The River and the Rousters
What things does a paddlewheel steamboat bring to your mind? Is a “roustabout” one of them? They may not be so familiar but there is a treasury of music surrounding the Black men and women who worked on steamboats in the last two centuries. These roustabouts and chambermaids had tough jobs, and music was one of the things that helped them get through it. We’ll hear and talk about the music of the roustabouts and keeping their history alive.
The Charleston, a sternwheeler pictured here on the Lower Ohio, circa 1935. Photo credit: McCracken County Public Library- Special Collections, Mary Wheeler Collection.
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