FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 15, 2022
Contact: kelly@epitaph.com

ANTI- RECORDS ANNOUNCES ‘CARRY ME HOME’

A NEW ALBUM FEATURING THE MUSIC OF
MAVIS STAPLES + LEVON HELM

COMING OUT MAY 20

LISTEN TO “YOU GOT TO MOVE”

Photo Credit: Greg McKean

MAVIS STAPLES + AMY HELM TO PERFORM AT BROOKLYN ACADEMY OF MUSIC ON MAY 20, UPSTATE NY’S DIRT FARMER FESTIVAL ON MAY 21

Captured at Woodstock, New York’s Levon Helm Studios in the summer of 2011, ANTI- Records is excited to announce ‘Carry Me Home’, a new album that showcases the music of Mavis Staples and Levon Helm, two of the past century’s most iconic voices who came together in love and joy, tracing their shared roots and celebrating the enduring power of faith and music. Watch and listen below to their version of “You Got To Move” that also features footage of Mavis and Levon rehearsing together.

“You Got To Move”: https://youtu.be/RFu9qnI3APo

Neither Staples nor Helm knew that this would be their last performance together—the collection marks one of Helm’s final recordings before his death—and listening back now, a little more than a decade later, tunes like “This May Be The Last Time” and “Farther Along” take on new, bittersweet meaning. 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.”

The pair’s mutual love and admiration is on full display on ‘Carry Me Home’, which features a mix of Staples’ and Helm’s bands operating at the peak of their powers as they work their way through an eclectic setlist of tunes made famous by the likes of Nina Simone, The Impressions, Bob Dylan, and The Rolling Stones.

“My dad built The Midnight Rambles to restore his spirit, his voice, and his livelihood,” says Helm’s daughter, 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 to this day—is a magnificent, rustic space with broad wooden beams and a soaring, vaulted ceiling. Helm and fellow Band-mate Garth Hudson designed the room to be both sonically and socially perfect, an intimate gathering place where musicians and their fans could join in a shared night of musical transcendence.

When it was all over, Staples could hardly believe how quickly the time had flown. She dreaded the thought of leaving Woodstock, of leaving Levon, but duty called her back on the road, and so she ended her week the way it began: with a long embrace.

“We hugged and hugged and hugged,” Staples recalls. “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."

Staples and Amy Helm will also be performing together on the album’s release day, May 20, at Brooklyn Academy of Music and at the Dirt Farmer Festival on May 21 with the Midnight Ramble Band and others. All upcoming dates for both artists are listed below.
 

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 – Magestic 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

Pre-Order ‘Carry Me Home’

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

https://mavisstaples.com/
https://levonhelm.com/
http://www.amyhelm.com/

For More Info, Contact:
Kelly Kettering | ANTI- Records Publicity | kelly@epitaph.com