VOA慢速英语--Coachella First: DJ as Leading Performer

Coachella First: DJ as Leading Performer

The dreamy 10-day California music festival, Coachella, opens Friday, starring three very different artists.

Electronic rock band LCD Soundsystem headlines Friday nights.

The classic¹ heavy metal band Guns ‘n’ Roses is the main performer for Saturdays. And Sundays feature Scottish DJ and singer Calvin Harris.

LCD Soundsystem broke up in 2011. But last year, the group released² a single. The band’s reunion was announced soon after. Now they are on tour, including appearances at several music fests.

The band has won three Grammy awards, including one in 2006 for the song “Daft Punk Is Playing at My House.” Daft Punk is another popular electronic band.

Guns ‘n’ Roses has been around since 1985 and won huge success early on. Band members have come and gone and come again.

The song “Sweet Child O’ Mine” was the group’s only song to go to No. 1 on Billboard³ magazine’s “Hot 100” list of popular songs.

Lead singer Axl Rose wrote it for his love interest at the time. Some of the band members did not like the song at first. But it helped Guns ‘n’ Roses cross over to non-rock radio play. It also helped sell 30 million copies of the group’s first album “Appetite for Destruction⁴.”

Calvin Harris has played Coachella before. But this is his first headline appearance. It is also the first time a DJ has starred at the festival. It is not a surprising choice for Coachella organizers, however. In 2014, Harris reportedly attracted the second-largest crowd ever at the event.

This year maybe he will break the record.  It would not hurt if his girlfriend attends the festival. She happens to be America’s top earning performer, Taylor Swift⁵. Harris and Swift just celebrated⁶ their first year anniversary⁷ last month.

Coachella takes place in the desert town of Indio, California. It runs through April 24.

Words in This Story

festival – n. an organized series of performances?

classic – adj. used to say that something has come to be considered one of the best of its kind?

tour – n. a series of related⁸ performances, appearances, competitions, etc., that occur at different places over a period of time

1 classic   

n.经典作品；adj.经典的，一流的；古典的

参考例句：

• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。
• The football match was a classic.那场足球比赛堪称典范。

2 released   

v.释放( release的过去式和过去分词 )；放开；发布；发行

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• With hindsight it is easy to say they should not have released him. 事后才说他们本不应该释放他，这倒容易。

3 billboard   

n.布告板，揭示栏，广告牌

参考例句：

• He ploughed his energies into his father's billboard business.他把精力投入到父亲的广告牌业务中。
• Billboard spreads will be simpler and more eye-catching.广告牌广告会比较简单且更引人注目。

4 destruction   

n.破坏，毁灭，消灭

参考例句：

• The enemy bombs caused widespread destruction.敌人的炸弹造成大面积的破坏。
• Overconfidence was his destruction.自负是他垮台的原因。

5 swift   

n.雨燕，大滚筒；adj.迅速的，快的，敏捷的，立刻的；adv.迅速地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He is swift to hear,but slow to speak.他听力敏锐，但不善言辞。
• He made a remarkably swift recovery.他康复得相当快。

6 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

7 anniversary   

n.周年(纪念日)

参考例句：

• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。
• Today is my parents'30th wedding anniversary.今天是我父母结婚30周年纪念日。

8 related   

adj.有关系的，有关联的，叙述的，讲述的

参考例句：

• I am not related to him in any way.我和他无任何关系。
• We spent days going through all related reference material.我们花了好多天功夫查阅所有有关的参考资料。