The Weight Band featuring members of The Band and The Levon Helm Band
The Weight Band featuring members of The Band and The Levon Helm Band
(March 15, 2024 7:00pm)
The Band was one of the most important roots rock groups of the 1960s. The influential group,
which included Levon Helm, Rick Danko, Garth Hudson, Richard Manuel and Robbie Robertson,
began in Canada and then migrated to the U.S. It was the subject of a Martin Scorsese
documentary, The Last Waltz. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in
1994. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked The Band number 50 on the list of 100 greatest artists and
the song “The Weight” was ranked 41 st on the magazine’s list of the 500 greatest songs. It is a
storied history.
Levon Helm died in 2012, after a lengthy battle with throat cancer that kept him from
performing for many years. In 2013, Jim Weider and Randy Ciarlante, both former members of
The Band, performed “Songs of the Band” with founder Garth Hudson, Jimmy Vivino and Byron
Isaacs in the Woodstock barn Levon Helm loved.
The experience inspired Weider, Ciarlante and Isaacs to carry on The Band’s legacy and they
began performing fan favorites. They invited Brian Mitchell and later added Albert Rogers,
Michael Bram and Matt Zeiner to join them. “We started doing some songs and people got
excited,” Weider said. “We put the Weight Band together and people were so happy to hear
the songs again. Then we wanted to do an original album.”
In 2018, they released an album of original material, World Gone Mad, that captured The
Band’s musical tradition but was put together for today’s vibrant Americana base. The album is
an Americana/Roots Rock tribute to the music and the Woodstock sound. Goldmine Magazine
called it “one of the year’s best indie albums.”
The group’s 2022 album, Shines Like Gold, draws on roadhouse rock, funky swamp pop, blues,
country soul, and folk music. It was recorded live at Clubhouse Studios in Rhinebeck, New York
over four days during the height of the pandemic. Weider describes the music as the
“Woodstock Sound” and The Weight Band has become its torchbearer.
Members of The Weight Band include Jim Weider on guitar, mandolin and vocals. He is a
former member of The Band, and from 1985-2000, was the as lead guitarist and songwriter. He
toured with Levon Helm, Garth Hudson and Rick Danko for five years and is also a member of
Levon Helm’s Midnight Ramble Band and his own group, ProJECT Percolator.
Michael Bram, on drums and vocals, most recently toured with Jason Mraz. His connection to
The Band comes by way of the extended community who played at Levon Helm’s studio in
Woodstock, where he was the drummer for many years in the Chris O’Leary Band, an offshoot
of Levon’s band The Barnburners.
Brian Mitchell, on keyboard and vocals, is a member of the Midnight Ramble Band and has
recorded with Bob Dylan, Al Green and B.B. King.
Matt Zeiner, on keyboard and vocals, began his career with Hartford’s Street Temperature Band
and then hit the road with Matt “Guitar” Murphy of Blues Brothers fame. He toured extensively
with Dickie Betts, a founding member of the Allman Brothers Band and over the years, he has
performed with, produced, or written for Jeff Pevar, Melvin Sparks, Zach Deputy, Ryan
Montbleau and others.
Albert Rogers plays bass and shares vocal duties as a member of The Weight Band. He’s shared
the stage with Levon Helm and Garth Hudson in the Jim Weider Band and has performed with
Sid McGinnis, Hubert Sumlin, Jimmy Vivino and Albert Lee.
Choosing the name of the band was an homage to the legendary song. “’The Weight’ will be a
song in spaceships on the moon,” he said. “It’s a classic song that defined American culture at
the time and still does. The Band was the beginning of Americana. They were the first
Americana band and they cross-pollinated all the music and put it in a big pot.”
Replicating the music of The Band would be a tall order, but interpreting it is an art. The songs
The Band created have pleased audiences for decades, and The Weight Band has found a way
to honor the legacy while creating its own sound with original works that complement that
legacy.
Take a load off and come hear the music that defined an era.
(March 15, 2024 7:00pm)
The Band was one of the most important roots rock groups of the 1960s. The influential group,
which included Levon Helm, Rick Danko, Garth Hudson, Richard Manuel and Robbie Robertson,
began in Canada and then migrated to the U.S. It was the subject of a Martin Scorsese
documentary, The Last Waltz. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in
1994. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked The Band number 50 on the list of 100 greatest artists and
the song “The Weight” was ranked 41 st on the magazine’s list of the 500 greatest songs. It is a
storied history.
Levon Helm died in 2012, after a lengthy battle with throat cancer that kept him from
performing for many years. In 2013, Jim Weider and Randy Ciarlante, both former members of
The Band, performed “Songs of the Band” with founder Garth Hudson, Jimmy Vivino and Byron
Isaacs in the Woodstock barn Levon Helm loved.
The experience inspired Weider, Ciarlante and Isaacs to carry on The Band’s legacy and they
began performing fan favorites. They invited Brian Mitchell and later added Albert Rogers,
Michael Bram and Matt Zeiner to join them. “We started doing some songs and people got
excited,” Weider said. “We put the Weight Band together and people were so happy to hear
the songs again. Then we wanted to do an original album.”
In 2018, they released an album of original material, World Gone Mad, that captured The
Band’s musical tradition but was put together for today’s vibrant Americana base. The album is
an Americana/Roots Rock tribute to the music and the Woodstock sound. Goldmine Magazine
called it “one of the year’s best indie albums.”
The group’s 2022 album, Shines Like Gold, draws on roadhouse rock, funky swamp pop, blues,
country soul, and folk music. It was recorded live at Clubhouse Studios in Rhinebeck, New York
over four days during the height of the pandemic. Weider describes the music as the
“Woodstock Sound” and The Weight Band has become its torchbearer.
Members of The Weight Band include Jim Weider on guitar, mandolin and vocals. He is a
former member of The Band, and from 1985-2000, was the as lead guitarist and songwriter. He
toured with Levon Helm, Garth Hudson and Rick Danko for five years and is also a member of
Levon Helm’s Midnight Ramble Band and his own group, ProJECT Percolator.
Michael Bram, on drums and vocals, most recently toured with Jason Mraz. His connection to
The Band comes by way of the extended community who played at Levon Helm’s studio in
Woodstock, where he was the drummer for many years in the Chris O’Leary Band, an offshoot
of Levon’s band The Barnburners.
Brian Mitchell, on keyboard and vocals, is a member of the Midnight Ramble Band and has
recorded with Bob Dylan, Al Green and B.B. King.
Matt Zeiner, on keyboard and vocals, began his career with Hartford’s Street Temperature Band
and then hit the road with Matt “Guitar” Murphy of Blues Brothers fame. He toured extensively
with Dickie Betts, a founding member of the Allman Brothers Band and over the years, he has
performed with, produced, or written for Jeff Pevar, Melvin Sparks, Zach Deputy, Ryan
Montbleau and others.
Albert Rogers plays bass and shares vocal duties as a member of The Weight Band. He’s shared
the stage with Levon Helm and Garth Hudson in the Jim Weider Band and has performed with
Sid McGinnis, Hubert Sumlin, Jimmy Vivino and Albert Lee.
Choosing the name of the band was an homage to the legendary song. “’The Weight’ will be a
song in spaceships on the moon,” he said. “It’s a classic song that defined American culture at
the time and still does. The Band was the beginning of Americana. They were the first
Americana band and they cross-pollinated all the music and put it in a big pot.”
Replicating the music of The Band would be a tall order, but interpreting it is an art. The songs
The Band created have pleased audiences for decades, and The Weight Band has found a way
to honor the legacy while creating its own sound with original works that complement that
legacy.
Take a load off and come hear the music that defined an era.
