Mt. Joy Share New Track “Highway Queen”
Ahead of 2024 tour of North America and Europe
March 18, 2024
Photo by Kaity Crone
Indie rockers Mt. Los Angeles-based Joy have released a new song, “Highway Queen,” ahead of a 2024 tour that includes headline dates at Red Rocks Amphitheater, Hollywood Bowl and Madison Square Garden.
The Mt. Joy released a studio recording of “Highway Queen,” a soulful Americana song that recognizes the intuition, fortitude, and patience that are vital to a committed relationship. The song was conceived by frontman Matt Quinn while the band was on tour in 2023. It debuted during a show at the famed Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, Colorado last August and appeared on subsequent tour dates. The track, now available on all streaming platforms, is self-financed and independently released via the band's Bloom Field Records in association with Neon Gold Records.
Last week, Mt. Joy performed a nearly two-hour sold-out show at The Troubadour in West Hollywood, and Quinn was visibly moved as fans sang the words to the new song. “You guys moved me,” he said.
Quinn revealed the inspiration for “Highway Queen” in a statement: “The song is about being in love with someone you see a little bit of yourself in. My wife is from Brazil but she left home when she was 15 to chase a dream and had success that kept her away from home and has since moved her around the world.Living away from home guesses your demons in a certain way, you feel like the only way to overcome them is to keep moving and it makes being at home excruciating. It's something I personally struggle with so I know it when I see it in someone else, especially someone I love. We now share a home together and I hope this song can to represent a reminder that we have each other to face all of this and hopefully the rest of our lives to figure it out at whatever pace we need to.”
He and his wife Ingrid were married last summer. The cover photo for “Highway Queen” was taken by her during an eight-hour drive from her home in rural Brazil to the nearest airport.
“Everyone knows the images that take them away from home wherever they've landed,” explains Quinn. “Ingrid is used to taking a cheap camera with her wherever we go. He does a great job documenting our journey around the world. So it's pretty special to have one of those photos attached to a song that looks like it was playing when that photo was taken.”
A press release states that “Highway Queen” is “the first song to secure 100% royalty registration through Notes.fm, a music financing platform that enables artists to overcome the complexities of the rights system and ensure they capture all the value created by their work. The Mt. Joy will be one of the founding artists on the platform (which will go public later this year), creating educational content to help emerging artists better understand the complex complexities of rights in the modern music business.
The live shows of Mt. Joy and the success of singles like “Silver Lining” and “Lemon Tree” on adult alternative radio have earned the band an expanding fan base since their formation in 2016 and the release of their self-titled debut album in 2018. The band with based in Los Angeles—Matt Quinn (vocals, guitar), Sam Coooper (guitar), Sotiris Iliopoulos (drums), Jackie Miclau (keyboards, piano) and Michael Byrnes (bass)—will headline their biggest concert date in 2024 with stops at the Hollywood Bowl, Madison Square Garden and a return to Red Rocks Amphitheater for two nights in August. Red Rocks shows will be available to stream Veeps.com.
tour Dates Mt. Joy:
4.06 – Jackson, WY @ Rendezvous Music festival
4.20 – Clemson, SC @ Clemson Music festival
5.03 – Memphis, TN @ Riverbeat Music festival
5.05 – Charlotte, NC @ Lovin' Life festival
5.12 – San Diego, CA @ Wonderfront Music & Arts festival
5.31 – Oakland, CA @ Oakland Coliseum (with Zach Bryan)
6.04 – Amsterdam, NL @ Melkweg
6.05 – Brussels, BE @ Le Botanique Orangerie
6.06 – Paris, FR @ Trabendo
6.08 – Brighton, UK @ CHALK
6.09 – Bristol, UK @ SWX
6.10 – Manchester, UK @ 02 Ritz
6.12 – Dublin, Ireland @ National Stadium
6.13 – Glasgow, UK @ The Garage6.15 – London, UK @ Roundhouse
7.04 – Milwaukee, WI @ Summerfest – BMO Pavilion
7.05 – Marshfield, MA @ Levitate Music and Arts festival
7.06 – Ottawa, ON @ Ottawa Blues Fest
7.08 – Quebec City, QC @ festival D'ete
7.09 – Montreal, QC @ MTelus
7.10 – Toronto, ON @ Budstage
7.12 – Winnipeg, MB @ Winnipeg Folk Fest
7.14 – Whitefish, MT @ Under the Big Sky festival
7.18 – Boston, Massachusetts @ Fenway Park (with Noah Kahan)
7.19 – Boston, Massachusetts @ Fenway Park (with Noah Kahan)
7.20 – Columbia, MD @ Merriweather Post Pavilion
8.04 – Saint Charles, IA @ Hinterland Music festival
8.06 – Minneapolis, MN @ Surly Brewing festival Field
8.08 – Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheater
8.09 – Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheater
8.10 – Dillon, CO @ Dillon Amphitheater
8.13 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Granary Live
8.15 – Boise, ID @ Outlaw Field @ Idaho Botanical Gardens
8.16 – Portland, OR @ Pioneer Courthouse Square
8.17 – Vancouver, BC @ Doug Mitchell Thunderbird
8.19 – Palmer, AK @ Alaska State Fair
8.21 – Carnation, WA @ Remlinger Farms
8.23 – Bend, OR @ Hayden Holmes
8.25 – Los Angeles, CA @ KCRW Hollywood Bowl Music Series
9.13 – Austin, TX @ Moody Center
9:15 – Alpharetta, GA @ Ameris Bank Amphitheater
9.17 – Charleston, SC @ Firefly Distillery
9.18 – Cary, NC @ Koka Booth
9.20 – Philadelphia, PA @ TD Pavilion at The Mann
9.21 – Richmond, VA @ Iron Blossom
9.22 – Louisville, KY @ Bourbon & Beyond
9.24 – Nashville, TN @ Ascend Amphitheater
9.26 – Bridgeport, CT @ Hartford Healthcare Amphitheater
9.28 – New York, New York @ Madison Square Garden
9.29 – Ocean City, MD @ Ocean' Calling
10.01 – Rochester, NY @ Gordon Field House, Rochester Institute of Technology
10.03 – Chicago, Ireland @ Salt Shed (Outdoor)
10.04 – Chicago, Ireland @ Salt Shed (Outdoor)
10.05 – Chicago, IL @ Salt Shed (Outdoor)
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