The Mountain-Ear Podcast
The Mountain-Ear Podcast delivers you local news, music and community stories from Colorado's Peak to Peak region every single week. Whether it's the latest headlines, exclusive interviews with local musicians or stories straight from your community, we've got it covered. Subscribe to the show to get the most up-to-date news and stories from Estes to Black Hawk and everywhere in between. Head to www.themtnear.com/subscribe to subscribe to the The Mountain-Ear in print and online.
Episodes
Today, we’re taking a trip to CU Boulder’s Mountain Research Station. This little plot of land in the Indian Peaks Wilderness operated by CU’s Institute for Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR) is one of the longest running high elevation research centers in the world. This summer, they’re celebrating 100 plus years of groundbreaking research by opening its doors to the public.
First, we'll hear from IN...
Rachel Cole and Gus Miller have been performing music as a duo for years, but for the first time, they're cementing a duo project they've called Down River. This week, we talk to Rachel and Gus in preparation for their upcoming performance at the Jamestown Mercantile on Thursday, June 25th, 2026.
Our theme song is courtesy of singer-songwriter Brittney Wagner. Stream her record Better off Dead here.
Thank y...
We've got another segment from our friends at Boulder Valley Frequency today featuring prolific music journalist, outdoorsmen and Ward-adjacent resident Grayson Haver Currin. Grayson has profiled Willie Nelson, Peter Frampton, Tame Impala and of course, Paul McCartney. Today, he explains how he found his way to music journalism while telling some pretty cool stories along the way.
Also
- Black Hawk water issue gets multimillion dol...
Local indie folk unit Trouble's Braids released their newest EP Tarantula on June 5th, and to talk about the release and their upcoming group performances, co-founder Emily Pennington joins this week's episode of Music of the Mountains!
Our theme song is courtesy of singer-songwriter Brittney Wagner. Stream her record Better off Dead here.
Thank you for listening to The Mountain-Ear Podcast, featuring news ...
Take a break from national headlines and tune in to what's going on in your neighborhood. On this week's episode, we've got just the headlines: a quick round up of everything that's been happening in the Peak to Peak these last two weeks, from proposed rental housing in Nederland to Central City Opera's show stopping drag performance in Denver.
Also
- Nederland child care center nears completion
- Massive turnout for Ned's annua...
Colorado guitarist Jon Ridnell has released his first new BlackDog album in over a decade, Freak the Funk. Tune into this week's episode to learn more about Jon and his new release.
Our theme song is courtesy of singer-songwriter Brittney Wagner. Stream her record Better off Dead here.
Thank you for listening to The Mountain-Ear Podcast, featuring news and culture from peak to peak! Additional pages are lin...
The June issue of Caribou Current hit the racks yesterday, so we've got another sneak peak at all of this months content today. In honor of our cover story about Boulder Comedy Festival, coming to venues across The People's Republic June 16-21, we compiled a few snippets of standup from comedians performing at the festival for today's show - along with our regular round up of concerts, events and stories you won't want to miss.
Cont...
In this week's episode of Music of the Mountains, we bring on Dango Rose to talk about his musical endeavors, celebrating his opening at Ned General for Redd and the Paper Flowers on May 30, 2026. From a new documentary focusing on his songwriting and mental health journey to performing with Elephant Revival, we catch up with Dango on his current musical direction.
Our theme song is courtesy of singer-songwriter Brittney Wagner. Str...
The general public tends to write off skaters as grungy, lazy, troublemakers. But that's far from the truth.
In reporting a story for the May issue of Caribou Current, I asked Nederland skateboarders about the lessons skating can teach us. There's a lot more to learn than just how to do a kickflip - skating can teach us how to persevere, how to fail and succeed, and how to be a good person. This episode is a compilation of some of t...
Guitarist Tony Crank recently performed with friends as Tony Crank Music at The Old Gallery in Allenspark. On this episode of Music of the Mountains, we talk with Tony about his time as a guitarist in Colorado and the reasons he continues playing and learning today.
Our theme song is courtesy of singer-songwriter Brittney Wagner. Stream her record Better off Dead here.
Thank you for listening to The Mountai...
Today, we’re featuring an episode from our sister podcast, Shay Castle’s Boulder Valley Frequency, about a pair of mountain women breathing life into Ward’s Hotel Columbia, which just opened its doors after a year and a half of renovations.
A few months ago, Shay paid a visit to Hotel Columbia and its new owners, Masyn Moyer and Gurjeet Gill, to find out what possessed them to renovate the old building....
Brian and Lacey Loeper are core members of a close group of musicians who arrived in Colorado from different places. This connection of new community members inspired the name Satellite Friend, who now work together to write new songs on a regular basis. Learn more about the band by tuning in to this episode of The Mountain-Ear Podcast, featuring Brian and Lacey!
Our theme song is courtesy of singer-songwriter Brittney Wagner. Strea...
Colorado's largest Superfund site by area stretches 400 square miles across Gilpin and Clear Creek counties. The site has been in remediation for nearly five decades, and a new scope of remediation is assessing the health risk of lead left behind by historic mining to residents.
At Gilpin County's annual health fair on May 9, public health workers were testing residents' blood for lead. On today's episode, we sat down with Gilpin's ...
This week, transitioning into our new regular spot for Music of the Mountains, we're bringing a stand-up comedian, Aaron Foster, onto the show to talk about his upcoming set for his tour, Mostly Jokes, at the Backdoor Theater on Thursday, May 14th. Join us for this slight detour of an episode with Performing in the Peaks!
Our theme song is courtesy of singer-songwriter Brittney Wagner. Stream her record Better off Dead her...
Today's show features an exclusive interview with Elephant Revival's Bonnie Paine, who just released her debut solo record, Unseen.
She joins the show today to talk about how the record came together, her path to headlining Red Rocks, and a little known band out of Oklahoma called The Rat Nurses.
You can read the full story at cariboucurrent.com, or in our May issue, on news racks all over Nederland, Boulder and the Peak ...
After the devastation of the Lakeview Fire in October 2025, Nederland businesses had to find their footing again. With the upcoming opening weekend for Ned's newest hub, The Vault, we're featuring Doug Armitage to talk to him about his business, Brightwood Music, and building it back up with the help of the community.
Our theme song is courtesy of singer-songwriter Brittney Wagner. Stream her record Better off Dead here.
Cross Mine could finally reopen. A final hearing on operator Grand Island Resource's application to resume mining activity is scheduled for May 20 after years of delays.
But where does the town of Nederland fit into all of this? On today's episode, reporter Shay Castle sits down with Nederland Town Manager Jonathan Cain to discuss what's at stake for the mountain town, and what they're doing to keep an eye on GIR's operations.
...
In preparation for the first show of the Gold Hill Inn's 2026 season, learn more about That Damn Sasquatch from primary songwriter and guitarist Spencer Crawford. To prepare for the band's performance on May 1st to start the season off, we talk with Crawford about the history and stylings of the band!
Our theme song is courtesy of singer-songwriter Brittney Wagner. Stream her record Better off Dead here.
Th...
On this week's episode, Nederland's new mayor Nichole Sterling joins the show for an exclusive interview to talk about her vision for Ned's future, affordable housing and the dramatic finish to the mayoral race.
Polls closed in Nederland two weeks ago, and after several unofficial results and recounts, Nichole Sterling edged out incumbent Billy Giblin, 261 to 258, for the mayor's seat.
The former Mayor Pro Tem has big plans for the t...
Wendy Woo will be coming back to the Peak to Peak area when she performs at Oskar Blues Grill and Brew on Friday, May 22, 2026. In anticipation of next month's performance, we're bringing back her segment from November 2025!
Wendy Woo is a performer rooted sturdily in Colorado. Originally from New York, the acoustic singer-songwriter moved to Boulder with her parents as a kid, going back and forth between Boulder and Nederland.
Both ...
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