VOA常速英语:地下演出将蓝草音乐推向新高度

The rolling hills of Tennessee’s Cumberland Plateau are home to some of the nation’s most beautiful and productive fields and forests.Underneath those fields is a very different kind of beauty.

On most Saturdays, hundreds of music fans from all over the world trek a kilometer into the Cumberland Cavern to enjoy the American music form 110 meters below ground.

Bluegrass Underground was launched in 2008.The show features artists playing so-called American Roots Music,developed by immigrants from the British Isles who settled in the hills above in the late 18th century.

The performances are staged in a large cavern called The Volcano Room.The acoustics are nearly perfect.That fact was not lost on Tennessee music promoter, Todd Mayo.

“Inside the cave we took the tour and you get down into the Volcano Room and there is this giant chandelier.And I looked up and I looked around and I said to the tour guide, ‘Do you all have live music around here?’And she said, ‘No, but that would be a good idea,’ and it just sort of all came to me.”

More than 180,000 guests later, Bluegrass Underground is gathering an international following.

“We have had people from Ireland and Japan.And they literally said they came to America, the impetus was to come to this cave and see this show.”

As the audience filed out of the cave, Bluegrass fan Gwynn Lanaus said the music seemed to fit the setting.

“The Bluegrass that we saw today, it kind of blended.You know, it might not be a venue for all kinds of music, but it was certainly appropriate for the day.”

Austin Thompson, lead singer of The Way Down Wanderers, says the cave setting also match the nature-themed songs his group often performs.He was impressed as well with the cave’s natural acoustics.

“I thought it was really great.I mean, on both sides of the spectrum, being on stage and as a listener in the audience, you know, it was a really full... a really full sound.

Todd Mayo says he hopes to give music fans who attend the show an even fuller experience in the near future.He wants to develop a weekend long Tennessee program that would include visiting some of the state’s many scenic parks and forests.