CAÑADA DE LOS ALAMOS — In the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, a high, lonesome sound emerged Thursday evening as people set up their campsites and George Scholz on mandolin and Robert Davis on guitar sailed through "Ninety-Nine Years (And One Dark Day)."

"I never learned to read, I never learned to write. My whole life’s been one big fight," Davis sang, straining his voice to meet the demands of the hard-luck bluegrass ballad. "I never heard about the righteous way. I got 99 years and one dark day."

The banjo boys and girls are back in town for another couple of days of ceaseless jamming. Beginning Friday and continuing through the weekend, the Santa Fe Traditional Music Festival, now in its ninth year, is occurring at Camp Stoney in Cañada de los Alamos, just 10 miles from

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