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At around the age of eight years old, Will Whalen started playing around on his grandma’s upright organ and found that he really enjoyed it. Eventually, his family got him a plastic keyboard, which he would play on for hours. He learned how to play some of his favorite songs by ear, including music from video game soundtracks and contemporary radio-play songs. Whalen moved to Grand Junction in 2009, where he picked up an acoustic guitar for the first time. From there, he started doing open mics and eventually getting longer gigs. He finished getting his bachelor’s degree in writing in college and then continued pursuing a music career.

Our theme song is courtesy of singer-songwriter Brittney Wagner. Stream her record Better off Dead here.

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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:

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Today, we talk with Kelsey Simpkins of the Regional Air Quality Council about how you can help moderate ground-level ozone levels and improve the air quality in your community! For more information, text “BetterAirCO” to 21000 to sign up for ozone alerts and be sure to head to SimpleStepsBetterAir.org.

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 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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Guitarist and songwriter Noah Gose started playing piano with his siblings at a young age, and he was the only sibling who gravitated toward music. He taught himself how to play guitar after finding his father’s guitar under a bed. He has a wide-ranging musical taste, listening to artists from John Prine to Radiohead and Weezer. Violin player Chloe Gose grew up with a musical mother and brother, the latter of whom inspired her to start playing her instrument of choice for the first time. Bass player Andrew Vaggalis didn’t learn how to play his first instrument until he was 14, as he was primarily into sports before picking up a guitar.

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 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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James Moors and Kort McCumber first met each other in Lyons, Colorado, at the Rocky Mountain Folk Fest in 2005. Both of them were touring solo at the time, but as their friendship developed, so did their camaraderie as a duo. When McCumber didn’t have any gigs, he would play mandolin and sing harmony with Moors, and the duo grew organically from there. Their first self-titled album came out in 2009, and the record gave them an excuse to move on from their solo careers and stick together as a duo. McCumbers would describe their music “under the umbrella of Americana” along with singer-songwriter and folk music.

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 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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As described on KGNU: The 4th of July Barn dance is "7 hours of music including Rapidgrass; a special ensemble with Dango Rose and Bridget Law of Elephant Revival with Silas Herman and Marty O’Reilly; The Sweet Lillies; NoGo Gilbillies; Windy Pines, [and] Finn O’Sullivan. Plus artist booths, food trucks, and kids’ activities." Be sure to stop by when doors open at 1:30 on Thursday, July 4th! More details in the podcast!

Our theme song is courtesy of singer-songwriter Brittney Wagner. Stream her record Better off Dead here.

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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]

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Jamie Lammers, podcast host, at [email protected]

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 From an early age, Harry Tuft was involved in piano and clarinet lessons. Through a summer camp counselor, he learned about the ukulele and became interested in playing that instrument. From there, he moved to a baritone ukulele, and then a six-string guitar. His father loved classical music and opera and would often play traditional classical during dinner. After dinner, Tuft would listen to the pop and R&B stations of the day and sing along with the likes of Nat King Cole, Jo Stafford, and Perry Como. 

From John McEuen: "With the airing of Ken Burns Country Music, [John] McEuen has brought acoustic music to many new fans, taking part in 4 episodes of the series. Episode 6 is called Will The Circle Be Unbroken and John closes that one. A co-founding member of Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (1966, with a dream ‘to be on the radio’).  October 2017, after [the] 50th anniversary tour, John left the band to pursue his own tour dates and projects, and stepped off the bus."

 From a very young age, inspired by a piano inherited from his grandparents, Howard Dlugasch took piano lessons of his own volition. By his early teens, he started playing a multitude of instruments, such as guitar, drums, bass, and vocals. He jokes that he is mediocre at all of them, but only because he is a musician who wants to focus on a multitude of instruments at once rather than completely on one specific instrument. 

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 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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Ella Wren Running-rabbit grew up in a musical household. Coming from a Native American background, her mother played the piano and her father played the bass, and she had a little wind-up radio through which she would listen to any local artists she could. She started playing piano herself, with her mom beginning to teach her and her neighbor teaching her how to build a chord from three separate notes. From there, she practiced every day and started teaching herself more concepts. She started writing her own songs around the age of nine. In 11th grade, she started playing the guitar as well. Running-rabbit found herself inspired by many artists from her area, including Leftover Salmon and many different bluegrass groups, but was also drawn to artists such as Janis Joplin, Stevie Nicks, and Jimi Hendrix. Now, she has expanded her musical repertoire to include funk and blues artists and even artists such as Metallica. However, those initial roots gave her the track on which to run her musical train.

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 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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 On Saturday, June 15, 2024, The Very Nice Brewing Company opened their second location in the Peak to Peak region. The new brewery is located at 180 Jankowski Drive, in mid-Gilpin County. Jeff and Susan Green are excited about the new location and spent the weekend meeting new beer enthusiasts. Jeff said, “Although exhausted from the undertaking, it is the best kind of exhausted. Also, the smiles and genuine well wishes has been overwhelmingly sufficient to re-charge our battery packs. We know we have a lot of work to do to demonstrate to Giltuckians that we are going to be a positive addition to the Gilpin community.” 

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 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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Mathew “Matty” Graziano has been slowly building a band for a long time, with a consistent lineup cementing around 2017/2018. Currently, the band consists of Graziano as the lead singer and songwriter, Josh Wexler as the flute player, Pat Keenan on the acoustic guitar, DJ Jenkins on the bass, and Roots Music Project General Manager Matt Cottle on the drums. Anywhere from one to five members of the band can play at any time. Even though Wexler also plays in Bear Hat and Keenan used to play in a Beatles cover band called Pine Beatles, Poorfree is the group’s primary musical project. The band has also occasionally brought on special guests, including cello player Bethany Joyce and fiddle player Melissa McGinley Stube (with the latter featured on the band’s 2023 self-titled album).

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 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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Dwayne Haggins primarily plays in Massachusetts and across the East Coast. However, he is coming to Colorado during the month of June 2024 for not one, but two shows! He first became inspired to play the guitar in 2016 after watching Sturgill Simpson appear on Conan O’Brien’s talk show, teaching himself to play and eventually mustering the courage to go to an open mic. After performing at the open mic, he realized that performing live truly inspired him. He started playing at more open mics, then gigs, then more gigs, to the point where he can now be a musician full-time.

 Eric Richard Stone says he comes from a classically trained musical family. Many members of his extended family were original faculty members of the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and even started the Bay Chamber Concert Series. Stone himself went to the Quaker school known as Germantown Friends School, where he sang in the choir and took music theory classes.

Update on August 8, 2024: The podcast host recently discovered that the Eric Richard Stone interview had already been featured in the opening episode of season 3, broadcast on January 2, 2023, where the podcast introduced the new hosts at the time. Both episodes will be left up for your listening pleasure.

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 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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