Aspen Rocks is our local ‘American ldol’ style music competition.

The competition will feature six musician finalists who will compete live at the Wheeler Opera House for a chance to win recording time with a professional engineer at the legendary Mad Dog R’ anch+Studios. The performances will be judged by local musicians Jackson Emmer, Josefina Mendez, and special guest from Nashville Tyler Dial.

Jackson is an award-winning singer, songwriter, and producer from Carbondale, CO. His work blends humor with heartache, and tradition with exploration. Emmer’s writing is often compared to that of John Prine and Guy Clark. He has toured the US since 2009, collaborated with Grammy winners, and received grants & awards for his music in Texas and Colorado. His third studio album, Alpine Coda, was released in 2020 to critical acclaim. He has opened for Robert Earl Keen, Sierra Ferrell, and Leon Bridges. His work has been featured in Rolling Stone, Billboard, 1200+ Spotify playlists, and 200+ radio stations worldwide.

Josefina started studying music and training her voice at an early age in her hometown of Buenos Aires Argentina. Even though her voice lessons were Italian Opera, her passion and practice was jazz. At the age of 18 she was the youngest person to perform with the Argentine National Jazz Orchestra. She moved to the U.S. 21 years ago and has been performing in the Roaring Fork Valley. The music performed by Josefina combines rhythms, melodies, and different performance traditions that surpass the boundaries between language and culture.

Tyler is a singer-songwriter based in Nashville. Left of center is how he has always felt listening to country music growing up in Arizona, but wearing “faded Chuck Taylors” instead of cowboy boots and loving The Eagles and The Rolling Stones as much as George Strait and Garth Brooks. He was raised on music, with his father a concert promoter. His debut EP Repaint in 2018, led to him being named a Rolling Stone “Country Artist You Need to Know” with breakout “Truth in the Way,” and featured on Spotify’s New Boots and Wild Country playlists with more than 5 MILLION global streams to date, Dial is also represented by Make Wake Artists and signed with Virgin Music. His upcoming six-song EP – Way Back When, due out later in 2022 – featuring his latest release Damn, Denver sets the table for his maturation as an artist, one who is finding his way in Nashville while remaining true to his Southwestern roots and individual, introspective outlook.

Proceeds from the event will benefit Inspire Aspen Foundation and go towards giving unique opportunities to student musicians in the Aspen Snowmass Roaring Fork Valley to pursue their talents and musical journeys.

Please join us for a fantastic evening of music!