Nathan,

Make sure you introduce yourself! Both barefootboy (Rich Bala) and myself will be there performing and participating along with a host of others.

Mr Red,

it appears from your thread that you are looking for UK canal tunes; can't help you so much with that.

As far as "canal tunes" from our Erie Canal here in New York State, about the closest we can get (so far) is a list of tunes that were commonly played by traditional fiddlers and dance musicians during the canal's heyday (see below). Sure, there are a few melodies/tunes that were composed in the 19th century with the word "canal" in the title, but that doesn't really tell us if anybody used them. We don't have any fiddle or other manuscripts that are directly tied to the canal (at least that I'm aware of), and for the most part what was being played were the popular tunes of the day - both lyric songs turned into instrumentals, and old-time dance tunes.

OLD-TIME FIDDLE TUNES COMMONLY PLAYED BY UPSTATE NEW YORK TRADITIONAL FIDDLERS

Earliest Times (late 18th/early 19th century)

Campbells Are Coming (aka Hob and Nob)
College Hornpipe (aka Sailors Hornpipe)
Devils Dream
Durangs Hornpipe
Fishers Hornpipe
Flowers of Edinburgh
Garry Owen
Haste To The Wedding
Irish Washerwoman
Miss McLeods Reel
Money Musk
My Love is But a Lassie Yet
Off She Goes
Opera Reel
Rakes of Mallow
Ricketts Hornpipe
Road To Boston
Smash The Windows
Soldiers Joy
The Fairy Dance
The Girl I Left Behind Me
White Cockade



Mid 19th century – Early 20th century

All of the above, plus…

Arkansas Traveller
Blackberry Quadrille
Buffalo Gals
Bummers Reel
Captain Jinks
Chicken Reel
Climbing Up the Golden Stairs
Darlin' Nellie Gray
Flop Eared Mule (Detroit Schottische)
Golden Slippers
Jenny Lind Polka
Kingdom Coming (The Year of Jubilo)
Larry O'Gaff
Life on the Ocean Wave (aka First Two Ladies Cross Over)
Listen to the Mockingbird
Little Brown Jug
Little Old Log Cabin in the Lane
Lord McDonald's Reel (Leather Britches)
Marching Through Georgia
Mississippi Sawyer
Oh Susanna
Old Dan Tucker
Over The Waves
Peekaboo Waltz
Pigtown Fling (aka Buffalo Breakdown, Stoney Point, etc)
Pop Goes the Weasel
Portland Fancy
Red Haired Boy
Red River Valley
Red Wing
Rochester Schottische
Rustic Reel
Speed The Plow
Tempest
Turkey in the Straw (aka Old Zip Coon)
Whistling Rufus
Wilsons Clog


1930's – forward

All of the above, plus…

Chinese Breakdown
Crooked Stovepipe
Doc Boyd's Jig
Faded Love
Joys of Quebec
Liberty Two-Step
Little Burnt Potatoes
Maple Sugar
Orange Blossom Special
Ragtime Annie
Silver and Gold
Silver Bell
St Anne's Reel
Tennessee Waltz
Wabash Cannonball
Westphalia Waltz
Wreck of the Old 97