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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. Getting to know each other more, they started performing together through open mics and jams among friends, sharing their music tastes with each other.

Their chemistry continued to develop as they kept performing together. Around 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the two decided to look for other musicians to flesh out their sound and book more gigs. By the end of 2020, the group had acquired an upright bass player, a fiddle player, and a dobro player, booking gig opportunities in Denver.

Since 2021, the band, now named Cottonwood Drifters, has cycled through various lineups to find a group of people who could share their artistic talents individually while also working towards common goals together.

Dady and Williams are the consistent core members and songwriters, with Dady playing acoustic guitar, Williams playing mandolin (which he learned online during COVID) and occasionally Irish tenor banjo, and both singing lead vocals.

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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 encouraging his interest, his parents would stop the car whenever they drove by a train so that he could watch it.

Swartzwelter’s family often vacationed at Sheriff Ranch in Granby, fishing with a lease on the Colorado River. During these vacations, he watched and waved at the Rio Grande Zephyr rolling through. For him, this fascination has been “a lifelong ailment, [for which] I’ve tried numerous remedies [and] there is no cure.”

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 involved in the podcast or paper, contact:

Barbara Hardt, our editor-in-chief, at [email protected]

Tyler Hickman, multimedia producer, at [email protected]

Jamie Lammers, podcast host, at [email protected]

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Head to our website for all of the latest news.

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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.

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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 involved in the podcast or paper, contact:

Barbara Hardt, our editor-in-chief, at [email protected]

Tyler Hickman, multimedia producer, at [email protected]

Jamie Lammers, podcast host, at [email protected]

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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 Christopher Kelley

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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 involved in the podcast or paper, contact:

Barbara Hardt, our editor-in-chief, at [email protected]

Tyler Hickman, multimedia producer, at [email protected]

Jamie Lammers, podcast host, at [email protected]

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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 down since and has been playing for 24 years now.

Adam Baerd took some piano lessons as a kid before switching to classical guitar lessons. He got into the American fingerstyle scene through artists such as Trace Bundy and Andy McKee, and has since also performed in a cappella groups and rock bands.

He’s played in styles such as gypsy swing, bluegrass, and traditional Irish music (or “trads”) by himself and with others. For him, all of these influences have blended together as he has developed his own style of playing.

The two musicians met at an enchanted forest-themed party, where many other musicians played. They jumped in and performed together, and in particular, Baerd realized their connection created the kind of music he most wanted to listen to and play.

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 involved in the podcast or paper, contact:

Barbara Hardt, our editor-in-chief, at [email protected]

Tyler Hickman, multimedia producer, at [email protected]

Jamie Lammers, podcast host, at [email protected]

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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, and kids’ activities all for only $37 and kids 12 & under are free! And don't forget, 100% of the profits go to the Gilpin County School music department.

So come on out on the 4th of July for a great day for the whole family and support music programs for local kids! It's at the Gilpin County Fairgrounds just off the Peak to Peak Highway at 250 Norton Drive, Black Hawk, CO. The event is from 1:30-9:00 pm.

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 involved in the podcast or paper, contact:

Barbara Hardt, our editor-in-chief, at [email protected]

Tyler Hickman, multimedia producer, at [email protected]

Jamie Lammers, podcast host, at [email protected]

General inquiries: [email protected]

Head to our website for all of the latest news.

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Check out this episode to hear the poem in the "Some words for the week" series written by Alexander Shalom Joseph for the June 19th, 2025 edition of The Mountain-Ear!

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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 involved in the podcast or paper, contact:

Barbara Hardt, our editor-in-chief, at [email protected]

Tyler Hickman, multimedia producer, at [email protected]

Jamie Lammers, podcast host, at [email protected]

General inquiries: [email protected]

Head to our website for all of the latest news.

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in today's Audio Library segment, the host reads four columns from the most recent edition of The Mountain-Ear!

Columns read:

"Discovery of the first gold lode in Colorado" by Brian Algers

"Life in Nature: The stash" by James Dewalt

"Mountain Spirit Astrology: Summer Solstice" by Karen Anderson

"The Alphas are coming" by Amy Skinner

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 involved in the podcast or paper, contact:

Barbara Hardt, our editor-in-chief, at [email protected]

Tyler Hickman, multimedia producer, at [email protected]

Jamie Lammers, podcast host, at [email protected]

General inquiries: [email protected]

Head to our website for all of the latest news.

Subscribe to The Mountain-Ear in print and online.

Submit local events to promote them in the paper and on our website.

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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 involved in the podcast or paper, contact:

Barbara Hardt, our editor-in-chief, at [email protected]

Tyler Hickman, multimedia producer, at [email protected]

Jamie Lammers, podcast host, at [email protected]

General inquiries: [email protected]

Head to our website for all of the latest news.

Subscribe to The Mountain-Ear in print and online.

Submit local events to promote them in the paper and on our website.

Find us on Facebook @mtnear and Instagram @mtn.ear

Listen and watch on YouTube today.

Share this podcast by scrolling to the bottom of our website home page or by heading to our main hub on Buzzsprout.

Thank you for listening!

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In this week's segment of Some Words for the Week, the host reads multiple recent entries from the series.  

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 involved in the podcast or paper, contact:

Barbara Hardt, our editor-in-chief, at [email protected]

Tyler Hickman, multimedia producer, at [email protected]

Jamie Lammers, podcast host, at [email protected]

General inquiries: [email protected]

Head to our website for all of the latest news.

Subscribe to The Mountain-Ear in print and online.

Submit local events to promote them in the paper and on our website.

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Share this podcast by scrolling to the bottom of our website home page or by heading to our main hub on Buzzsprout.

Thank you for listening!