"Mt. Joy's songs unfold like good political speeches: They amble and converse and pulsate fervently until it's time to get the crowd chanting along." - NPR
Since forming in 2016, the Philadelphia native indie-rock band -- comprised of Matt Quinn (vocals, guitar), Sam Cooper (guitar), Jackie Miclau (keys, piano), Sotiris Eliopoulos (drums), and Michael Byrnes (bass) -- has put in their 10,000 hours preparing for this very moment.
After nearly a decade of touring and recording three critically acclaimed albums (2018's Mt. Joy, 2020's Rearrange Us, and 2022's Orange Blood), the five-piece reached new heights in 2024, selling out New York's Madison Square Garden, The Greek Theater in Los Angeles, Denver's Red Rocks Amphitheater, and more; their 70-date North American and European headline tour also sold more than 180,000 tickets. Mt. Joy's momentum stemmed from years of hard work cultivating an unforgettable stage presence and their laser focus on organic growth.
Now, Mt. Joy sits on the precipice of another breakthrough year, with the release of their fourth LP, Hope We Have Fun, on May 30 and their upcoming 'Hope We Have Fun' tour. For Quinn, the record speaks directly to the band's long journey together -- "We've all worked incredibly hard together and done ridiculous things in sickness and in health. You just kind of look up and you're at Madison Square Garden with these people, and it makes you emotional -- it feels like something you never could have dreamed. The album is a realization that we pushed ourselves into this crazy world, sometimes for better and sometimes for worse. It's a lot about sticking together in relationships, living a crazy lifestyle and just kinda saying, 'I hope we have fun.'" The album's thirteen tracks explore the high, lows, and intimate moments of a life lived on the road, with Quinn's soulful vocals floating over intricate, rootsy instrumentals.
Start with the album's lead single, "Highway Queen" (also out now as a duet with Grammy-winner Maren Morris). In the sparkling, acoustic guitar-driven track, Quinn ruminates on falling for a twin flame who lives for the escapism of transient life, too. "It's a song about seeing how you deal with things in someone else," he says. "Which is really comforting, but it's also an opportunity to be introspective and helpful to each other."
"God Loves Weirdos" dives deeper into life on the road, after the stage lights go out. "You pull into the gas station and those are your date nights -- goofing around at a truck stop, looking at all the funny T-shirts," Quinn says of the track. "Maybe the road is pulling you apart, but then you have those moments where you're laughing and thinking, 'This is so fun. I love this person.'"
"More More More," on the other hand, deals with what happens when you do come home -- the depression that creeps in when the world goes quiet. As the track builds to a crescendo, Quinn breaks his own cycle, howling "I got all I want" -- a chill-inducing moment of catharsis.
But it wouldn't be a Mt. Joy record without a party, too. There's the unapologetically grooving "She Wants to Go Dancing" written for a lover who brings you out of your shell at the club, and "Coyote," an ode to Quinn's bandmates sticking together that could easily soundtrack a rager on a tour bus. Two dynamic collaborations round out the record with features soon to be announced.
To date, Mt. Joy has garnered over one billion global streams and has sold more than half a million tickets, with the singles "Silver Lining," "Jenny Jenkins," "Lemon Tree," "Strangers," "Highway Queen," and "She Wants to Go Dancing" all charting in the Top 5 on AAA radio. The band has earned critical acclaim from major media outlets including The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Billboard, NPR, and PEOPLE; they've also graced the stage at top festivals around the world, as well as on late-night TV shows including James Corden, Conan O'Brien, Stephen Colbert, and Jimmy Kimmel. In 2025, Mt. Joy will embark on an extensive North American arena tour, as well as festival stops at Governor's Ball, Bonnaroo, and Rhode Island's Newport Folk Festival.
