March 27, 2026: Cooldown makes way for more dry heat; the Dems vying for AG; 'Appalachia' in the San Juans

Summary

Colorado Matters – March 27, 2026

Episode Theme:
This episode of Colorado Matters, hosted by Ryan Warner (with Chandra Thomas Whitfield), explores the mounting impacts of Colorado’s persistent drought and record-breaking heat, the intensifying race for state Attorney General among Democrats, and the journey and creative process of singer-songwriter Emily Scott Robinson, who has just released her new album "Appalachia."

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1. Colorado’s Climate Crisis: Dry Heat and Dwindling Snowpack

Segment featuring: Lisa Hidalgo, Chief Meteorologist at Denver7
Timestamps: 00:00–08:50

Key Discussion Points & Insights:

• Record Warmth:

  • Denver hit 87°F, the warmest March temperature on record, breaking multiple all-time highs this month.
    • "We’re talking at this point in March, already breaking five records when it comes to the daytime high. That is abnormal." – Lisa Hidalgo [02:15]
  • Brief cooldown, but heat and dryness persist with more records likely.

• Snowpack Crisis:

  • Statewide snowpack is at 30–33% of normal, with a rapid decline due to unusual warmth.
    • "We have watched that number drop significantly week to week... That is a really scary number to look at." – Lisa Hidalgo [02:47]

• Contributing Factors:

  • Combination of La Niña weather pattern pushing storms north and climate change.
    • “A climate change and La Niña combo have contributed to what we’re seeing now—100% for this season.” – Lisa Hidalgo [05:20]

• Concerns for Summer:

  • Drought intensifies fire risk; red flag warnings are now “a way of life.”
    • "Everything is so dry... It feels like every other day we see a red flag warning somewhere across the state." – Lisa Hidalgo [05:51]
    • "People think we’re crying wolf a lot... but that brush next to the highway, even in neighborhoods is so, so dry." – Lisa Hidalgo [06:56]

• Impact on Industry:

  • Vail Resorts is experiencing its most challenging winter in 30 years; rafting and summer river flows expected to be affected.

Notable Quotes:

• "Even parking your car over dry brush... could cause a fire." – Lisa Hidalgo [07:39]
• "At this point now, we’re all looking forward to next season... and hoping for that El Niño." – Lisa Hidalgo [08:14]

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2. The Democratic Race for State Attorney General

Segment featuring: Allison Sherry (CPR Justice Reporter), candidates Jenna Griswold, Hetal Doshi, Michael Dougherty, David Seligman
Timestamps: 08:52–19:44

Key Discussion Points & Insights:

• Assembly Primer:

  • The State Democratic Assembly in Pueblo determines primary ballot placement. Candidates need 30% of the delegate vote, or can qualify by petition.

• Why This Race Matters:

  • Traditionally lower profile, the AG role is now front-and-center due to high-profile legal battles with the Trump administration, led by incumbent Phil Weiser.

Meet the Candidates:

• Jenna Griswold (Current Secretary of State):

  • National profile for resisting Trump-era actions.
  • Criticized for limited legal experience.
    • "I have taken on Trump and MAGA extremists now for seven years. And I'm just getting started." – Jenna Griswold [11:58]
    • "It is true I am not a career litigator... The AG sets the legal direction, manages hundreds of expert lawyers..." – Jenna Griswold [12:47]

• Hetal Doshi (Former Federal Prosecutor):

  • Emphasizes hands-on legal leadership and immigrant story.
    • "The next attorney general... does not have room to learn on the job... They need a leader that reflects a leadership ethos built for this time." – Hetal Doshi [13:23]
    • "As someone who is first-generation American... that very much meets the moment in terms of being the best of the American dream..." – Hetal Doshi [15:19]

• Michael Dougherty (Boulder DA):

  • Criminal trial experience, including King Soopers mass shooting.
    • "I've handled cases all around the state of Colorado... for the past eight years, I've had the great honor of being the district attorney for Boulder County." – Michael Dougherty [16:17]
    • "The attorney general is going to be responsible for saying, yes, we have enough to take Donald Trump to court, or no, we don't..." – Michael Dougherty [16:44]
  • Direct attack ad challenging Griswold's honesty about her legal record.

• David Seligman (Advocacy Lawyer):

  • Runs "Towards Justice," focused on worker and tenant rights, sees himself as an “outsider.”
    • "I'm the only one in this race that has dedicated my legal career... to standing up in court on behalf of people, you know, ordinary people..." – David Seligman [17:13]
  • Proposes reorienting the AG’s office focus toward marginalized individuals.

Notable Moments:

• "So like I said, the race, especially in the last five or so weeks, has gotten a lot more spicy." – Allison Sherry [14:44]
• Seligman, opened for Bernie Sanders and AOC, is banking on leftist support at assembly [18:41]
• "Assembly goers are not the traditional primary voter... They tend to be a lot more to the left..." – Allison Sherry [18:41]

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3. Emily Scott Robinson: Appalachia, Music, and Mountain Life

Segment featuring: Emily Scott Robinson (singer-songwriter)
Timestamps: 20:38–end

Key Discussion Points & Insights:

• "Appalachia"—A New Album:

  • Robinson’s sixth album draws poetic links between the mountains she grew up in (Appalachians, North Carolina) and those she chose (San Juans, Colorado).
  • The album’s themes blend spirituality, healing, and resilience after loss.

• On Spirituality, Church, and Nature:

  • Grew up Presbyterian in the South, where church defined social fabric.
    • "Most people I knew who grew up in the south, church was just part of all of our childhoods... the air we breathed.” – Emily Scott Robinson [21:39]
  • Finds “church” in Colorado’s natural world and close-knit communities now:
    • "The culture out here is more that nature is church for people, community is church for people..." – Emily Scott Robinson [22:26]

• Personal and Artistic Renewal:

  • Describes writing the opening track “Hymn for the Unholy” while snowed in after divorce, turning isolation into healing via song.
    • "I was with people who didn't really know anything about my life. And I stayed up late... and this song just started to pour out of me." – Emily Scott Robinson [25:46]

• Navigating Loss and Change:

  • Reflects on her divorce as both painful and ultimately a success; emphasizes gratitude and mutual support with her ex.
    • "I see that as a success... We were able to say to each other, thank you for those years. Thank you for that journey..." – Emily Scott Robinson [27:49]

• Contrasting the Rockies and Appalachians:

  • The Rockies: “Don’t care if you die in them,” young, craggy, intense; teach humility and awe.
  • The Appalachians: Older, gentler, embody ancestral, nurturing energy.

• On Community and Housing:

  • Bought affordable housing in Ouray, credits local initiatives for artists and workers being able to remain.
    • “I feel hugged by the canyon... and I also feel embraced by the community, by a community that cared enough to invest in affordable housing...” – Emily Scott Robinson [39:22]

• Paonia’s Legendary Bar—“Dirtbag Saloon”:

  • Story behind the song: based on Linda’s Bistro, a quirky, highly local watering hole endangered by rising real estate and gentrification.
    • " Linda’s bistro is the bar in the song. It is a bistro. It does not serve food, but if you want to go to Peonia... most people don’t know it exists until someone’s brought you there..." – Emily Scott Robinson [43:00]
  • Song phrasing a lament about loss of “Old Colorado” communities to economic forces.

• Celtic Music Roots:

  • “Appalachia” title track uses modal tuning, drawing an ancestral link to Irish/Scottish music.
    • “It's a nod to the resilience you saw after Hurricane Helene in 2024... People said to me, I’ve never felt so close to my community... It changed the way people were showing up for each other.” – Emily Scott Robinson [35:17]
  • Her writing is rooted in both personal history and the collective stories of community endurance.

Notable Quotes & Moments:

• "I love feeling small in comparison to something that's so much bigger than me... that's why I love that." – Emily Scott Robinson [29:35]
• "Dirtbag Saloon... I wish we could live here in sweet Harmony but they tore down the rentals and undercut the trees to build their 10,000 sq. ft. second homes..." – Emily Scott Robinson (singing) [45:13]
• "I didn't go to school for songwriting... but listening to John's [Prine] catalog is truly an education in songwriting." – Emily Scott Robinson [46:01]
• "My people are okay now [after Hurricane Helene]... but all my friends said to me, 'You wouldn't believe how everyone is showing up for each other.'" – Emily Scott Robinson [35:17]
• "You really can't take the church out of the girl." – Ryan Warner [46:57]

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4. Musical Excerpts and Moments

Key Songs Sampled:

• “Hymn for the Unholy” [20:38, 26:24]
• “Appalachia” [31:52]
• “Dirtbag Saloon” [41:32]
• “Bless it All” [47:15] – closing segment

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5. Timestamps of Segment Transitions:

• Weather & Climate: [00:00–08:50]
• AG Race Coverage: [08:52–19:44]
• Emily Scott Robinson / Music: [20:38–end]

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6. Memorable Quotes

On Weather:
"This is what's going to be, I think, the scary thing. And already cities, counties, municipalities are starting to take this into account, and we're already starting to see some water restrictions this week."
— Lisa Hidalgo [03:36]

On Community Resilience:
"I've never felt so close to my community... In a time that feels very divided politically... people were saving and helping one another and that made me so proud. It restores your faith in humanity when you see it."
— Emily Scott Robinson [36:00]

On Artistic Growth:
"There is an ancestral lineage between Celtic music and the people who found their way to the Appalachian mountains... Those were the places that looked the most like home."
— Emily Scott Robinson [33:27]

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7. Summary Flow & Tone

The episode skillfully moves from the anxiety of unprecedented drought and climate dangers — relayed with both humor and gravity — into the drama of Colorado’s primary political contests, and finally to the poetic and personal with Emily Scott Robinson’s stories of healing, place, and song. The tone is candid and reflective, celebrating both local action and enduring values. The hosts maintain a welcoming, conversational style, echoing the lived reality and aspirations of Coloradans today.

Transcript

[Ryan Warner]

From CPR News, this is Colorado Matters. Paltry, meager, piddly, our largest natural reservoir

[Lisa Hidalgo]

is low by the first parts of April is when we would typically see our snowpack peak. And all we've seen is that number go down.

[Ryan Warner]

That's in our regular climate and weather chat with Denver7's Lisa Hidalgo. Then the race for attorney general heats up this weekend. And Appalachia is the new album from singer songwriter Emily Scott Robinson, named for the mountains she grew up with, then traded for the Rockies.

[Emily Scott Robinson]

In Ouray, we're always experiencing rockfall and avalanche. And I believe Edward Abbey famously said that the San Juan Mountains where I live are mountains that are in a rush to get back to the sea. They're always crumbling mountain life in a

[Ryan Warner]

home she could actually afford, life on the road and life after divorce. This is Colorado Matters from CPR News and krcc. I'm Ryan Warner. Heat dominated the week in weather. And while today's significantly cooler, what persists is the dryness. Communities across the state are restricting water use. Let's begin the show at Denver 7 to get perspective from chief meteorologist there, Lisa Hidalgo. Hi, Lis.

[Hetal Doshi]

Hi.

[Ryan Warner]

Denver went from 87 to the low 50s today. Explain the change and how long we can expect the cooler temperatures to stick around.

[Lisa Hidalgo]

You can expect the cooler temperatures for one day today. This is all you get. We're back in the 70s and even 80s this weekend. 70s tomorrow, Saturday, closer to 80. Potentially another record breaking high on Sunday.

[Ryan Warner]

Okay, the cool is an exception. Let's talk about breaking records because that 87 on Wednesday, that's a doozy.

[Lisa Hidalgo]

87 now, the warmest March temp ever on record. The other one was last week. We broke that on March 21st when we hit 86. When we hit 87 on Wednesday, we broke yet again another record this month.

[Ryan Warner]

I don't know. I want your emotional, psychological, spiritual reaction to a temperature this high.

[Lisa Hidalgo]

You know, it's a hard thing because I think, you know, you walk around the city, you drive around, you see people enjoying the warmer weather. Right? Enjoying this spring, like more like summer, like feel. But this is abnormal. I mean, this is unseasonably warm. Typically we'll get maybe one or two days like this. But to have this many, I mean, we're talking at this point in March already breaking five records when it comes to the daytime high. Plus those two records when it comes to the all time warmest March day. And we could break another record on Sunday. I mean, that is, that's abnormal.

[Ryan Warner]

And now to the dryness Lisa Snowpack abysmal.

[Lisa Hidalgo]

At this point, we're at about 30 to 33% of normal. I mean, we have watched that number drop significantly week to week by the first parts of April is when we would typically see our snowpack peak. And all we've seen is that number go down. So that, that is a really scary number to look at.

[Ryan Warner]

Two things going on there, the overall lack of snow, the lack of precipitation. And then what fell, I gather, is being very quickly melted because of the high temperatures.

[Lisa Hidalgo]

I think at our highest point, we had what statewide and about 58, 60% of that was really the highest that we got to this winter. And we've seen that number significantly drop because of the rapid snowmelt. I mean, you're talking 60s and 70s in the mountains now for a good chunk of this month.

[Ryan Warner]

But that's the reservoir that's supposed to keep us watered throughout the summer.

[Lisa Hidalgo]

This is what's going to be, I think, the scary thing. And already cities, counties, municipalities are starting to take this to count, and we're already starting to see some water restrictions this week.

[Ryan Warner]

I was in La Junta, Colorado, where it's considered abnormally dry. That's a particular designation from the drought monitor. Rancher Kevin Carney is trying to stay optimistic.

[Emily Scott Robinson (singing parts)]

Hopefully, as our meteorologists are showing that

[Ryan Warner]

El Nino's gonna return and it's looking

[Emily Scott Robinson (singing parts)]

promising later in the summer, we can

[Ryan Warner]

start getting, in June, July, that this will change and we'll start getting into a wetter pattern. Is a wetter pattern. Optimistic thinking.

[Lisa Hidalgo]

I think it's really going to happen for us late fall, into winter. So the good news is it is changing. We're coming into more of an ENSO neutral. So, you know, we were talking about La Nina through most of winter, which shoved all those storms farther north and which is why we didn't see much across our high country. Now when we get into more of a neutral pattern, it will then switch to an El Nino. And it could actually become an extremely strong El Nino as we get into late fall, early winter, which would lead to a much snowier season for us. For that 26, 27 season, you used

[Ryan Warner]

a word I didn't recognize about El Nino. What did you say?

[Lisa Hidalgo]

Enso. So El Nino, Southern Oscillation. So it's talking about that. Ooh, oh, is big words.

[Ryan Warner]

El Nino, Southern Oscillation, enso.

[Lisa Hidalgo]

Yes. And it's again talking about the temperatures there in the Pacific. And when we start to see more of those warmer than average conditions, we start to see big pattern shifts. Because of the way that it pushes some of these patterns and upper level systems.

[Ryan Warner]

So we could say that a climate change and La Nina combo have contributed

[Lisa Hidalgo]

to what we're seeing now 100% for this season. I mean, yes, we're always going to be talking about climate change and things that the public has done to create these pattern shifts. But also La Nina was a huge factor for us this winter.

[Ryan Warner]

Colorado state meteorologist is Russ Schumacher. He uses the word grim that we're seeing, quote, the lowest snowpack in more than 40 years and possibly ever in Colorado's mountains. Let's talk about fire. Where are your fire concerns right now?

[Lisa Hidalgo]

Right now, I mean, everything is just so dry. What we're gonna need to watch out for now is if we start to see more of a wetter spring into summer pattern, then you get a lot of growth which then could dry out. It would help us out if we could keep some of that more moisture as we get more into an El Nino pattern later in summer. But yeah, I worried. I mean, everything is so dry. The fact that we've seen so many red flag warnings this winter and we're going into spring now with even more of them, I mean, it feels like every other day we see a red flag warning somewhere across the state in

[Ryan Warner]

the Journal Environmental Research Letters. I know you read that every day.

[Lisa Hidalgo]

Every day, religiously.

[Ryan Warner]

Researchers at Western Colorado University in Gunnison find low snow winters with early snow melt. That's where we are, mean high severity forest fires. Lisa, we hear a lot about red flag warnings. Usually if they're red flags, I date them. But are red flag warnings sort of a way of life now? I mean, maybe I'll be surprised if we don't have one.

[Lisa Hidalgo]

Definitely a way of life and I think people need to take it a little more seriously. I'm afraid that we're kind of crying. People think we're crying wolf a lot when they see these alerts. But it is really good to keep in mind. I mean, I was driving the other day and I saw someone flick a cigarette out the window. It is literally all it takes. Like you think you're in the middle of the city and it's not a problem. But that brush next to the highway, even in neighborhoods is so, so dry. That is all it would take. And on those red flag warning days, they're issued when the winds are at a certain criteria combined with, you know, other things. But it's really the wind that's a big concern. Any small little spark fire would spread rapidly.

[Ryan Warner]

I am amazed when I see people litter, but the cigarettes keep them inside until they're extinguished and you can put them away.

[Lisa Hidalgo]

Small things, I mean, even things you wouldn't think of, even parking your car over dry brush that could also cause, I mean, so I hope people see these red flag warnings and just, you know, it clicks a little something like, all right, be a little extra careful.

[Ryan Warner]

I'm glad to have more information about what they mean before we go. Vail Resorts says this has been the most challenging winter across the Rockies we have ever experienced. We with the lowest snowfall levels in more than 30 years for our Colorado and Utah resorts. So Vail's hurting. You were in Steamboat not long ago. What are you hearing, if anything, from ski areas?

[Lisa Hidalgo]

You know, every month we've been trying to be so positive that no, we're just going to get a couple of really good storms and it will help at this point. No, I mean, we're coming into late March, early April. We could still see snow, but it's not going to do much to change those snowpack numbers. I think they're trying to make the best of it now, looking into the summer months, into the money that could pour into the resorts now. But I think we're going to see issues when it comes to rafting with those lower river numbers, river levels. And I think at this point now we're all looking forward to next season. Right. And hoping for that El Nino that's going to bring some heavier snow.

[Ryan Warner]

If only this were wood.

[Lisa Hidalgo]

Just knock on something.

[Jenna Griswold]

Right?

[Lisa Hidalgo]

Your head. Come here.

[Ryan Warner]

No, those are mostly steel plates. Thanks for being with us, Lisa.

[Lisa Hidalgo]

Thank you. Nice to be here.

[Ryan Warner]

Lisa Hidalgo is Chief Meteorologist at Denver7 and we chat monthly about weather and climate. We'll be right back as the race for state attorney general takes shape. This is Colorado Matters from CPR News. This is Colorado Matters from CPR News. I'm Ryan Warner. The Democrats state Assembly is this weekend in Pueblo. It's one avenue for candidates to land on the June primary ballot. The spiciest stuff may come this weekend from the state attorney general contest. CPR justice reporter Allison Sherry is covering the AG's race. Hi, Alison.

[Allison Sherry]

Hi, Ryan.

[Ryan Warner]

Let's start with a little description of what exactly is happening Saturday in Pueblo.

[Allison Sherry]

Yeah, it's the Democrat state Assembly. So for the last few weeks, delegates have been chosen in the caucus process in precincts and counties around the state. And now they'll gather in Pueblo to cast their votes for candidates for everything from the U.S. senate to Governor to seats in the state House of Representatives. And so these will be the people they choose to be on the Democratic primary ballot. When we have the primary in June,

[Ryan Warner]

the delegates, that gets them, indeed, on the ballot. And that's not the only way, of course.

[Hetal Doshi]

Yeah.

[Allison Sherry]

To get on the ballot through the State Assembly, a candidate has to get 30% of the vote to be eligible for the primary ballot. Or they could choose to seek signatures from registered Democrats in a petition, and they have to get a certain number from every congressional district. And there's a lot of rules for that. So, you know, Senator Michael Bennett went this route. His opponent for the governor's race, Phil Weiser, is going through Assembly. So everybody's kind of doing different things, but there are two ways to do it.

[Ryan Warner]

Given that the gubernatorial candidates then are not head to head at the assembly, that puts more attention on this race for Attorney general.

[Allison Sherry]

Yeah, I mean, I think so. I think it's also a four way race, you know, and it's not a job that's traditionally been considered super high profile. But in the last few years, across the country, attorneys general have gotten a lot more attention because of their fights against Donald Trump and the courts. And that includes our current Attorney General, Phil Weiser. You know, he's filed dozens of lawsuits against the Trump administration. I think more than 50 now. You've been keeping track of it too, Ryan?

[Ryan Warner]

Yeah. It seems like there's a new one every day.

[Allison Sherry]

Yes. And he's, you know, flexed the office's authority and maybe changed its perception as, you know, one that's kind of boring bureaucracy to advocate, you know, for the state. So now it's a race that's drawn four strong Democrats, either in name recognition or legal background. And there's a really strong Republican, too, who one of them will have to meet in November's general election.

[Ryan Warner]

And the Republicans hold their assembly in two weeks. Also in Pueblo. Who are the Democrats?

[Allison Sherry]

The one most people have likely heard of is Jenna Griswold. She's the current Secretary of State. And like Weiser, she too has considerably elevated her profile and the profile of her office with the help of Donald Trump.

[Jenna Griswold]

I have taken on Trump and MAGA extremists now for seven years. And I'm just getting started. I'm running for Attorney General to protect our country, to protect our state, and to protect our freedoms. Right now, as we speak, Trump's DOJ is suing me for refusing to hand over your voter data.

[Allison Sherry]

She leads the field in fundraising, I think, inarguably, name recognition, but not so much in legal experience, which has been pointed out both subtly and directly on the campaign trail.

[Ryan Warner]

Has she practiced law?

[Allison Sherry]

She is a lawyer and she had a job once lobbying on behalf of the state in Washington for a time under John Hickenlooper. But no, she hasn't ever really practiced a lot of law. In an interview with me, she could point to one court appearance she ever made as an attorney in Washington, D.C.

[Jenna Griswold]

it is true, I am not a career litigator. Neither was Phil Weiser. In fact, most attorneys general do not regularly argue cases themselves, including our current attorney general. The AG sets the legal direction, manages hundreds of expert lawyers in the office, and leads the state. I believe my experience is most relevant to the actual role.

[Ryan Warner]

Griswold's opponents, not surprisingly, are making an issue out of her level of experience.

[Allison Sherry]

Yeah, and like I said, a lot of this has been subtle. Here's Hetal Doshi. She's another candidate talking at a recent indivisible debate.

[Hetal Doshi]

But the next attorney general, when he or she steps into that role, does not have room to learn on the job, to figure it out, to learn how to manage a team, to learn how to work through public service, because it is distinct and different to lead a group of government lawyers up a hill. I will tell you, the 724 people that work in the attorney general's office choose to be there because they want

[Lisa Hidalgo]

to make a difference.

[Hetal Doshi]

Difference. So they need a leader in this moment, a leader that isn't just like, I'm setting a vision and you go off and execute. They need a leader that reflects a leadership ethos built for this time, which is I am never going to ask you to do something that I have not done myself before and that I'm not going to be right there with you in the trenches to do it again.

[Allison Sherry]

But it's taken a more direct tone, too, and I think mostly that's been led by Boulder District Attorney Michael Dougherty. He's run the only ad of this whole campaign so far, and it was a direct challenge to Griswold's honesty for repeatedly telling groups that she's appeared before the Supreme Court in a case against Donald Trump or that she's personally sued Donald Trump. It's not true. Daugherty says her name is on a

[Michael Dougherty]

piece of paper that was filed with the court. She sat in the audience and then held a press conference. I'm Michael Dougherty, and Jenna is using clever words to exaggerate the truth.

[Allison Sherry]

So like I said, the race, especially in the last five or so weeks, has gotten a lot More spicy.

[Ryan Warner]

Well, speak to these other candidates. You've mentioned. Two of them already, yeah.

[Allison Sherry]

Well, we heard from Doshi, who's a former federal prosecutor with a wealth of experience in antitrust law. She's focused her story on her immigrant experience. Her parents were both born in India. She has working class roots. And she also has spent a lot of time as both a criminal prosecutor and a civil litigator at the Department of Justice. So she's the only candidate who has both kinds of experiences, civil and criminal. Civil and criminal, yes.

[Hetal Doshi]

Voters are looking for inspiration. They are looking for a story that reflects the best of America. They are looking for someone who has an affirmative view of the future. And that view of the future makes them feel good about patriotism and what it means to be an American in this moment. And so I think that as someone who is first generation American and the daughter of two immigrants and has a story that I have that very much meets the moment in terms of, of being the best of the American dream and the best of what we hope our democracy is about. And so that's why I think this race does in many ways come down to that question of inspiration.

[Ryan Warner]

And then Michael Dougherty.

[Allison Sherry]

Michael Dougherty, as I mentioned, is the Boulder da. He's personally taken on some big, complex criminal cases. When I say personally, I mean he is actually in the courtroom trying the cases, not just the elected DA Doing press conferences. And that also includes the King Soopers mass shooting case and the recent case of the man who firebombed a group of peaceful marchers in Boulder.

[Michael Dougherty]

I've handled cases all around the state of Colorado. And for the past eight years, I've had the great honor of being the district Attorney for Boulder county and being a leader for the state on criminal justice reform, but also fighting for justice. The King Sucre's mass murder and the Pearl street fire bombing. And our next attorney general has to lead. And all of you know this because you all had jobs. Think about working for a boss who did not know what the job required.

[Ryan Warner]

The attorney general is going to be

[Michael Dougherty]

responsible for saying, yes, we have enough to take Donald Trump to court, or no, we don't have enough. And then winning those fights, that's where experience matters. That's what I promised to bring to office.

[Allison Sherry]

And finally, we have David Seligman. He runs towards justice, an advocacy law firm that fights on behalf of working class clients in discrimination claims, tenants rights cases, that sort of thing. He, too, has a lot of experience, including a lot of big wins in federal court on lawsuits I'm an outsider.

[David Seligman]

Right. I've done my work from the outside. You know, I'm the only one in this race that has dedicated my legal career not to representing government bureaucracies, but to standing up in court on behalf of people, you know, ordinary people that are getting screwed over and squeezed. That's my work. And, yes, that is different from managing a government bureaucracy. But I think that now more than ever, when we need to, you know, not only take on, you know, the forces of Trumpism, but build a better future for what comes after, I think that's the kind of experience that matters.

[Ryan Warner]

How would Seligman convert that experience into the work of the state's lawyer?

[Allison Sherry]

It's such a good question. I mean, he's been asked it a number of times, including by me and in forums. He's basically been the candidate regularly talking about changing the whole focus of the AG's office from representing the state and protecting businesses to representing the downtrodden against their oppressors. You know, I think it's safe to say he'd upend the way the AG's office has traditionally been run. And he's always seemed a little disinterested in other parts of the job, like running the statewide grand jury or regulating the state's police officers. But I think it's fair to say that every person finds some part of a job more interesting than others.

[Emily Scott Robinson]

Right?

[Ryan Warner]

Yeah. I think this. Right. This brings us back then, to voters. How do you expect, I mean, this wide and varied field to be received by delegates at this weekend's assembly?

[Allison Sherry]

It's so hard to say. You know, assembly goers are not the traditional primary voter. They are hardcore Democrats who understand this very complicated process about voting and going to caucuses and all of this. They tend to be a lot more to the left of the regular primary electorate, especially in Colorado, since unaffiliated voters can vote in the primary. Right. So Seligman's message, for example, could be very well received. I mean, he opened for Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio Cortez at a rally a year ago. That was how he introduced himself. And he's counting on that. He'll need that 30% to get on the ballot. And he was leading out of the caucuses among the four candidates. And Griswold's gonna need that, too. She's gonna need to fire up that, you know, that base left because neither of them gathered signatures. So Doherty and Doshi have submitted their petitions for verification, but it's all gonna be on the state assembly. For Seligman and Griswold.

[Ryan Warner]

I see. That is to say that Doherty and Doshi have the other avenue potentially available to them.

[Allison Sherry]

Yep.

[Ryan Warner]

Alison, thanks so much.

[Emily Scott Robinson]

You're welcome.

[Ryan Warner]

CPR's Allison Sherry covers justice and immigration. She's following the race for state attorney general through November. The Democratic state assembly is tomorrow in Pueblo. The GOP assembles two weeks later, Saturday, April 11, also in Pueblo. And Colorado Matters continues in the next half hour with a singer songwriter who traded the Appalachians for the San Juans. I'm Ryan Warner. You're with CPR News and krcc. This is Colorado Matters. From CPR News, I'm Ryan Warner. Country folk musician Emily Scott Robinson makes beautiful music for hard times. The ouray singer songwriter just released Appalachia, a nod to her birthplace. The album opens with hymn for the Unholy.

[Emily Scott Robinson (singing parts)]

In the quiet of the new year we will let our old dreams go and when the spring comes if we're ready we can plant new ones to grow but in the silence of this ending we will gather in the spring

[Ryan Warner]

snow

[Emily Scott Robinson (singing parts)]

and it's okay for tonight, dear there are things you do not know.

[Ryan Warner]

Robinson moved to Colorado for social work but found her calling as an artist. She says they're both healing professions. And Emily, welcome back to the show.

[Emily Scott Robinson (singing parts)]

Thank you.

[Emily Scott Robinson]

It is so lovely to be here with you today. Ryan, thank you so much for having me on Colorado Matters.

[Ryan Warner]

Yeah, it's so lovely to have heard that track. Were you super churchy growing up?

[Lisa Hidalgo]

Yes.

[Emily Scott Robinson]

And what's funny is most people I knew who grew up in the south, church was just part of all of our childhoods. And it was a little bit of, like, the air we breathed and the water we swam in. And so I grew up in the Presbyterian church. It wasn't super intense religious background, but it was such a big part of my life. And so I have written throughout my catalog of songwriting. I've used a lot of that language and symbology, and I've used religion as something to kind of push against and work with as an adult now who's no longer a religious person or no longer in the church. But it was just a big part of my childhood.

[Ryan Warner]

You're not in the church. Is the church in you?

[Emily Scott Robinson]

Totally.

[Ryan Warner]

Yeah.

[Emily Scott Robinson]

Yeah, yeah. And I think it's funny. It was really interesting to move to Colorado and be in a culture that wasn't so steeped in Christianity when I was growing up in North Carolina. When you move to a new neighborhood, the neighbors would bring you banana bread or cookies or they'd bring something over as a housewarming gift. And then they'd say, have you found a church home yet? And that is not something that's ever happened to me in Colorado. But I think that the culture out here is more that nature is church for people, community is church for people. And I think it's just really interesting to see how spirituality is such a big part of life and culture here in Colorado and the spirituality of being outside and being in the mountains. But the religious overtones are not as strong here.

[Ryan Warner]

I'm so glad you mentioned this, because when I moved to Iowa, I had people knocking on my door asking about my religious affiliation. And it hasn't happened in Colorado, which I suppose isn't to say that it couldn't, but just that it hasn't. I understand that writing that song was healing for you personally. So tell us about writing Hymn for the Unholy.

[Emily Scott Robinson]

I wrote this song on New Year's Eve in 2021, going into the next year, 2022, and in the fall of 2021, I both released my last full length album, American Siren. So I was releasing a new album and I was going through a separation and divorce, the end of my first marriage at the Ex. So it was a very intense period for me.

[Ryan Warner]

Roller coaster, huh?

[Emily Scott Robinson]

Such a roller coaster. And I was also going on tour in a lot of the same places and venues around the country where my ex husband had been with me previously. And although we had a generous and kind and respectful parting of ways, it was still just a period of grief and change and loss in a sense for me, a personal sense of failure and change of plans. And I was invited to a guest ranch in the West Elk Mountains of Colorado, sort of near Paonia. And I was brought in by this family who was having a lovely family Christmas vacation in the mountains. And I was brought in to do a songwriting workshop with them and play a private concert. And then I got snowed in. And the ranch was deep in the mountains and inside the boundary of National Forest. And because it was around New Year's National Forest crews were not out there plowing the roads or making sure it was accessible. And I had made the mistake. I hadn't put the winter tires on my car yet. So I got stuck there. I got snowed in. And the family said, well, why don't you just stay? There were all these lovely little cabins. And they said, please just stay and hang out and turn this into a songwriting retreat if you want. And so I did. And I stayed actually through New Year's Eve. And they were so kind. And it was this space and time where I felt like everything in the outside world, all the stresses lifted for a moment.

[Allison Sherry]

Yes.

[Ryan Warner]

I love that kind of stranded.

[Emily Scott Robinson]

Oh, exactly. Oh, my gosh. That kind of Stranded, by the way, also just sounds like a title for a song.

[Ryan Warner]

If you use that, you pay me, Emily.

[Emily Scott Robinson]

I will, I will. You get 50% already off the top. That's the natural way. And so. And so I was that kind of stranded. And it was actually incredibly beautiful. And I was with people who didn't really know anything about my life. And they were so kind and generous to me. And I stayed up late on New Year's Eve after we'd had dinner, and it was snowing and beautiful, and there was a bonfire outside. And I just. This song, him for the Unholy, just started to pour out of me.

[Emily Scott Robinson (singing parts)]

Because we are standing on a mystery. We are spinning through the sky like the ones who came before us. Into the wilderness we fly. There's so much we have no hand in? But look how hard we try. I think the gods are laughing with us. I think the stars are standing by. Cause I've worn diamonds to the party. I've worn bard, I've worn blue. And I've done every single goddamn thing I swore I'd never do. Here's a hymn for the unholy, for the savage and the true. You've only got one life, dear. Heed the voice that calls to you.

[Ryan Warner]

You used the word failure, I think, in association with the separation, the divorce. Is there some way that you see the separation as a success now?

[Emily Scott Robinson]

Absolutely. And I think that it takes a lot of courage to walk away from something that's not working for both people. I don't need to really get into the lengthy thoughts that I have about the legal institution of marriage and how that sometimes traps people in situations that just aren't of service to either of them. But all this is to say that my first husband and I met when we were pretty young, and we spent almost 10 years together, and we loved each other and we helped raise each other in many ways. And so I see that as a success. After we parted ways and we both started to move on with our lives and met new partners, we were able to say to each other, thank you for those years. Thank you for that journey. And, you know, I see him as part of my family and somebody who I will always love as a family member and such an important person in my life and a best friend. Not everybody has that experience with Divorce, of course. And it wasn't all sunshine and roses. It wasn't easy, but I do see that as a success. I saw it actually as a tremendously courageous act. And as I was writing that song, him for the Unholy, I was finding that angle. I was beginning to see it in that way. I was able to start to find, through the writing, this perspective on it that had a lot more mercy and grace in it.

[Ryan Warner]

You made reference to the idea of nature being church for you now. And I wonder if you would contrast the healing properties, the spiritual properties of the Rockies to the Appalachians in your native North Carolina.

[Emily Scott Robinson]

Wow. So when I think about the Rockies versus the Appalachian Mountains, which were the first mountains that I knew, the Rockies have such intensity. And I joke, but it's not really a joke that the Rocky Mountains don't care if you die in them or not. They're so dangerous in many ways. They're so intense. The weather patterns are so dangerous. You know, we're always experiencing rockfall and avalanche. And I believe Edward Abbey famously said that the San Juan Mountains where I live are mountains that are in a. In a rush to get back to the sea. They're always crumbling. There's such an intensity. Isn't that a great quote? There's so much uplift and sharpness and intensity in these mountains. And they're much younger mountains. They're more aggressive. When I think about these mountains, I think about the Rockies as mountains that are always putting you in your place. They're reminding you that you are small in a world that is so much bigger than you. And I don't mean that in a discouraging way. I think that one of the fundamental ideas behind religion or faith traditions is to remind humans that we are small and we are part of a great mystery, and that the world does not revolve around us individually, but that we're part of something bigger. And I think that the Rocky Mountains remind us of that every time we're outside. And that's why I love that. I love feeling small in comparison to something that's so much bigger than me. It's my favorite feeling, actually. And I feel that way sometimes when I'm in a song, when I'm experiencing a song or writing a song, I feel that I'm just transmitting something that's much bigger than me. The Appalachian Mountains have a softer and gentler quality of healing and wisdom and quiet and solace. It's not that you can't get lost and injured in the Appalachian Mountain, you know, speak to anybody who's ever hiked the Appalachian Trail. But those mountains have a more healing property and a gentler quality, One that feels a little more motherly or nurturing than the Rocky Mountains.

[Ryan Warner]

Why don't we hear the title track to Appalachia?

[Emily Scott Robinson (singing parts)]

Oh, my heart for Appalachia oh, my heart for these blue hills oh, my heart forever captured beating still Many nights I, I lay here sleepless Many nights I watch the stars Many nights I make my way home from afar. All my heart swept down the river Though it all be washed away it's not the first time I've had nothing or knelt to pray My people came from pain and famine A hundred days on a dark sea you think I'd let some wind and water take the roots for me?

[Ryan Warner]

There are aspects of that song that feel rooted in something really old.

[Emily Scott Robinson]

Absolutely. And one of the reasons this particular song sounds a little older is that it's in a modal tuning. So it's just. It's a Celtic feel to it. Yes. And there is an ancestral lineage between Celtic music and the people who found their way to the Appalachian mountains. People from Ireland and Scotland were finding their way to the mountains of western North Carolina. Those were the places that looked the most like home.

[Ryan Warner]

Yeah.

[Emily Scott Robinson]

If you were from the Scottish Highlands or if you were from Ireland. And the. And so green and rolling hills and rivers and creeks and waterfalls. And so I found that just the simple guitar tuning, which eliminates the third. This particular song is an E. So it's just a open tuning with the 1 and the 5. Sorry for the nerdy music theory. No, no, no.

[Ryan Warner]

I think it's so fun. It's over. I will just plainly admit it's over my head, but it will not be for some fun.

[Emily Scott Robinson]

Fabulous. Okay. That makes me happy. So the tuning is. It's an open tuning and it's modal. So it's just the one and the five. And that's an old feeling. We recognize that in Celtic music. These drone sounding songs, these stringed instruments with a drone string, where the one, the root, the tonic, is always in the background, pulling us back to the center. And that's what I drew on for quite a few of these songs I wrote in this tuning, which gives it an old feel, Even if you can't name why it gives you that old feeling, but it feels ancient.

[Ryan Warner]

Well, Appalachia is also a nod to the resilience you saw after Hurricane Helene in 2024. How is that to watch from afar, to see what was going on in your native North Carolina. And are your people okay?

[Emily Scott Robinson]

My people are okay now. And it was really sad and scary. And also I watched with quite a bit of wonderful. I had just been in Brevard, North Carolina, which is one of the places that got hit the hardest, that area. And I had just been there for a songwriting retreat. And a week later, Hurricane Helene hit, and I heard that it was hitting, and then there was almost a news blackout for about 24 hours, which scared me and made me feel that it was far worse than anybody knew because everybody had lost Internet and cell service. And so there wasn't a lot of news coming out about how much damage there was or fatalities or injuries. And once people got news crews in there and once people got cell service back, we started to find out how badly it had hit North Carolina. And it's just that the flooding happened so quickly, and. And it's a part of the state where there's a lot of rainfall already, and so rivers just rose so dangerously fast that a lot of people's homes were swept away and neighborhoods and downtowns were just completely destroyed and flooded. The thing that I took away from all of this, it was unprecedented and very, very damaging and bad. But all my friends said to me, you wouldn't believe how everyone is showing up for each other. People are rescuing strangers. People are helping their communities. They're out in the streets, they're cleaning up debris, they're taking people in. They're driving from all over the state to bring supplies and aid. And people said to me, I've never felt so close to my community. I've never felt so much faith in the people around me and in humanity as I do now. And what they said was, I never want to forget how this feels, and I don't want to go back to how it felt before. So it changed the way people were showing up for each other. In a time that feels very divided politically and very charged and very intense, it didn't matter who you were or who you voted for. People were showing up for each other. They were saving each other and helping one another, and. And that made me so proud. It was so moving to me. And it's the kind of thing that restores your faith in humanity when you see it is the way that people show up to help each other.

[Emily Scott Robinson (singing parts)]

Friend, come inside for a cup of coffee Come inside for a drop in Come inside and let me feed you rest your weary

[Ryan Warner]

Emily Scott Robinson of Ouray is our guest. Her new album is Appalachia. After a Break, her toast to a Colorado Bar from a bygone era. This is Colorado Matters from CPR News. It's Colorado Matters from CPR News. I'm Ryan Warner. Listen, Dolly Parton is unimpeachable. There will never be another. But I will tell you this. Colorado's Emily Scott Robinson sure gives me Dolly vibes. The Western Slope singer songwriter has just released Appalachia, her sixth studio album. You're based in Ouray, Colorado now. Telluride before that. Emily, that deep valley or canyon in Ouray. It feels like a hug when I visit, but I wonder if it ever becomes suffocating.

[Emily Scott Robinson]

I love that you asked that as I'm talking to you. I'm looking out my window right now at the canyon walls. I love the feeling of being embraced by the hug of the box canyon. It feels like we're nestled in here where we live. My fiance and I actually live in this really lovely neighborhood that is a neighborhood of affordable housing. Their homes that were built by a nonprofit called Rural Homes. They saw that Ouray was becoming a place that was really unaffordable and regular working class families couldn't buy houses here. So they built this neighborhood here of deed restricted affordable housing. And we were able to buy a little home. And so we're in a home on the river. I get to look up at the canyon walls every day and I can look down the street and see Mount Abrams. That will never get old to me. I feel hugged by the canyon. And I also feel embraced by the community, by a community that cared enough to invest in affordable housing and allow us as artists to buy a home here and to live here. That that matters so much. It's changed my life. And I will say that living in a small town in Colorado is sometimes a pretty intense experience. Small towns anywhere have a lot of small town politics and they can feel a little insular at times. Any small town can. I felt that way when I lived in Telluride. And so the key to balance in my life is that I travel all over the country and the world and I get to go out and do this thing. I get to play for people all over and sing and meet them and travel and it's the best. And then I get to come home to the cozy nestled hug of living in this box canyon. And it's such a good balance for me.

[Ryan Warner]

Well, speaking of your connection to place, why don't we hear one of our favorite songs off the new album, dirtbag Saloon? It's based on a bar in Paonia.

[Emily Scott Robinson]

Yes.

[Ryan Warner]

Well, listen, and then I want to have you describe the watering hole for us.

[Emily Scott Robinson]

Okay.

[Emily Scott Robinson (singing parts)]

Linda's is open on Fridays and Christmas. She lives in the back. It's a cash only business. She charges for singles but pours you a double. Everyone drinks and no one makes trouble. We got minors and ranchers, Rednecks and hippies Hotshots and cowboys, Poets and lifties. There's one thing that this whole damn bar can't agree on. We live here. Cause we don't like concrete or neon. And if you. It ain't gone yet, it's going soon. Get your last rounded at the dirt bag saloon the rich folks are squeezing us right out of room. If it ain't gone yet, it's going soon.

[Ryan Warner]

Hot shots and cowboys is such a great way to. To describe so many towns in Colorado. Is this your version of paved paradise?

[Emily Scott Robinson]

Oh, my gosh. I didn't even think about that until you said it. And it totally is. And I'm so honored by that association 100%.

[Ryan Warner]

Oh, good.

[Emily Scott Robinson]

This is exactly what it is.

[Ryan Warner]

Yeah.

[Emily Scott Robinson]

And I love the word hotshots for its multiple potential meanings in the song. Because hot shots can be wildland firefighters. Wildland firefighters. Exactly.

[Ryan Warner]

Okay.

[Emily Scott Robinson]

And it can be any other hotshot in a Colorado town. You know what I mean?

[Ryan Warner]

Yes. Oh, God. You are just peeling the onion for me. Well done.

[Emily Scott Robinson]

That makes me so happy. Thank you.

[Ryan Warner]

Are you afraid of losing something about Paonia?

[Emily Scott Robinson]

Yes. I love Peonia so much as a town. And actually, my fiance Colin is. Works with the paradise theater in Peonia, and he's the person who took me to Linda's Bistro for the very first time. Linda's bistro is the bar in the song. It is a bistro. It does not serve food, but if you want to go to pay Odo.

[Ryan Warner]

Oh, my God. That's got to be something they explain to customers every five minutes.

[Emily Scott Robinson]

It's so funny. But, you know, the thing about it is that most people don't know it exists until someone's brought you there because it is only open on Fridays. Linda lives in the back and she collects all these vintage clothes and all this old kind of Americana and collectibles. And the bar, Linda's is covered in antiques and western Americana and Victorian dolls. And the furniture is velvet parlor furniture and the. And there are candles and hearts everywhere. It's so lovely. And there's an old opera piano in there that sounds older than it probably is. You know, it's. It's really plunky and. And Linda runs the place. And Linda's ladies. Linda's girls work there. And it's a cash only bar. And it's one of those places that if you know, you know, and if you get an invite there, you're cool. And Peonia is one of those towns that feel like one of the last Colorado towns that can sustain a bar like that. And it's incredible. I mean, there are gunshot holes in the ceiling. It's an old saloon. It's pretty amazing.

[Emily Scott Robinson (singing parts)]

I wish we could live here in sweet Harmony but they tore down the rentals and cleared undercut the trees to build their 10,000 square foot second homes. Oh, but who's gonna serve them their champagne and snow?

[Ryan Warner]

And if it ain't gone, you're signed on to oh Boy Records, the home of the late John Prine, poignant storyteller whose lyrics were both absurd, surreal, authentic. He didn't shy away from social or personal subject matters. If John Prine were still around, which song from the new album would you play for him?

[Emily Scott Robinson]

I would totally play Dirtbag Saloon for him because of all the songs that feel the most like a John Prine song on this album, I think that is probably the one. Because I listen to John's catalog and I call that my own education in songwriting. I didn't go to school for songwriting. I didn't go to Berkeley. But I think that listening to John's catalog is truly an education in songwriting. And the artists that you love and you listen to all their music for years and years, they become your influences, of course. And so Dirtbag Saloon, and I also think that Bless it all is another song that reminds me of John because it's just this collection of little life things. They're deeply poignant.

[Ryan Warner]

My goodness. We're going to end with Bless it All. We began with him for the unholy. You really can't take the church out of the girl.

[Lisa Hidalgo]

That's correct.

[Ryan Warner]

All right, Emily, thank you so much for chatting with us.

[Emily Scott Robinson]

Oh, my gosh. Thank you so much for having me on the show. I love listening to Colorado Matters. I listen every day when I drive. And I'm so grateful to you for having me me today.

[Emily Scott Robinson (singing parts)]

Bless the friend who has you over for a cup of tea. Bless your mama's corning ware from 1983. Bless this little rental house maybe one day we can buy. We're poor as dirt right now but time's still on our side and blessed. This year you learn that everything you learned was wrong. The year that God was quiet and in his absence you were strong to tell the whole damn story it's gonna take a thousand songs. One day we'll sing about it Bless it all.

[Ryan Warner]

Emily Scott Robinson's album Appalachia is out now. Catch the uray singer songwriter on the Front Range this weekend Saturday at Swallow Hill in Denver, Sunday at the Armory in Fort Collins.

[Emily Scott Robinson (singing parts)]

Bless those sticky hands and fingerprints you have to clean Bless the way their hair curls around their ears in little rings and if you do it right you hope that they will never know oh, how hard it really was how close you were to the bone and thank God for your sister who picks up those midnight calls One day you'll sing about it Bless it all thanks

[Ryan Warner]

for spending time with us. And thanks to the Colorado Matters team.

[Michael Dougherty]

Sandy Batulga, Tyler Bender, Carl Bielek, Anthony Cotton, Pete Kramer, Andrea Dukakis, Zan Huckpechone,

[Emily Scott Robinson]

Matt Herz, Tom Hess, Michael Hughes, Pedro Lumbragno, Shane Rumsey, Haley Sanchez, Chandra Thomas Whitfield.

[Ryan Warner]

And I'm Brian Warner at CPR News and KR.