Happy 70th birthday Levon Helm! A few years ago,I was lucky enough to spend some time sharing stories (and other things) with the man himself and he was as nice and genuine as anyone I've ever met. The Band is one of the most important and influential bands in the history of popular music and I consider Levon to be one of the greatest singers in any genre. If you have a chance to catch him at one of his Rambles in his barn in Woodstock or on tour you will not be disappointed. Enjoy this song off of one of my all-time favorites, 1969's The Band.

Our sister site Newstalgia has for its mid-week concert (and mid-week antidote for Road Rage), Julian Rachlin and Itamar Golan in Recital at the 2009 Musica Mundi Festival.

It's the last night of this blog's fundraiser, too. A great night to send in a few bucks to support a blog that does so much, seven days a week. Thank you.