10/14/2025
From "Levon Helm: Rock, Roll & Ramble:"
Levon over the course of his career played some very big gigs.
There was Carnegie Hall and Madison Square Garden with The Band and Bob Dylan, Wembley Stadium in London with The Band and while leading the Levon Helm Band in July 2010, Radio City Music Hall with Willie Nelson.
It’s all but certain, however, that Mark Lavon Helm would tell you that one of his favorite shows was the annual concert the Levon Helm Band played at the Gill Farms farm stand on Route 209 in Hurley, New York, just a few miles from Plochmann Lane and Woodstock.The Gill Farms show was special for a lot of reasons—the hayride, the corn chowder, and the pumpkin cannon that launched pumpkins for what seemed like a mile over the Gill family’s fields, in the direction of Hurley Mountain Road.
That swath of Ulster County reminded Levon of the Mississippi Delta cotton country, where he grew up.
There were typically thousands at these shows. But with everything going on—and there was a lot, including dogs and kids running everywhere—the most incredible sight was watching Levon when that pumpkin cannon got ready to fire. You could hear the mechanics of it kick in right before takeoff—and see his grin grow wide.
Those free concerts at Gill Farms typically took place in early October. We call that autumn, but Levon would refer to it as “harvest time.” These gigs were probably the only concerts where Levon was driven to the stage in a John Deere Gator. The Gill Farms shows struck at the core of Levon’s origins—performing live music for an audience and farming. And they usually took place on one of those stunning, crisp, sun-drenched autumn days that you can only find in the Hudson Valley.
