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Joey Palermino finds a special connectivity through the art of music. From sharing music with his parents to finding a community of musicians to perform with, building connections and friendships through music inspires him the most.

 Palermino’s instrument of choice has always been the guitar. A selftaught player, he especially embraced the instrument after college, living in Memphis and playing live and among friends.

“Once I moved to Colorado, I found the music scene here, and especially the bluegrass picking scene,” says eightyear resident Palermino. “I really made some awesome friends and connections that really pushed me to go to the next level, if you will."

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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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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 only have three commissioner seats, they make an interesting case to add two members.

Listen in to hear their story, and how you can get involved.

For more information, head to BigTentBoCo.org

Also:

• State to review the 2025 death of CU student Meghan Trussell
• Nederland group names Senior of the Year

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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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!

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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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 today's show to hear true stories of these legendary storms.

Plus:

• Nederland approves Eldora purchase
• Death of Gilpin County man brings renewed attention to one of the most troubling accounts of racial injustice in county history
• BoCo awards $2 million in funding for fire protection districts, emergency service agencies
• A taste of Black Hawk's newest pizza joint, Copper Kitchen Pizzeria

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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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 -- and if you're listening before January 9th, please spread the word however you can!

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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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 American Dipper is what defines the quiet, natural ambience of the historic mountain village. 

Listen in to hear David's explanation of the near indescribable beauty of the song. 

Also:

• Wild Turkey Trail fire triggers evacuations in Fourmile Canyon
• Gilpin County childcare center opens for enrollment
• Your local government's year-in-review

Thanks to Xeno-Canto for providing the American Dipper's songs and calls used in today's episode. Recordings used were submitted by Ted Floyd, Seth Beaudreault, Paul Driver and Denise Wright.

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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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 construction class. As the only girl in the class, other guys would often make themselves known to her.

At one point, annoyed with a guy in her group “subtly” vying for her attention, she asked the teacher for a different class project foreman. The professor reassigned her with a new foreman: Roger. The rest, as they say, is history.

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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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 upcoming New Year's Eve Show at Oskar Blues Grill and Brew in Lyons.

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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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. But the spirit of Christmas always had a way of brightening the harsh lifestyle that came with living in Rockies. Listen in for a window into Christmas day, circa 1890.

Also:

• High winds and no power up and down the Front Range
• Hundred-year-old shoe shop says goodbye
• Lakeview Fire cleanup delays continue
• The Mountain-Ear Pet of the Year Award goes to...

Read these stories and more at themtnear.com.

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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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 you know, I’ve invited him to a gig of mine.”

Both performing acoustic guitar, with Shine singing lead and Scheidker on harmony, the two recognized their connection and started playing together more frequently. They have since cemented themselves as Beyond Comprehension, performing a mix of classic rock, country, and blues.

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!