Levon Helm's Daughter Sues Over Alleged Illegal Takeover of Woodstock Music Studio

Amy Helm, daughter of the late Band drummer Levon Helm, has sued to regain control of her father's famed Woodstock music venue, accusing a minority shareholder of orchestrating an "illegal takeover" that removed her from management.

The lawsuit, filed October 16, 2026, in the New York Supreme Court in Ulster County, accuses Brian Parillo of using invalid shareholder votes to seize control of Levon Helm Studios, also known as the Barn. Helm wants the court to remove Parillo, restore her position as president and director, and invalidate the corporate actions that put him in charge.

The dispute centers on the company's ownership structure. Amy Helm and her stepmother, Sandra "Sandy" Helm, each own 40% of the studio, while Parillo and Barbara O'Brien, Levon Helm's former manager, hold 10% apiece. Despite his minority stake, Parillo claims to control 60% of the voting power through assignments from Sandra and O'Brien.

According to the complaint, those arrangements violated the company's governing documents, which require unanimous shareholder consent for corporate action taken without a meeting. Helm alleges she never signed the disputed consents and that no properly noticed shareholder meeting took place.

The contested actions began in June 2025, when Parillo allegedly persuaded Sandra and another shareholder to sign a document removing Amy as director. Further changes in May and June 2026 transferred additional authority to Parillo, including Sandra's voting rights. Helm argues those transactions were legally void.

Her lawsuit also accuses Parillo of exerting undue influence over Sandra, whom Amy has described in separate estate proceedings as vulnerable to manipulation. She alleges that Parillo exploited tensions surrounding accusations that Sandra had misappropriated hundreds of thousands of dollars from Levon Helm's estate.

Sandra has denied those allegations and publicly supported Parillo's leadership. Parillo has also rejected Amy's accusations, while a court-appointed guardian in the separate estate matter has raised questions about Sandra's voting arrangements without concluding that she lacked the ability to make her own decisions.

The fight over control of the Barn had already reached federal court. On August 10, Levon Helm Studios, under Parillo's management, sued Amy and several others, accusing her of financial misconduct and trademark infringement during her tenure as president from 2017 to 2026.

That lawsuit seeks at least $2 million in damages and alleges that Amy charged approximately $400,000 in personal expenses to the studio, including touring costs, insurance, legal fees, and other expenditures. The company also claims she improperly used trademarks associated with her father's Midnight Ramble concert series. Amy has denied the allegations, calling them "baseless" and "spurious."

The new state lawsuit challenges Parillo's authority to pursue that federal case on the studio's behalf. Amy also seeks damages and an accounting of his management of the company.

The leadership dispute has disrupted operations at the Woodstock venue, where several musicians canceled performances in solidarity with Amy Helm. The Barn, known for the intimate concerts Levon Helm hosted before his death in 2012, has held only a limited number of shows since the management change.

Both lawsuits remain pending, leaving the courts to address the competing allegations of financial misconduct and whether Parillo lawfully obtained control of the studio.