I’m really hoping my schedule allows me the opportunity to attend the Wilco curated Solid Sound Festival, which takes places at Mass MoCA in North Adams, MA on June 24-26, 2011. The festival entertainment line-up was announced today that includes a diverse collection of music, comedy and art.

Solid Sound 2011 Festival Line-Up:

Wilco (Friday + Saturday headlining sets)
The Levon Helm Band
Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth)
Pillow Wand (Nels Cline & Thurston Moore duo)
Glenn Kotche
The Autumn Defense
Pronto
Comedy Cabaret curated by John Hodgman featuring Wyatt Cenac, Eugene Mirman and Morgan Murphy
Syl Johnson & The Sweet Divines
Dave Douglas & Brass Ecstasy
Handsome Family
Liam Finn
Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion
JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound
Here We Go Magic
Sic Alps
Purling Hiss
Story Pirates

Tickets for the three-day festival are $124.50 and on sale now at solidsoundfestival.com. Price includes admission to festival and museum, service fees and designated festival parking.

“The Weight” is one of the best penned songs as far as I’m concerned. I actually got to hear Levon play it in person last year in Chicago. It’s been some time since we shared a cover of the song, but this one is far too special to let pass without a mention. Elvis Costello’s Spectacle has become essential viewing at my house. Most recently, Costello closed out his show with one of the greatest collective talents on one stage for a rousing cover of The Band’s “The Weight.”

Watch as Ray LaMontagne, Levon Helm, Nick Lowe, Richard Thompson, Larry Campbell and Allen Toussaint join Elvis Costello & the Imposters on “The Weight.”

For the remainder of 2009 we will be featuring albums that meant a lot to us this decade. I have really enjoyed spending quality time with my record collection and not just what is new and current. One thing this collection will not be is all-encompassing. We will be deliberately leaving out some of the universal favorites (Kid A, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, Funeral, etc) because you’ll see them everywhere, and the last thing we want to do is state the obvious.

Instead, this collection will very much an outlet for us to share/discuss our favorites over the past 10 years with a focus on albums that we feel have been overlooked in the lists we’ve seen roll out this far.

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Levon Helm | Dirt Farmer (2007)

Levon Helm is a man who’s made herculean contributions to rock and roll. Anyone that’s spent time with Music from Big Pink and The Band know exactly what I mean by that. Helm’s musical career could have ended with The Last Waltz, he pursued acting, dabbled in solo output, and, on occasion, tried to get The Band back together.

Fast forward nearly 30 years after The Last Waltz, Levon Helm overcomes throat cacner and the the likelihood that he will never sing again. With the help of his daughter and long-time Dylan accomplice, Larry Campbell, Helm begins a recording session in now famous barn that houses the legendary Midnight Ramble sessions. The rest is history. Dirt Farmer earned Helm a Grammy for “Best Traditional Folk Album” rejuvenating an artist, career, and spirit.

I had the good pleasure of seeing Levon Helm at Chicago Theatre in June of this year. Though the show was sadly under attended, Levon Helm and his outstanding band delivered well past the three hour mark. My wish is that I’ll someday make the trip to Woodstock, N.Y., timing my travel to afford a stop at Cooperstown along the way, and stand amongst the cramped, yet comfortable confines of a live Midnight Ramble at Levon Helm’s barn. I understand this wish has a diminishing window of time to make a reality. Until then, Dirt Farmer remains one of my favorite albums of the past decade. It’s an album that, like its creator, ages like fine wine, the longer you spend with it the more it rewards you.

Best Live Show I Saw: Chicago Theatre (2009)
Best Tracks: “Poor Old Dirt Farmer” “The Girl I Left Behind” “Got Me A Woman” “A Train Robbery”
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Buy: Levon Helm – Dirt Farmer

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We’re eagerly devouring our advance copy of Levon Helm’s Electric Dirt. A couple spins through and I’m pretty satisfied. It’s got big shoes to fill following up the Grammy Award-winning Dirt Farmer, but the cover of “Tennessee Jed” is worth the price of admission alone.

Above catch the EPK of the creative process that went into the new record. Pick up Electric Dirt via Vanguard Records on June 30th.

Finally, don’t miss Levon Helm at the Chicago Theatre on Tuesday, June 9th.

Pre-Order: Levon Helm – Electric Dirt

I will definitely be heading to Chicago for this one. Levon Helm’s Dirt Farmer remains in heavy rotation some two years since its release. We recently informed you about his new album, Electric Dirt, arriving June 30th, but it seems the good news continues to roll in.

Levon Helm will perform the Chicago Theatre on Tuesday, June 9th. Tickets range in price from $38.00 – $72.50 and go on sale Saturday, April 18th at noon (central). This show will probably keep me satisfied until I can break away for my road trip up to Levon’s house for one of his legendary Midnight Rambles.

Discuss: Any readers seen Levon Helm in concert? How about any Midnight Ramble attendees? Obviously, I’d be thrilled to hear from anybody that ever saw The Band too. Drop a comment and share your experience.

Levon Helm readies the release of new album, Electric Dirt on June 30th. If you’re not familiar with Helms Grammy award winning Dirt Farmer, please check out these videos.

Arriving on June 30th, “Electric Dirt starts off with a rousing rendition of The Grateful Dead’s “Tennessee Jed” moving on to a beautiful stripped down version of Happy Traum’s “Golden Bird.” “Growing Trade”, written by Levon Helm & Larry Campbell tells a deeply heartfelt story of a farmer’s struggle to preserve his livelihood and the rousing horns on “Kingfish” written by Randy Newman, brings the swagger of New Orleans to the forefront.”

Seeing one of Levon’s Midnight Rambles at his upstate New York home/barn sits at the top of my list to do. Hopefully I can cross that off this summer. Until then, check the Electric Dirt track list below.

Track Listing:

1. Tennessee Jed
2. Move Along Train
3. Growing Trade
4. Golden Bird
5. Stuff You Gotta Watch
6. White Dove
7. King Fish
8. You Can’t Lose What You Ain’t Never Had
9. When I Go Away
10. Heaven’s Pearls
11. I Wish I Knew How it Would Feel To Be Free