Amy Helm & The Handsome Strangers Ramble Down to Key West to Perform Concert at Fort East Martello
Singer and musician Amy Helm and her band The Handsome Strangers will perform an outdoor evening concert on Saturday, April 16, at historic Fort East Martello, 3501 S. Roosevelt Blvd. They will perform from Helm’s debut “Didn’t It Rain,” an album saturated with a roots-rock vibe and recorded in her father’s barn in Woodstock, N.Y., home of the Midnight Ramble.
“When we first learned of the opportunity to bring down Amy Helm, we jumped right on it,” says Key West Concerts co-producer Evan Haskell. “She is steeped in the American musical tradition and brings along some of the best players with her.”
Helm hails from a lineage of musical icons; she is the daughter of drummer and vocalist Levon Helm of The Band (who contributed to her new release) and acclaimed singer-songwriter Libby Titus (who has penned compositions for Linda Ronstadt, Carly Simon and Bonnie Raitt), and the stepdaughter of Steely Dan’s Donald Fagen, musicians who were pivotal to her artistic development. For more than two decades, she has won widespread praise as a singer, songwriter and live performer, first as a member of the celebrated alt-country collective Ollabelle and subsequently for her extensive work with her father, musical icon Levon Helm, who passed away in 2012.
Helm and her band The Handsome Strangers- bassist Jacob Silver, guitarist Adam Minkoff, and drummer David Berger- will take the stage as part of Key West Art & Historical Society’s “Music at Martello Series”, a program established to promote the arts and bring live music to the Keys and foster the Fort as a community venue. Helm’s new release has been noted for its “rewarding listening experience,” and her “agile voice moving between gospel, country, folk, and blues capably.” Together with The Handsome Strangers, they will bring to life the recordings she and her band have recently released.
“I think that the job of a musician is to try and shake people out of their own heads for an hour or two, and bring some joy into the world,” says Helm. “So I want to get out there and do the job the best I can.”
Doors open at 4:45. TBA at 5:45 with Helm taking the stage at 7p.m. Concertgoers may bring low-profile chairs or blankets for the “backyard casual” setup that will include food and libations from local vendors. Discounted tickets can be purchased in advance for only $20 at www.keywestconcerts.com or at the door for $25.; children under 12 admitted free. Parking will be available for $5, bike parking is free.
The concert is sponsored in part by We Cycle, WonderDog Productions, and Eden House. Portions of the evening’s proceeds benefit KWAHS’s educational programs. KWAHS members can receive a special discounted ticket price by contacting Membership Development Director Kim Livingston at 305.295.6616 x 106. Your Museums. Your Community. It Takes an Island.