Songwriter Amy Helm creates her own '˜circular sound' at Glasgow's Celtic Connections

American singer-songwriter Amy Helm released her new album This Too Shall Light towards the end of last year, and is now on tour, with a date at Oran Mor in Glasgow on Saturday, January 26.
Amy Helm is at Oran Mor in Glasgow on Saturday, January 26.Amy Helm is at Oran Mor in Glasgow on Saturday, January 26.
Amy Helm is at Oran Mor in Glasgow on Saturday, January 26.

A lifelong musician and music-lover, Amy’s parents – The Band’s legendary drummer and singer Levon Helm and singer-songwriter Libby Titus – guided her training and influences.

For her latest album, Amy sought what she calls a “circular sound”. It’s a well-rounded one, one marked by streaks of Americana, country, blues and gospel, and the kinds of four-part harmonies that can burst open a melody and close the loop of an octave. And sentimentally, it’s a sound that represents the feeling of community.

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On the new album, there are two songs where Amy pays homage to her father Levon – The Stones I Throw, a song he released in 1965 with Levon and the Hawks, and the closing traditional number, an a cappella version of the hymnal Gloryland, which was passed from father to daughter.

Amy’s concert at Oran Mor is part of Celtic Connections.