The Mountain-Ear Podcast

In this episode, we celebrate the Nederland Jazz and Wine Festival 2025 by talking to vendor manager Sarah Bishop, Vendor Ken Slaymaker of Slaymaker Cellars Mead, and musician Mark Diamond about their excitement for the festival! 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 Mountain-Ear Po...

Jeffrey James Franca started his musical trajectory playing guitar, taking lessons around the age of five. He found himself invested in playing music, although he didn’t realize how invested at the time. Joining his band program in elementary school, he started playing the snare drum. Playing a drum set from his uncle, he completely embraced the instrument, finding the transition from guitar to sn...

Just before the pandemic started, Bevin Foley of Trout Steak Revival invited Melly Frances and Keenan Leigh to her house to share music and original songs. Both of the latter two had recently left their previous bands and had songs with the same obscure pre-World War II blues sound. Neither of them had ever met anyone else, let alone another female, interested in the same style of music, and the t...

The Peak to Peak area has a storied history, and among those stories are towns steeped in mystery and filled with legends. In today's episode, regular correspondent Maryann Rosen discusses the ghost towns of this mountain area. 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 Mountain-Ear...

The man now known as Chicken Coop Willaye moved from his home state of North Carolina to Atlanta, Georgia, after graduating from Appalachian State University in Boone. During the decade he lived in Atlanta, he was known as Washboard Willaye. In Atlanta, Willaye met local legends who gathered for performances in Northside Tavern, eventually sitting in with Danny “Mudcat” Dudeck on his Wednesday nig...

This segment of the podcast is a complete audiobook reading of From the Book of Legends, an out-of-print storybook from artist and writer Jane Wodening, sharing the stories she's heard of three individuals and reflecting on what it means to be a hero and a legend. Special thanks to Janette Taylor and Desirae Brakhage. To learn more about Jane and find her books, head to her website or to Blue...

In this segment, the host reads the poems published in the It's Your Turn edition of The Mountain-Ear published on July 31, 2025. 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 Mountain-Ear Podcast, featuring news and culture from peak to peak! Additional pages are linked below. If you...

In this episode of The Mountain-Ear Podcast, the host reads the poems from Some Words for the Week written by Alexander Shalom Joseph for the month of July 2025 (excluding the July 3 poem, read in the previous segment of the series). 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 Mountain-Ea...

Born in Austin and growing up in Dallas, Sarah Minto-Sparks has always been influenced by her Texas roots. Graduating from Highland Park High School, she moved to Boston, Massachusetts, to attend university. After earning a bachelor’s in behavioral neuroscience at Northwestern University in 2021, Minto-Sparks took a gap year. At the age of twenty, she grabbed a guitar, and she hasn’t stopped playi...

Continuing in her series spotlighting the Peak to Peak's incredible towns, Maryann Rosen takes listeners on a journey through the history of Gold Hill, Ward, and Jamestown! 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 Mountain-Ear Podcast, featuring news and culture from peak to peak!...

AJ Montana Keyser has been writing songs since the age of 11 and playing open mikes since the age of 15. They’ve embraced music throughout their entire life, performing professionally for over eight years. When Keyser first started releasing songs, they did so under their birth name. Their personal and musical journey changed in July 2022 during a trip to Bozeman, Montana, where they completely em...

Organizer Stephanie Andelman joins The Mountain-Ear Podcast to talk about the upcoming 2025 celebration of the Nederland Jazz and Wine Festival! 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 Mountain-Ear Podcast, featuring news and culture from peak to peak! Additional pages are linked belo...

Guitarist Brian Blaser jokes that five years ago, he didn’t even know how to spell the word “bluegrass.” His music tastes focused primarily on alternative and electric rock, playing in a group that performed songs from artists like the Allman Brothers, Phish, the Grateful Dead, Pink Floyd, the Rolling Stones, Radiohead, and Pearl Jam. One night, at a local bluegrass pick, Blaser met a young banjo...

The Peak to Peak's very own Scott Harrison recently sat down with Steve Hartman in a segment for his program on CBS Evening News, On the Road . In celebration of the man and his passion project, The Carousel of Happiness, today's Audio Library segment focuses on articles written by or about Harrison and the carousel that has brought joy to thousands. Our theme song is courtesy of singer-...

George Blevins has called Colorado’s Front Range his home for over half his life, moving in the early 1980s. He says the time in his adult life before then “hardly seems to count, especially since I’m 85 and I don’t remember all that stuff very well.” Before Colorado, Blevins grew up in rural Louisiana. As a child, he and his parents lay in bed together every Sunday morning to read The Sunday Funn...

Join us on an artistic journey as correspondent Maryann Rosen discusses local art and artists across the Peak to Peak! 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 Mountain-Ear Podcast, featuring news and culture from peak to peak! Additional pages are linked below. If you want to be invol...

Having grown up in New Jersey, Matthew “Matt” McCloskey moved to Fort Collins in 2020. After five years, he now considers Colorado his home. McCloskey first started playing in his pre-teens, performing in open mics at around 13 years old. His parents, who were also musicians, frequently took him to a local coffee shop for the open mic there, and he’s never stopped playing gigs. McCloskey started w...

Sit back and tune in to Some Words for the Week, written by Alexander Shalom Joseph for the July 3, 2025 edition of The Mountain-Ear! 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 Mountain-Ear Podcast, featuring news and culture from peak to peak! Additional pages are linked below. If you w...

In the continuation of Maryann Rosen's Spotlight series, she focuses on the local history and culture of Central City and Black Hawk!  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 Mountain-Ear Podcast, featuring news and culture from peak to peak! Additional pages are linked below. If...

In 2011, Connor Dady moved away from his roots in Rochester, New York, and settled down in Denver, Colorado. Around the same time, Dan Williams moved to Denver from Austin, Texas, and both he and Dady happened to land a job as arborists for the same company. As they talked, they realized they shared a similar interest in music, both performing occasionally in local open mics on their own time. Get...

Conductor Brad Swartzwelter’s primary interest has always been trains, even from before he can remember. When he was around two years old, his mother took him on a train ride from Denver to Ottumwa, Iowa. While he does not remember the trip, his mother says he enjoyed it greatly. As a kid, Swartzwelter’s interest in trains only grew. As many kids do, he played with a train set and, further encoura...

For this segment, the host reads "Some words for the week" written for the June 26, 2025 edition of The Mountain-Ear by Alexander Shalom Joseph. 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 Mountain-Ear Podcast, featuring news and culture from peak to peak! Additional pages are l...

For this audio library segment, the host reads the following articles from the June 26, 2025, edition of The Mountain-Ear: A brief queer history of Boulder County by Samyukta Sarma Brad the cat finds his way home by Mindy Leary Monte Lobo provides an alternative by Dave Gibson Colorado prepares after Operation Midnight Hammer by Christopher Kelley History is told, but who's there to tell? by...

Trace Hybertson started playing classical violin at the age of four, eventually discovering the Colorado bluegrass scene and falling in love with it. He started going to bluegrass festivals and jams, becoming interested in playing the fiddle. Not only did the festivals and jams mean that he got to stay up later, but they also allowed him to develop his fiddle skills. He hasn’t put the instrument d...

Promotional Statement: 7 hours of music, arts & crafts booths, food trucks, craft beer, and kids' activities all for only $37! Kids 12 and under free! We have a big day of 7 hours of music including Magoo the band, High Lonesome, The High Road Home, New Family Dog with Bridget Law of Elephant Revival, Adam Pause, Montana Sand, and John McKay. Plus artist booths, food trucks, craft beer, a...