VOA标准英语2010年-Grey Fox Festival Showcases Stars of M

Each year, the International Bluegrass Music Association honors a festival with their prestigious¹ Bluegrass Event of the Year award. Last year, the honor went to the Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival, held each July in a tiny town in upstate New York.

The lineup at this year's Grey Fox Bluegrass festival reads like a "who's who" of modern bluegrass. It included Grammy nominees² The Greencards, David Grisman and Sarah Jarosz, heard there performing her nominated song "Mansineedof [Man's In Need Of]." In 2009, Sarah played her first main stage set at Grey Fox, and proved to be such a hit that she was invited back again this year.

Sam Bush was back, too. The multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter-bandleader appeared at his first Grey Fox in several years.

"Glad to be back at Grey Fox. It's been a couple of years," he said. "Boy, the people are all out here. It's a hot steamy day. It rained just enough to almost settle the dust. But yes, it's great to be back."

When asked why Grey Fox is so special, Bush said, "For me, it's seeing a lot of old pals³. And this audience reminds me somewhat of the audience that goes to the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, in that they're up for anything. That means weather-wise or musically speaking. And we feel welcome here, as do old time musicians, and straight bluegrass bands, progressive bluegrass bands, what have you. We all feel at home here."

Sam was only at Grey Fox one day, but it was a busy one. Not only did he close out the Saturday night show, Sam also presided over a standing-room-only workshop in the afternoon. The event was more like a master class, with Sam singing a few songs, teaching a few techniques and answering a lot of questions. Sam works hard to make his workshops a mix of fun and teaching because he remembers how important festival workshops were to his musical education.

"One time I was in a workshop on mandolin with Bill Monroe, Bobby Osborne, Jessie McReynolds, John Duffy and a young guy named David Grisman. They really are for learning and teaching, so I want to keep the accent on that," he said.

As an audience member, they are always super fun to watch, because you get to see performers doing things that you're not used to seeing them do.

"Oh, yeah," Bush agreed. "And I will take a chance. If someone wants to hear a tune⁴ that I haven't played for a long while, I'll try it. I don't know if I'm going to execute it properly. But really it is about technique, and explaining instruments, and talking about strings⁵, equipment picks. Once again, I think back to when I was a kid, and how valuable that was to hear Bill Monroe tell me over the microphone what kind of strings he used. Maybe I want to try those. Maybe I don't want to try those."

But there's more to the Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival than sitting in front of a stage, watching performers. Perhaps more than any other style of music, bluegrass encourages fans to learn to play. Grey Fox offered several different ways to learn the music. In addition to the workshop stage, where the pros⁶ play and share tips, tricks and techniques, there is also The Bluegrass Academy for Kids, a three-day music school that ends with a main stage performance. 2010 marked the 10th edition of the camp, and the class size grows each year.

Although this was the third year that Grey Fox was held on the Walsh Farm in upstate New York, the festival's roots run much deeper. It was spawned⁷ from the Berkshire Bluegrass Festival of the 1970s, which then became Winterhawk through the 1980s and 1990s. But despite the name changes, one thing has stayed the same: For as long as anyone can remember, the Dry Branch Fire Squad⁸, led by singer and mandolinist Ron Thomason, has been hosting the festival. Dry Branch was the first act to play on Thursday afternoon, and also closed the show on Sunday.
 

1 prestigious   

adj.有威望的，有声望的，受尊敬的

参考例句：

• The young man graduated from a prestigious university.这个年轻人毕业于一所名牌大学。
• You may even join a prestigious magazine as a contributing editor.甚至可能会加入一个知名杂志做编辑。

2 nominees   

n.被提名者，被任命者( nominee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She's one of the nominees. 她是被提名者之一。 来自超越目标英语 第2册
• A startling number of his nominees for senior positions have imploded. 他所提名的高级官员被否决的数目令人震惊。 来自互联网

3 pals   

n.朋友( pal的名词复数 )；老兄；小子；（对男子的不友好的称呼）家伙

参考例句：

• We've been pals for years. 我们是多年的哥们儿了。
• CD 8 positive cells remarkably increased in PALS and RP(P CD8+细胞在再生脾PALS和RP内均明显增加(P 来自互联网

4 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

5 strings   

n.弦

参考例句：

• He sat on the bed,idly plucking the strings of his guitar.他坐在床上，随意地拨着吉他的弦。
• She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。

6 pros   

abbr.prosecuting 起诉；prosecutor 起诉人；professionals 自由职业者；proscenium （舞台）前部n.赞成的意见( pro的名词复数 )；赞成的理由；抵偿物；交换物

参考例句：

• The pros and cons cancel out. 正反两种意见抵消。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We should hear all the pros and cons of the matter before we make a decision. 我们在对这事做出决定之前，应该先听取正反两方面的意见。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 spawned   

（鱼、蛙等）大量产（卵）( spawn的过去式和过去分词 )； 大量生产

参考例句：

• The band's album spawned a string of hit singles. 这支乐队的专辑繁衍出一连串走红的单曲唱片。
• The computer industry has spawned a lot of new companies. 由于电脑工业的发展，许多新公司纷纷成立。

8 squad   

n.班，小队，小团体；vt.把…编成班或小组

参考例句：

• The squad leader ordered the men to mark time.班长命令战士们原地踏步。
• A squad is the smallest unit in an army.班是军队的最小构成单位。