Looking forward to helping Buffalo celebrate the bicentennial of the Erie Canal this summer with a series of programs at the Hangar Building in the Naval Park at Canalside!
Here’s a description of the program…
Dave Ruch has spent the last twenty-five years searching for Erie Canal music beyond the grade-school favorite “Low Bridge, Everybody Down,” and among other things, discovered that America’s favorite Erie Canal song was never sung on the 19th century canal!
In this all-ages lecture/concert, Ruch presents music from canal diggers, barge workers, immigrants, lake sailors, mule drivers, canal boat captains, and yes, professional songwriters who all contributed to the musical and cultural life surrounding the canal.
With banjo, bones, spoons, washboard, jaw harp, mandolin and more, Ruch presents a highly engaging program of stories, music, history and anecdotes about life on “Clinton’s Ditch,” and the importance of the Erie Canal to the growth of Buffalo, New York City and the nation.