Music of the Mountains: The Tortesians episode artwork

EPISODE · Dec 5, 2025 · 26 MIN

Music of the Mountains: The Tortesians

from The Mountain-Ear Podcast · host The Mountain-Ear Staff

William Nicholson has passed down the idea of Tortesia for years. The legend began at a previous job, where he frequently talked to “a guy named Cole,” who constantly showed up hungover.When Nicholson asked Cole where he had been the night before, he said he was down in Tortesia. Nicholson asked where Tortesia was, and Cole pointed in one direction and responded, “It’s down the road about 10 or 12 beers.”“I just kept it as kind of a funny thing,” Nicholson says. “When someone was acting goofy, I’d be like, ‘You’re just Tortesian. Quit acting Tortesian, bro.’” Now, a lineup of four musicians (with an occasional fifth member on saxophone) has embraced the inside joke by adopting the moniker of The Tortesians.Our theme song is courtesy of singer-songwriter Brittney Wagner. Stream her record Better off Dead here. Support the showThank 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] Hickman, multimedia producer, at [email protected] Lammers, podcast host, at [email protected] inquiries: [email protected] 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.earListen 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!

William Nicholson has passed down the idea of Tortesia for years. The legend began at a previous job, where he frequently talked to “a guy named Cole,” who constantly showed up hungover. When Nicholson asked Cole where he had been the night before, he said he was down in Tortesia. Nicholson asked where Tortesia was, and Cole pointed in one direction and responded, “It’s down the road about 10 or 12 beers.” “I just kept it as kind of a funny thing,” Nicholson says. “When someone was acting goo...

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Music of the Mountains: The Tortesians

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This episode was published on December 5, 2025.

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William Nicholson has passed down the idea of Tortesia for years. The legend began at a previous job, where he frequently talked to “a guy named Cole,” who constantly showed up hungover.When Nicholson asked Cole where he had been the night before,...

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