A whos who of Americana, country and roots musicians sat in with Levon Helm and his band last night at Nashvilles famed Ryman Auditorium. The former Band drummer was in town for the ninth annual Americana Music Festival & Conference and augmented his already stacked band to include mandolinist Sam Bush and Buddy Miller. A number of familiar faces also sat in for a few songs, including Steve Earle, Allison Moore, Billy Bob Thornton, Delbert McClinton, John Hiatt and Sheryl Crow, the latter of whom sang on The Bands Evangeline and The Carter Familys No Depression. He also surprised many by inviting out the team of Robert Plant and Alison Krauss for ‘In the Pines,’ the first song the odd couple performed together back in 2004.
As is now customary, the evenings entire cast took the stage with Helm for a sing-a-long version of The Bands The Weight. The ensemble then returned for a version of Forever Young, a track originally featured on the Bob Dylan/Band album _ Planet Waves_.