The future of Levon Helm Studios is uncertain amid more than 15 concert cancellations, a calendar listing only three upcoming performances, and a cash shortfall that has left some ticket holders awaiting refunds.

“I don’t have a crystal ball, so I can’t say exactly where we’ll be,” Brian Parillo, the venue’s president and CEO, said when asked about the future of the storied barn, which drew national attention this summer after Amy Helm, Levon Helm’s daughter, was removed as president amid a public struggle for control.

As of Thursday, the studio’s website listed two performances by Laith Al-Saadi on Sept. 25 and 26. After those shows, no concert is scheduled until Foy Vance performs on April 29, 2027, a gap of more than seven months. A federal complaint filed by the studio says the 250-person venue generally held six to eight performances each month.

Parillo, who took control of Levon Helm Studios in May, blamed the refund shortfall on prior management, which he said spent money collected for future performances before he assumed control.

“There’s a substantial gap between what’s in the account and what’s owed in refunds, and closing that gap is what I’ve been working on since I took over,” Parillo said in a statement provided through a publicist.

Parillo said an initial round of refunds had been issued but couldn’t provide a date by which the remainder would be paid.

“We’re working through the rest as fast as possible,” he said. “I know ‘as fast as we can’ isn’t the answer people want when they’re the ones waiting, and I don’t have an exact date for everyone yet, but I haven’t taken a salary through any of this, and getting fans their money back is my number one priority.”

In an email sent through the ticketing company Tixr to customers awaiting refunds, Levon Helm Studios said “almost all” of the money paid for upcoming shows was no longer available when Parillo became president.

“While these funds should have been set aside for those performances, they had already been spent by prior management,” the message said.

The studio said it was “actively working to rebuild the capital that should have been there” and that “issuing your refunds remains our top priority.”

The email, titled “Refunds: Our Top Priority,” offered an explanation for delayed refunds following the cancellation of more than 15 shows at the venue known as The Barn. It didn’t name Amy Helm or any other member of the previous management team.

Amy Helm’s representatives characterized statements by the studio’s current management as misleading but didn’t specifically address the assertion that money collected for future performances had been spent.

“Amy Helm will respond at the appropriate time to the misleading public statements published by those now in control of Levon Helm Studios, Inc.,” her representatives said in a statement. “Given the pending proceedings and ongoing review of the underlying circumstances, she has no further comment.”

Parillo said he could not comment in depth because of active litigation and referred The Overlook to a federal complaint filed by Levon Helm Studios. The complaint alleges that the company had spent much of the revenue collected from tickets for future shows, but it doesn’t state how much the venue owes ticket holders.

Levon Helm Studios sued Amy Helm and seven other defendants in federal court Aug. 10, accusing her of engaging in millions of dollars in “self-dealing transactions” while she was president and of encouraging musicians and vendors to cancel performances after she was removed from management.

Amy Helm has denied the allegations in the lawsuit, calling them “baseless” and “spurious.”

The studio’s published ticket policy states that “if a show is cancelled and a reschedule date is not provided, Levon Helm Studios will automatically refund all tickets for the cancelled show.”

Parillo didn’t provide records showing the venue’s current cash balance or outstanding refund liability, and The Overlook couldn’t independently verify either amount.

Tixr didn’t respond to questions about its role in processing the refunds, how many customers are waiting, or whether it requires venues to reserve money collected for future performances.

The refund shortfall is the latest development in a management struggle that became public in late May, when Parillo gained control of 60% of the company’s voting power and replaced Amy Helm as president.

Amy Helm and Sandra Helm, Levon Helm’s widow, each retain a 40% ownership stake. Parillo and Barbara O’Brien each own 10%. Sandra Helm and O’Brien assigned their voting rights to Parillo, giving him control of company decisions.

Amy Helm is the daughter of the late Levon Helm, the drummer and singer for The Band who began holding his intimate Midnight Ramble concerts at The Barn in 2004. More than 15 performances were canceled after the management change, with some musicians publicly saying they were withdrawing in support of Amy Helm.

In a June 4 affirmation filed in Ulster County Surrogate’s Court, Amy Helm denied earlier accusations that she had stolen from Levon Helm Studios. She wrote that she had reminded Sandra Helm that they had paid an accountant they both trusted to prepare the company’s tax returns and insisted that “there was no theft.”

Two months later, Levon Helm Studios named that accountant, Francis “Frank” Flynn, as a defendant in its federal lawsuit. The complaint accuses Flynn of accounting malpractice and participating in an alleged conspiracy with Amy Helm, including by failing to properly account for ticket revenue collected before performances occurred.

Flynn didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. He has accepted service through his attorney but hadn’t filed a response to the complaint as of Wednesday. The allegations haven’t been adjudicated.

The case is scheduled for an initial conference Nov. 9 in U.S. District Court in Albany and is subject to the Northern District of New York’s mandatory mediation program. Peter Luccarelli of Brightpoint Law, which represents Levon Helm Studios, said the parties were still being served and that he did not expect mediation to begin in 2026.

Parillo said that despite the sparse calendar and outstanding refunds, he remained committed to keeping the venue open.

“What I do know is that when I took over in May, a lot of people thought The Barn wouldn’t make it, but Levon’s spirit and this community held it up long before I got here, and I still believe that spirit is what carries us now,” he said. “My job is honoring that by getting fans their refunds, getting this place back on solid financial footing, and making sure it’s still standing for the people who love it.”

John W. Barry is a reporter for The Overlook. Reach him at john@theoverlooknews.com.

Noah Eckstein is the editor-in-chief of The Overlook. Send correspondence to noah@theoverlooknews.com.