Donkey Riding does indeed refer to the engine used for unloading cargo, probably going back to nineteenth century.

Sort of like a mechanical bull as seen in overly macho honky-tonks, but with an actual purpose.

If there was one record that is a sort of early collection of greatest Nfld hits, try finding Alan Mills record "Folk Songs of Newfoundland", a 10" album made in the 50's. Most of the songs on it are still sung today by GBS and many other current maritime performers, including "A Great Big Sea Hove In Long Beach", from which the name derives.

To make your show a little more than a GBS tribute with commentary, maybe you should throw in a few alternative recordings of songs which are associated with them. I actually like GBS quite a lot and they have done as much as that insane fiddle player guy to make east coast music cool, but they don't claim to own the repertoire so maybe your program should reflect that. Just a thought.

Willie-o