Helm, who periodically hosts a series of intimate, star-studded concerts known as Midnight Rambles at his Woodstock, N.Y. home, decided to lay down these tracks after recently regaining his voice following a bout with throat cancer. On 'Dirt Farmer,' the 67-year-old Helm applies those newly recovered vocals, as well as drums, guitar and mandolin, to a collection of blues and country favorites that hearken back to his rural Arkansas youth. He also preforms tunes by singer-songwriter Steve Earle and the late blues legend J.B. Lenoir on the new record, on which he is assisted by multi-instrumentalist Larry Campbell and his daughter Amy Helm, who is a member of the New York-based roots-music quintet Ollabelle.