Amy Helm Sues Over 'Illegal Takeover' of Levon Helm's Barn

Amy Helm, daughter of late Band drummer Levon Helm, filed a lawsuit on Tuesday claiming she was pushed out of Levon Helm Studio in Woodstock through what she calls an "illegal takeover" of the venue.

The suit, filed in connection with the storied Woodstock barn studio, targets Brian Parillo, a local musician and friend of Levon Helm's. It's a direct escalation in a family and corporate fight that has already drawn cancellations from artists and a competing federal lawsuit against Amy herself.

Who did what, according to the suit?

The mechanism matters here. Parillo received a 10 percent shareholder stake when Levon Helm Studios — known as the Barn — was incorporated in the mid-2000s. Earlier this year, with the backing of Helm's widow, Sandra "Sandy" Helm, and former manager Barbara O'Brien, another minority shareholder, Parillo took charge of the venue.

The lawsuit lays out the alleged sequence:

• In June 2025, Parillo allegedly convinced Sandy and "another shareholder" to sign a shareholder consent removing Amy as director.
• In late May and early June, Parillo allegedly got Sandy to step down as director and assign him her voting rights.

"Every one of these corporate acts is void," the lawsuit claims. It argues the company's Certificate of Incorporation (the founding document that sets a corporation's rules) "does not permit shareholders to act by written consent of fewer than all shareholders," and that Amy "never signed any of the consents." No shareholder meeting was ever "noticed or held," the suit adds.

Sandy is not named as a defendant.

What does Amy Helm want from the court?

Amy is asking to "reassert control of LHS," requesting an order that would remove Parillo and recognize her as director and president. She also wants the court to declare Parillo's actions void, including his authority to bring a federal lawsuit filed against her in August.

The suit goes further on Sandy's role. It claims Parillo "coerced" Sandy into signing the 2025 shareholder consent, and that the corporate moves should be void "because Parillo produced them through undue influence over a vulnerable person who lacked the ability to understand the nature and consequences."

The filing notes that in a separate estate matter, Amy alleged Sandy had "misappropriated… hundreds of thousands of dollars" in Levon Helm estate assets.

Reps for Parillo and Levon Helm Studios did not immediately return a request for comment.

The countersuit: $400,000 in disputed charges

This isn't a one-sided fight. In August, the Barn's new management sued Amy, accusing her of financial mismanagement during her tenure as president between 2017 and 2026. That suit claims a review of financial records "uncovered millions of dollars of self-dealing transactions apparently authorized by Amy, or for her benefit."

The filing says Amy charged $400,000 to LHS for expenses ranging from touring costs to "personal tax repayments, her health and life insurance, her driver, her personal lawyer's fees." Of that, $167,000 was allegedly "so unrelated to the company" that Helm's accountant — also a defendant — couldn't "justify them as legitimate expenses" and categorized them as "Due from Amy."

Amy's response at the time was blunt: "I unilaterally deny any and all of these baseless, spurious allegations."

What has the takeover meant for the Barn?

The venue has felt the fallout. In earlier estate-related filings, Amy claimed Sandy was susceptible to manipulation and accused Parillo of "financial exploitation and elder abuse." She also said that during a confrontation after the shareholder meeting, Sandy expressed regret and said she'd been "conned."

Sandy has denied Amy's claims and continues to back Parillo. Parillo has denied the allegations too, and accuses Amy of blocking him and other shareholders from corporate records.

The practical damage is already visible: after Amy's ouster, many artists canceled shows at the Barn in solidarity with her. The venue has since hosted only two concerts, by guitarist and singer Laith Al-Saadi in late September.

With dueling lawsuits now on file — Amy's state claim and the federal case against her — the court will effectively decide who runs the Barn Levon Helm built. Until then, one of Woodstock's most famous studios sits mostly dark.