Canal Jam 2017

Canal-era Music and Entertainment Summit

Canal Jam Logo

Join in an all-day gathering of professional and amateur musicians, storytellers, and others interested in traditional American music and other forms of entertainment performed in the “port towns” of the Pennsylvania Main Line Canal during its heyday, c. 1832-1889.

Guest artists

  • Dom Flemons
    The Grammy-winning singer-songwriter and founding member of the Carolina Chocolate Drops embodies the traveling musician of the 19th century, with roots in American minstrelsy
  • Bill Hullfish and the Golden Eagle String Band
    Songs about canals and canal life performed by Smithsonian Folkways artists
  • Dearest Home
    Gettysburg-based ensemble performing ballads and other authentic period folk music
  • Steven Sherrill, accompanied by Jerry Zolten and Richard Sleigh
    Capturing and conveying the shadowy reality of the Pennsylvania Canal through selected readings from Sherrill's 2012 book, The Locktender’s House

Saturday, September 23, 2017, 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site
Gallitzin, PA

Summit and park admission is FREE.
Registered participants will be treated to a light smorgasbord of period-inspired, locally-sourced foods.


Canal Jam is presented by the Penn State Altoona Division of Arts and Humanities and the Center for Community-based Studies, together with the Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site.