New Audiences for Old Songs
Sat, May 06
|Saranac Lake
This FREE event aims to expand awareness for – and enjoyment of – a rare and important collection of folk songs and traditional ballads from the Adirondack region of New York State; the kind of “self-made” music sung by everyday people and passed down through the generations in earlier days.


Time & Location
May 06, 2023, 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM
Saranac Lake, 24 Cedar St, Saranac Lake, NY 12983, USA
Guests
About the event
These songs have been kept alive in one family – the Clevelands of Hudson Falls and Brant Lake NY - and the music is little-known today outside a small circle of enthusiasts. The goal of the project is to introduce this material to musicians working in more “mainstream” genres (country, bluegrass, old-time, contemporary folk, even rock and jam bands) so that they in turn can bring the music to their audiences.
Musician and teaching artist Dave Ruch and Cleveland family member Colleen Cleveland (fifth-generation singer of these songs) will present a free and open-to-the-public workshop at BluSeed Studios on Saturday May 6 from 10:30am-Noon to introduce this “heritage” music to area musicians and interested others. Come learn about the collection and hear Colleen sing some of her favorites as learned from her grandmother. Immediately after the session, a wide selection of the Cleveland family repertoire will be posted on the project’s webpage for all…