There are pairings in American music that feel foreordained — two voices that belong in the same room, two traditions that complete each other. Dave Alvin and Jimmie Dale Gilmore are one of those pairings. Alvin, the California roots-rock architect who co-founded the Blasters. Gilmore, the Lubbock, Texas mystic whose keening tenor helped define the Flatlanders. Together, they’ve been touring as a duo, and the results are extraordinary.
On May 2, 2026, Alvin and Gilmore bring their partnership to Levon Helm Studios in Woodstock, NY — and if there’s a more fitting venue for this music anywhere in the country, I’d like to hear about it.
Levon Helm Studios is sacred ground. Built by the late drummer and singer of The Band, the barn in Woodstock has hosted the legendary Midnight Ramble sessions and become a pilgrimage site for anyone who believes in the power of roots music played with conviction.
Alvin’s guitar work — sharp, blues-soaked, and deeply knowledgeable — and Gilmore’s otherworldly voice create a conversation between California and Texas, between rockabilly and cosmic country, between the grit of the road and the grace of the song. In Levon’s barn, surrounded by the ghosts of American music, these two artists will do what they’ve always done best: remind us where the music comes from.
Tickets are on sale now through Levon Helm Studios.