The Mountain-Ear Podcast

As a special segment to celebrate National Poetry Month, today's episode spotlights Joshua Davis, Streets Manager and resident of Nederland. Read more about him and his poetry in the April 2nd edition of the newspaper or on the website. Our theme song is courtesy of singer-songwriter Brittney Wagner. Stream her record  Better off Dead  here. Support the show Thank you for listening to The Mou...

We have another news-heavy episode for you this week. The Nederland mayoral race came down to just one vote, with sitting mayor Billy Giblin receiving 258 votes and challenger Nichole Sterling at 257. Stay tuned for updates on a potential recount as we hear more from Nederland town staff. Also Nederland's Wild Bear Nature Center names new executive director Eldora closes for the season The Mo...

Before seeing them as a co-bill at the Gold Hill General Store on April 16th, listen to this week's Music of the Mountains to learn more about Alexa Wildish and Sadie Gustafson-Zook! Even though both Sadie Gustafson-Zook and Alexa Wildish have been musical since their childhoods, their craft is always evolving. There are new influences, new perspectives and, of course, new skills and songs. “...

Stanley Jordan is your favorite guitar player's favorite guitar player. The legendary jazz guitarist is coming to The Caribou Room April 18 ahead of the release of his new record Feather in the Wind. For the latest issue of Caribou Current, Brittney Wagner caught up with Stanley ahead of the show to talk about his signature playing style, and how he used songwriting to cope with devastating l...

Welcome Godlazer back to The Mountain-Ear Podcast, where we have DJ Christopher Caligaris talking about his creative resurgence and his personal musical journey. Learn more about him in preparation for his upcoming appearance at The Vault on May 15th from 5 to 9 p.m.! In the five years since the release of his most recent album, Electric Caribou, instrumental and electronic musician Christopher Ca...

On this week's episode, we're bringing you just the headlines: All the information you need to stay informed on what's happening in your community, in a tight show you can listen to in less than 10 minutes. This week's updates Nederland Mayor Billy Giblin provides update on Caribou Village Shopping Center cleanup Gilpin County Sheriff's Office sees large uptick in calls fo...

Tune into this week's episode of Music of the Mountains to hear from guitarist, songwriter, harmonica player, and dobro player Keith Murdock about an upcoming show at Howlin' Wind Brewing and Blending (Saturday, March 28th at 4 p.m. ) from Orchard Creek Band! Our theme song is courtesy of singer-songwriter Brittney Wagner. Stream her record  Better off Dead  here. Support the show Thank...

We're excited to announce that Boulder Valley Frequency, a local news podcast from longtime Boulder reporter Shay Castle, is joining the Mountain-Ear Podcast family. On today's show, we sat down with Shay to talk about the importance of local news, and how her show is bringing you everything you need to know to stay informed on your community in an accessible and unintimidating package....

This week's Music of the Mountains brings back interviews with Harry Tuft, founder of the Denver Folklore Center, to hear from him about his experiences in the Colorado music scene. This interview was partially sourced for this week's Music of the Mountains column, recounting the story of The Beatles performing in their only Colorado show, at Red Rocks, in 1964. Our theme song is courtes...

If you listen to this show every week, you know that Colorado has a rich mining history. With the Peak to Peak’s deep roots in the mining industry, there always seem to be overlooked nuggets of information. In this episode with Maryann Rosen, we dig into one of those stories — how a man moved from China to start one of the first Chinese settlements in the state, and how prejudice and early U.S. im...

In this week's episode of Music of the Mountains, we're featuring Emily Pennington, one half of the duo Trouble's Braids, who is coming to perform at Busey Brews on March 15th at 2 p.m.! Stay tuned to learn more! "Music is a relatively new adventure in Emily Pennington’s life. For her, it’s also one of the most unexpected, something she’d tried but never considered pursuing. &a...

The March issue of Caribou Current hits the stands today, and with it we're bringing you a special editorial preview of what's inside this month - including an exclusive interview with art rock darling Neko Case ahead of her March 15 show at Boulder Theater. Inside the episode: Nederland's first Poet Laureate grace's the cover of our March Issue A round-up of this month's...

Coming from Colorado Springs to perform in Jamestown, the country band Patchwork Jack will be headed to the Jamestown Mercantile, located at 108 Main Street in Jamestown, on Saturday, March 13, 2026, starting at 7 p.m.! The music of Patchwork Jack reflects the band’s name: Despite origins in folk, their sound also includes the influences of Texas country, Latin ballads, and Romani swing. The band’...

Before the days when Boulder, Nederland and Ward were considered a safe haven for beat poets, rockstars and acid heads, there wasn’t a whole lot of love for weird. Then the 1960s happened, and a near-earth asteroid drove a swath of paranoid hippies to Boulder and its mountain towns. Today, Maryann Rosen takes us on a long strange trip through the migration of hippies to the area, and how the art,...

In this week's Music of the Mountains, we're featuring country singer-songwriter Alma Russ, traveling from her home state of North Carolina to perform at the Gold Hill General Store on Friday, March 6th, at 7:30 p.m.!  Narratives are the most compelling part of music to Alma Russ. The Florida-born musician spent summers with her family on her greatgrandmother’s property in Sylva, North C...

In the 20th century, segregation in Colorado prevented many Black artists and families from staying at hotels, eating in restaurants and finding respite. A little known plot of land in Gilpin County called Lincoln Hills was the only place many African Americans could go for this. At the time, Lincoln Hills was the only leisure destination west of the Mississippi owned by and made for Black America...

In this week's double feature of Music of the Mountains, we're bringing in Kimmerjae Macarus and Morgan McHugh to talk about their upcoming show at Ned General! The Colorado journey of folk-rock guitarist Morgan McHugh came from expanding his performing reach. Branching from projects he’d been a part of, the Bellingham-born musician brought his original songs and acoustic guitar stylings...

In our Valentine's Day special, we're bring you an episode stuffed with love. We read Valentine's submitted by you, our readers and listeners, to the Mountain-Ear, followed by a dive into the holiday's somewhat twisted origins. Valentine's Day wasn't always chocolate, roses and romance. The cute cards and candy hearts we know today can trace their origins back to a pa...

In this week's episode of Music of the Mountains, we feature Christopher Morse, acoustic singer-songwriting with the stylings of John Mayer and Jason Mraz! Have you ever heard of a boarding school for musicians? Even this column’s author had no idea a school like that existed. For those who actually attended, though, it became some of their first experiences touring. Christopher Morse attende...

It's finally here. The first issue of Caribou Current, our new, free arts and culture monthly hits news racks across Boulder and Gilpin County today, Feb. 5.  In honor of our first issue, we're bringing you an episode packed with Caribou Current content: An exclusive interview with the prolific Boulder-based horror author Stephen Graham Jones, an editorial preview of this month's is...

In this week's Music of the Mountains, we feature Emma Sky Quarterman, a Colorado singer-songwriter working on booking more gigs in the Front Range. She's got two performances on Valentine's Day weekend, so be sure to stay tuned to learn more about those shows! Emma Sky Quarterman is, in many ways, a woman of the mountains. Not only is the country, pop, and R&B-inspired artist o...

Today, we’re joined by a trio of CU Boulder student journalists who dug up a story in Gold Hill, where failing backup batteries cut emergency services for residents during power outages. The systems, supplied by Lumen Technologies, are supposed to keep land lines operational when the power's out. But some of those batteries are over 20 years old and failing, turning power outages into potenti...

This week on Music of the Mountains, The Mountain-Ear Podcast invites Tom Knowlton, lead singer and guitarist of The Fretliners, to talk about his weekly open jams at MainStage Brewing in Lyons! Be sure to stay tuned to learn more about his background! Year-round, musicians play unique lineups as part of the MainGrass event, created by MainStage Brewing and Emma Rose in 2021. Musicians and lineups...

On today's show, Maryann Rosen tells us how a couple teachers, a bluebird, and a love for the Colorado outdoors revitalized the spirits of Chicago’s working women in the early 20th century.  This episode received contributions from a 2021 History Colorado article written by Dr. Kayann Short. You can read her piece here. Also, in this week's news Federal funding freeze slashes Nederland&a...

Joey Palermino finds a special connectivity through the art of music. From sharing music with his parents to finding a community of musicians to perform with, building connections and friendships through music inspires him the most.  Palermino’s instrument of choice has always been the guitar. A selftaught player, he especially embraced the instrument after college, living in Memphis and playing l...