New Album ‘Carry Me Home’ Feat. Mavis Staples + Levon Helm Out Now
’Carry Me Home’ is out now, an album of music recorded live in the summer of 2011 by renowned artists Mavis Staples and Levon Helm at Levon Helm‘s Studios in Woodstock, NY. Out now is Staples and Helm’s poignant rendition of The Staple Singers song "This May Be The Last Time” alongside a new video featuring the two of them performing together.
‘Carry Me Home’ showcases two of the past century’s most iconic voices coming together in love and joy, tracing their shared roots and celebrating the enduring power of faith and music. The setlist was righteous that night, mixing vintage gospel and soul with timeless folk and blues, and the performances were loose and playful, fueled by an ecstatic atmosphere that was equal parts family reunion and tent revival. The result is an album that’s at once a time capsule and a memorial, a blissful homecoming and a fond farewell, a once-in-a-lifetime concert—and friendship—preserved for the ages.
“It never crossed my mind that it might be the last time we’d see each other,” says Staples. “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 spent five or six days in Woodstock before the performance, laughing and trading stories and going for walks around the property with Helm. As she recalls, there was very little rehearsing going on—save for a memorable moment when Helm sat down at his grandson’s tiny drumset to run a tune with her—but his daughter Amy Helm remembers her father practicing for hours on end before the concert, determined to make sure everything was just right.
“Everybody in the Ramble band was laughing because it was the first and last time we’d ever seen my dad show up for rehearsals like that,” says Amy. “He would have done anything for Mavis.”
Tomorrow night Staples and Amy Helm will perform together at the Brooklyn Academy of Music to celebrate the album’s release; they will also be performing together throughout the UK in June. All upcoming tour dates for both artists are listed below.
MAVIS STAPLES TOUR DATES
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%
10/7 - Helena, AR – King Biscuit Blues Festival
10/8 - Germantown, TN – Germantown Performing Arts Center
12/9 – Costa Mesa, CA – Segerstrom Center for the Arts
12/11 - Tucson, AZ – Fox Tucson Theatre
% - with Bonnie Raitt
$ - with Amy Helm
AMY HELM TOUR DATES
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$
6/18 - Tunbridge Wells, UK – Black Deer Festival 2022
6/20 – London, UK – St. Pancras Old Church
7/8 - Lafayette, NY – Beak & Skiff Apple Orchards &
7/9 - Marshfield, MA – Levitate Music Festival 2022 &
7/10 - Portland, ME – Thompson's Point Outdoor Concerts and Events &
7/12 - Hollywood, CA – The Hotel Café
7/13 - Santa Cruz, CA – Kuumbwa Jazz Center
7/15 - Navarro, CA – Redwood Ramble
7/16 - Berkeley, CA – Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse
7/24 - Portland, OR – The Old Church
7/25 - Seattle, WA – Jazz Alley
7/26 - Seattle, WA – Jazz Alley
8/1 - 8/5 Big Indian, NY – Roots Rock Revival 2022
8/10 - Woodbridge Township, NJ – Woodbridge Wednedays
8/12 - Fall River, MA – Narrows Center For The Arts
8/13 - Essex, VT – Essex Experience
8/26 - Missoula, MT – River City Roots Festival 2022
9/3 - Pagosa Springs, Colorado – Four Corners Folk Festival 2022
9/29 - New York, NY – Beacon Theatre w/ Tedeschi Trucks Band
^ - with Little Feat
$ - with Mavis Staples
& - with Phil Lesh and Friends