STE. GENEVIEVE – Have you ever wanted to learn the basis of Missouri French music? Here’s your chance. Dr. Mike Ruch, longtime music instructor and core fiddler for Ste. Genevieve’s La Guignolée, is setting up on the porch behind the Linden House (illustrated on the festival map) from 1:30 -3 p.m. Saturday, June 14 to teach the tune and chord structure of the Guignolée for multiple instruments, including fiddle and guitar. That will be followed by a live jam session for festival goers from 3 – 4 p.m.
He’ll have limited instruments available, so feel free to bring your own. This is part of a larger effort to preserve our musical traditions and to engage a wider audience to take part in our Guignolée which takes place on New Year’s Eve every year. Ste. Genevieve has one of the longest running Guignolée’s in the US, competing with our sister community across the river in Illinois, Prairie du Rocher. If you haven’t seen this timeless tradition before, it mirrors rural Mardi Gras traditions in Louisiana cities like Mamou and Iota.
It’s part of a rich tapestry of French traditions that were alive on this continent before the U.S. was formed.