Levon Helm Studios: A Live Music Landmark in the Catskills

Levon Helm Studios, a warm, intimate music venue tucked into a barn in Woodstock, is hands-down one of the best places to see live music in New York. If there are any bands you like on their upcoming shows list, go ahead and get tickets right now. (And if you don’t live nearby, see if you can also snag a room for the night of the show at the Herwood, a 4-room boutique hotel with suites inspired by lady musicians.)

Levon Helm, the drummer and one of the vocalists for The Band, designed the Barn with acoustics in mind, so there might be a scientific reason for why every song sounds so big and warm and beautiful in this landmark room. Maybe it’s the materials that were used to construct the Barn in 1975—local bluestone, hemlock, and pine—or maybe it’s the vaulted shape of the space or just a particularly excellent sound system.

I like to think that all the artists who’ve graced this stage, from David Crosby, Mavis Staples, and Emmylou Harris to My Morning Jacket, Lucinda Williams, and Steve Earle have left behind a patina of good juju. I could feel it when I walked into the room.

We were lucky to catch Scott McMicken of Dr. Dog play there in November ‘22 with his new band, the Ever-Expanding, and we scored seats A-1 and A-2, right around the corner of the stage. It almost felt like we were in the band, especially when the tiny daughter of drummer Nick Kinsey from Chicken Shack Recording came up to cuddle with her dad while he played. (Check out the photo at the top of this post—so cute!)

Every seat feels close here. As you can see in the video below, the folks in the front row are so close that they’re actually resting their feet on the stage.

Levon Helm Studios: Stage and seating

Scott’s new record, Shabang, came out today and I can see it becoming a staple of backyard parties for many years to come. The Ever-Expanding will be playing at Music Hall of Williamsburg on 4/20/23 (I’ll be there!) and again at the Avalon Lounge in Catskill on 4/22/23 which is sure to be a super fun show.

Levon Helm Studios is located at 160 Plochmann Lane, Woodstock, NY;  (845) 679-2744.