The Folk Americana Roots Hall of Fame is honoring a rock-and-roll legend with its newest display, This Wheel’s Still On Fire: The Legacy of Levon Helm. The exhibit, curated by Museum Collective, will feature never-before-displayed items, including personal photographs, instruments from members of The Band, tour memorabilia, awards, and interviews with friends and fellow musicians including Bruce Springsteen, Jackson Browne, Max Weinberg, and more. This Wheel’s Still On Fire will also allow guests to follow in Helm’s footsteps and play the drums, as Ramble Band guest drummer and multi-instrumentalist Charley Dayton provides a video tutorial. The exhibit opens inside the lower lobby of the Boch Center Wang Theatre on August 15 and will be on public display during tours and on all show days. Tour tickets will be available for purchase later this month at FolkAmericanaRootsHallofFame.org.
“This exhibit gives audiences a rare, behind-the-scenes look at one of the most unique and influential artists in American music history,” said Casey Soward, President and CEO of the Boch Center. “We’re thrilled to bring Levon Helm’s legacy to life for fans in Boston and beyond.”
To kick off the new exhibit, the Boch Center Wang Theatre is hosting a members-only VIP opening on August 14 that will include a question-and-answer session with Bob Santelli, founding executive director of the Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music at Monmouth University; Levon’s daughter, acclaimed musician Amy Helm; and other special guests. To learn about becoming a member, visit www.FARHOF.org/support/individual-giving.
This Wheel’s Still On Fire: The Legacy of Levon Helm explores the life, legacy, and continued influence of Levon Helm. From his earliest years growing up in Turkey Scratch, Arkansas, Levon was surrounded by music and community. Helm began his music career in high school when Ronnie Hawkins invited him to join his band. By the early 1960s, Levon and Hawkins had recruited Canadian musicians Rick Danko, Richard Manuel, Garth Hudson, and Robbie Robertson to form Levon and the Hawks, which later became Bob Dylan’s backing group, The Band.
After The Band’s 1976 performance in The Last Waltz, the original line-up parted ways, and Levon returned to Woodstock to build a home and studio. During this time, he focused on his solo music and acting career. The Band reunited in 1983 without Robbie Robertson and continued to record and tour. In 1998, Levon was diagnosed with throat cancer, which damaged his vocal cords. As a way of recovering from treatment and gathering musicians and community together, Levon opened his Barn to host Midnight Rambles—intimate concerts inspired by shows he had seen as a teen. Before his death in 2012, Levon instructed friends and family to “keep it going,” and the Midnight Rambles continue to keep Levon’s legacy alive, the community gathered, and the music flowing. This exhibit invites guests to join in the song as we celebrate an artistic life well lived, a connected community, and Levon’s enduring legacy.
The Folk Americana Roots Hall of Fame is a cultural and educational initiative of the Boch Center, located inside the Wang Theatre at 270 Tremont St., Boston, Massachusetts. Curated by the Museum Collective, FARHOF is geared to music lovers of all ages, providing educational offerings that ensure legacies are honored and new musical traditions are nurtured for generations to come. These genres of music have historically provided an outlet for individuals of all races and backgrounds, from every corner of the United States, to express their joys, sorrows, and experiences.
Recent and current exhibits include Joan Baez: A Life of Music, Art, and Activism; All Seeing Eye: Blue Note Records Through the Lens of Francis Wolff; Bruce Springsteen: Portraits of an American Music Icon; Legends of Folk, Americana, Roots Music; Arlo Guthrie: Native Son; Life in Six Strings; Don’t Think Twice: The Daniel Kramer Photographs of Bob Dylan, 1964-65; Boston: A Music Town; The Wang Theatre: A Century of Great Music; historic artifacts from David Bieber Archives; and the Cultural Heroes sculptures on loan from Alan LeQuire Galleries in Nashville, TN.
About the Folk Americana Roots Hall of Fame
In 2019, the Boch Center expanded its educational programming and launched the Folk Americana Roots Hall of Fame (FARHOF), Boston’s living music museum, which celebrates the lifeblood of America’s musical and cultural heritage. Folk music provides an outlet for individuals of all races and backgrounds to express their highest joys and deepest sorrows.
FARHOF is dedicated to honoring the past, celebrating the present, and nurturing the future of folk and Americana-roots musicians. By learning from the past, the Boch Center and FARHOF hope to influence meaningful conversations today.
Housed in the Wang Theatre, FARHOF celebrates folk, Americana, and roots music through displays, memorabilia, artifacts, events, lectures, exhibits, concerts, and educational programs.
