Shea Theater Arts Center
4/2 – Earlville, NY – Earlville Opera House
4/3 – Rochester, NY – Louis S. Walk JCC of Greater Rochester
4/6 – New York, NY – Café Wha
4/8 – Plymouth, MA – Spire Center for Performing Arts
4/9 – Tabor, NJ – At The Tabernacle
4/19 – Richmond, VA – Carpenter Theatre^
4/20 – Virginia Beach, VA – Sandler Center for the Performing Arts^
4/21 – Durham, NC – Carolina Theater^
4/23 – Savannah, GA – Johnny Mercer Theatre^
4/25 – Jacksonville, FL – Florida Theatre^
4/26 – Augusta, GA – Miller Theater^
4/30 – Patchogue, NY – Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts
5/20 – Brooklyn, NY – BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music)$
5/21 – Accord, NY – Dirt Farmer Festival at Arrowood Farms$
5/28 – Frenchtown, NJ – Artyard
6/7 – Brussels, Belgium – Ancienne Belgique$
6/8 – Paris, France – La Cigale$
6/11 – Bristol, UK – Louisiana
6/13 – Stroud, UK – Subscription Rooms$
6/14 – Edinburgh, UK – Usher Hall$
6/16 – London, UK – Union Chapel$
6/17 – London, UK – Union Chapel$
6/20 – London, UK – St. Pancras Old Church
8/1 – Big Indian, NY – Roots Rock Revival 2022
^ – with Little Feat
$ – with Mavis Staples

Photo by Myriam Santos, courtesy ANTI-