The Mountain-Ear Podcast

This week, reporter and editor Shay Castle met with local organizers from Big Tent BoCo, a group that's petitioning to increase the number of county commissioners from three to five. Organizers Masyn Moyer and Rachel Friend are pushing for better representation for the county - especially for the the more rural, western half of BoCo. Though it's not uncommon for a county of this size to...

The Gold Hill Inn is shut down for the season and will reopen in May 2026. To celebrate the venue and its incredible repertoire of performers, we're flashing back to a 2021 interview with Gold Hill Inn performer Finn O'Sullivan! 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 Mounta...

In today's show, Maryann Rosen recounts the historic blizzards of the Peak to Peak that buried the region under snow that reached second-story windows. What was it like to live through a storm without access to your snowblower, or without plows clearing the streets? It wasn't easy. These storms could decimate towns, and they could strand settlers for weeks with nowhere to go. Listen to t...

In the first 2026 episode of Music of the Mountains, The Mountain-Ear Podcast hears from  Andre LaMotte , a Spanish guitar instrumentalist who brings an acoustic twist to modern rock and pop. The physical and digital music column will be out in the January 8th issue of the newspaper, a day before LaMotte's performance at Monarch Casino in Black Hawk. Listen to the episode for more details --...

Happy New Year, and Happy Birthday to the Mountain-Ear Podcast! Today marks our fifth anniversary of being on the airwaves. We've come a long way, and we have a lot to be proud of - plus a lot to look forward to. To ring in the New Year, we have our first "Sounds of the Town" submission from Eldora resident David Hallock, a bird lover and conservationist who says the song of the Ame...

Roger and Lori Drienka have lived together in the Colorado mountain community for nearly 50 years, with Lori’s connections to the state reaching back generations. In 1936, her grandfather built a teepee near his family’s property in the town of Pinecliffe. Lori was born in Denver, where she lived until around the age of ten. She moved to Southern California, where she met Roger in a high school co...

Musicians don’t build their legacies overnight. They learn, they tour, they perform, and they sometimes stumble into their defining moments. Rhythm and blues musician Chris Daniels and soul musician Freddi Gowdy have built their legacies over decades. In 2025's final episode of Music of the Mountains, prepare for the end of the year by bringing Daniels and Gowdy on to talk about their upcomin...

Did miners in the Peak to Peak get Christmas day off in the 1800's? In this week's episode, our guest host Maryann Rosen digs into the history of Christmas, and what the holiday meant for early settlers in Nederland. Winters were long and the holidays in the Colorado mountains weren't always merry and bright - especially for the laborers who worked year-round in the historical mines...

There’s a special joy that comes when people play music together. Richard Shine , who has primarily performed acoustic solo sets over the last few years, is now experiencing that joy with fellow guitarist Steve Scheidker. “I met Steve playing pickleball,” Shine recalls. “We had him over one night, and he said he played some guitar and did some singing, so we started fiddling around, and next thing...

We are excited to announce an endeavor that has been months in the making: Caribou Current , our new, free arts and culture monthly coming in February 2026. A cast of former Boulder Weekly staffers, who lost their jobs when the Alternative Weekly newspaper ceased publishing this past summer, are teaming up with The Mountain-Ear to bring you stories about music, arts, entertainment, food and more,...

On Friday, December 12, 2025, the Nederland Community Library hosted a reception for its current art exhibit, A Plague of Parody, with its artist, Brent Warren . Community members mingled and drank amongst the artwork in the library’s community room, with the filmmaker, musician, magician, and multimedia artist providing guitar accompaniment. Warren also discussed the meanings of his artwork, digi...

Gospel music has the power to bring people together, no matter where they’re from or what they believe. The emerging lineup Chapel Mountain Rounders embrace the style for that exact reason. Longmont resident Elijah Donovan, Nederland resident Matt Thomas, Rollinsville resident Courtlyn Bills, and Steamboat resident Kay McKenzie have consistently drawn hope from gospel music. While Christian messag...

On today's show, we’re bringing you a segment from our guest host Maryann Rosen, who paints a beautiful picture of a winter drive down the Peak to Peak highway.  Bundle up, watch out for moose, and try not to let the breathtaking scenery distract you while you make your way from Blackhawk to Estes Park on one of the prettiest drives in the state of Colorado. Also Reindeer games (literally) in...

William Nicholson has passed down the idea of Tortesia for years. The legend began at a previous job, where he frequently talked to “a guy named Cole,” who constantly showed up hungover. When Nicholson asked Cole where he had been the night before, he said he was down in Tortesia. Nicholson asked where Tortesia was, and Cole pointed in one direction and responded, “It’s down the road about 10 or 1...

Ever wanted to learn how to sharpen your knives like a professional chef? Or dip your toes into music theory? Try asking your neighbor. In this week's episode, editor and reporter Shay Castle sits down with Fourmile Canyon local Anna Stifter to talk about a community skill share she's been organizing for the past few months. Anna details the steps you can take to start a skill share in y...

Danny Shafer opens up through music. The Americana singer-songwriter pours his heart into every song he writes and performs, hoping to make honest connections with his listeners. “I don’t have to hide anything when I’m on stage,” he says. “There’s no spot in my personality that I can’t show.” Tune into this week's Music of the Mountains episode to hear from and learn more about longtime Color...

It's not often that students, parents and teachers get to share a meal with each other. But once a year, on the Friday before Thanksgiving, the whole Nederland Middle-Senior High School community get's together for the Harvest Feast, a traditional more than a decade old. Media specialist Jamie Lammers stopped in to the potluck lunch to chat with the hungry cafeteria patrons to see what i...

We've all been told the story of the first Thanksgiving - but what actually happened? As with much of colonial American history, the real story is much darker. In Maryann Rosen's annual retelling of the story, she dives into the facts, giving us a true recounting of what colonial and indigenous relationships were like when pilgrims first began colonizing New England.  Listen today, and k...

Ned's got history - a lot of it. From the glacier carved valleys walked by indigenous peoples, to it's early mining settlements, to the vibrant music scene that evolved at Caribou Ranch, the town has been through countless ebbs and flows of time. History changes though, and in early October the Caribou Village fire that destroyed 20 storefronts and the livelihoods of many locals signifie...

Two things tie together Arn Current’s musical life: family and community. The longtime local musician worked his first job at the Caribou Ranch under founder James William Guercio, and he graduated from Nederland High in 1989. Now, Current is returning to his hometown for a show at Busey Brews as part of the Ripple Effect Benefit Series. The concert series has been scheduled through November, rais...

On today’s show, we’re launching a new joint segment with Boulder Valley Frequency we’re calling “Sounds of the Town”.   The Mountain-Ear wants to know: What does home sound like to you?  We are accepting submissions for Sounds of the Town, a new podcast series that seeks to highlight the sonic signatures of our area: from Allenspark to Idaho Springs, and all the canyons and communities in between...

Patrick Dethlefs has always let his instincts guide him. While he found early inspiration as a young musician everywhere from Jimmy Page to The Allman Brothers, the Colorado native put most of his energy into original material. “I don’t think I was a big learner of other people’s songs, even in the beginning,” Dethlefs says. “First getting the guitar, I think I just learned chords and put them tog...

Earlier this summer, Salto Coffee owners Karina and Marcus Luscher struck a deal to sell their shop to the ownership group at Gold Hill Inn, bringing a slice of the iconic Peak to Peak hangout to Old Town Nederland. That's where the story of Ned General, Nederland's newest coffee shop, bar and community space begins. This episode features a conversation from the archives between Mountain...

Guy Frydenlund formed a band through connections, meeting the band’s original drummer at an open jam and the bass and guitar players through CU Denver’s music program. Eight years on, guitarist Frydenlund, current drummer Zach Bulgarelli, keys player Jack Marty, and bass player Caden Kramer play together as Sqwerv. Frydenlund describes the group as an indie-jam band, with each member bringing thei...

This week, we're featuring an episode of Boulder Valley Frequency, a show from longtime Boulder journalist Shay Castle covering news across the county. In this episode of BVHz, Shay sits down with our very own senior reporter for The Mountain-Ear, Chris Kelley, for an update on Nederland's progress toward acquiring Eldora Ski Resort.  Chris gives us a bit of perspective on the potential...