President’s Remarks
Contributed by Tom Bailey
Here’s hoping everyone had an enjoyable Memorial Day weekend. Looks like we have made it to warmer weather but I am seriously looking at waterproof instruments! There are some great sounding fiddles, mandos and guitars out there made of carbon fiber – 100% waterproof! Guess we gotta have something to complain about with the weather …
The first workshop with Ron Perry will have taken place by the time you read this. Based on his lesson plan, it was likely a great one. Eighteen have signed up for the June 8th “Making a Tune Your Own” workshop with Michelle. We are working on a date between the 8th and 22nd for Ron’s second workshop since Ron and Nancy will be out of town for a week beginning the 21st. There are 10 signed up for Ron’s “Starts and Breaks” and at least 12 for Michelle’s “Playing with Others” on the 22nd. It was unfortunate that we had to cancel the Clawhammer workshop, but there were only four confirmed attendees. It wasn’t fair to Michelle, but it would have been a big hit on the FOG coffers to host a workshop with so few attendees. There are now at least nine interested in a Clawhammer workshop, so we are trying to figure out another date for that one. If Michelle isn’t available, there are a couple other really good clawhammer specialists in town. Details should be confirmed soon.
We need you to sign up to play at the Macedon Public Library on June 15th. We played there last year and the audience was great – so appreciative. Please sign up if you are going to be in town. After that we will play two sessions at the Friendly Home on July 20th. These are paying gigs, so it’s a chance to refill our bank account! Please see the other upcoming events on the list included elsewhere in the newsletter.
Want to do something really different for a Monday night? Join us on a 
Traditional Fiddle Music/Bluegrass Cruise of the Erie Canal on the Colonial Belle out of Fairport on June 17th. We play in Macedon on the 15th and then get together with roughly 60 other folks for a cruise the following Monday. Folks will board the Colonial Belle at 6:30 and leave the dock at 7:00 pm for a 2-hr+ cruise. The Cruisers (not break-neck speed players) will be on the upper deck while the Moonshiners (all out crazy folks) will be in the main cabin. And for those who just want to relax and not worry about playing, PLEASE
come on out. Cost is $22, which includes pizza. That’s more fun and less cost than a regular 2-hour cruise! Bernunzio’s sponsors the event, so PLEASE give them a call if you are interested: 585-473-6410. They need a list so they know how much pizza to buy and so names can be checked off at boarding. They don’t want to leave someone standing at the dock!
Please see the summer set lists below. Printable PDF’s of the Set Lists can be found at the end of the newsletter. There are two lists, based on the two days at Mumford. Set List #1 is for Saturday and Set List #2 is for Sunday. There is a slight problem: in the past we have had 45-minute time slots, which was the basis for these set lists. I just found out that this year we have only 30-minute time slots, so we have to remove around 4 tunes from each list. I need to explain the color codes here: Black is obvious; Blue is for the tunes that are on both set lists; the Red at the bottom are some possible tunes to add to the list for one of our normal 1-hour gigs. A new tune has been added, FOG’s Tune of the Month for June, Welcome Whiskey Back Again. There is a new tune we snuck in on everyone. Deb is working out the details but we have included the basic tune in the newsletter. Heads up– we will use Set List #1 for Macedon Library!
| Mumford Set List #1 – Saturday Click on image below to download |
Mumford Set List #2 – Sunday Click on image below to download |
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If you want a chance to get to become better friends with your instrument(s), there are some super workshops coming up that might help. Want to get to know the FOG members a bit better? Join in one of the many scheduled events and gigs. Click here to see the upcoming gigs Fiddlers of the Genesee – gig list 5-25-19
2019 Event Schedule as of 24 May 2019
June 2019
- 15th – Macedon Public Library – 2:00 pm
- 17th – Erie Canal Cruise – 6:30 pm
July 2019
- 20th – Friendly Home , Brighton – TBD 2 sessions, paid gig
- 27th – Macedon Erie Canal Celebration – 11:45 am & 1:00 pm
August 2019
- 17th & 18th – Mumford Fiddlers Fair – 2:15 pm Saturday & Sunday
Jam tent 10:00 am – 4:00 pm both days - 31st – Little Theatre – “FIDDLIN” documentary 3:00 pm
FOG can play after showing in the Little Café
September 2019
- 5th – VA Hospital, Canandaigua – 5:00 pm
- 7th – Turtle Hill Folk Festival/Golden Link
Jam tent, no performance - 15th – Palmyra Canaltown Days – time TBD
October 2019
- 13th – Bristol Theatre, Naples – 2:00 pm
Find some time to enjoy the music, the camaraderie and above all – Play Nice!
FOG Tune of the Month:
Welcome Whiskey Back Again
Contributed by Deb Abell and Tom Bailey
When the English Parliament lifted the ban on Barley in the late 1800’s, the author of Farewell to Whiskey wrote this tune to welcome the change.
Click HERE to download pdf of sheet music
FOG Spring Picnic Fun!
Contributed by Jane Reetz
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Following on the success of our Fall FOG picnics, this year we added a Spring Fling which took place on May 5th. |  |
| A lot of members attended with their families and friends. It offered a great opportunity to jam, socialize, and eat (and eat some more). | There were several great breakout sessions where members got a chance to shine and show off their many musical talents. | |
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