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Mar 18, 2024 By Chris Tinkham Photography by Kaity Crone

Los Angeles-based indie rockers Mt. Joy have released a new song, “Highway Queen,” ahead of a 2024 tour that includes headlining dates at Red Rocks Amphitheatre, the Hollywood Bowl, and Madison Square Garden.

Mt. Joy have released a studio recording of “Highway Queen,” a rousing Americana sing-along that recognizes the intuition, fortitude and patience that’s vital to a committed relationship. The song was conceived by frontman Matt Quinn while the band was touring in 2023. It debuted during a show at the famed Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado last August and was performed on subsequent tour dates. The track, now available on all streaming platforms, is self-funded and independently released through the band’s Bloom Field Records in collaboration with Neon Gold Records.

Last week, Mt. Joy performed a nearly two-hour sold-out show at The Troubadour in West Hollywood, and Quinn visibly was moved when fans sang the words to the new song back to him. “You guys got me all emotional,” he said.

Quinn revealed the inspiration for “Highway Queen” in a statement: “The song is about being in love with someone you see a bit of yourself in. My wife is from Brazil but left home when she was 15 to chase a dream and had success that has kept her away from home and moved her all over the world ever since. Living away from home corrals your demons in a specific way, you feel like the only way to outrun them is to keep moving, and it makes being home torturous. It’s something I personally struggle with so I know it when I see it in someone else, especially someone I love. Now we share a home together and I hope this song can represent a reminder that we have each other to work through it all and hopefully the rest of our lives to figure it out at whatever pace we need.”

He and his wife Ingrid 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 imagery that takes them away from home to wherever they’ve landed,” Quinn elaborates. “Ingrid has made a habit of taking a cheap film camera with her everywhere we go. She does a great job of documenting our journey all over the world. So, it feels extra special to have one of those pictures attached to a song that feels like it could be playing when that picture was taken.”

A press release states that “Highway Queen” is “the first song to secure 100% royalty registration via Notes.fm, a music finance platform empowering artists to cut through the complexities of the royalty system and ensure they are capturing all value created by their work. Mt. Joy will be one of the founding artists on the platform (which launches publicly later this year), creating educational content to help emerging artists better understand the intricate complexities of royalties in the modern music business.”

Mt. Joy’s live shows, and the success of singles such as “Silver Lining” and “Lemon Tree” on adult alternative radio, have earned the band an expanding following since their formation in 2016 and the release of their self-titled debut album in 2018. The Los Angeles-based band—Matt Quinn (vocals, guitar), Sam Coooper (guitar), Sotiris Eliopoulos (drums), Jackie Miclau (keys, piano), and Michael Byrnes (bass)—will headline their biggest shows to date in 2024 with stops at the Hollywood Bowl, Madison Square Garden, and a return to Red Rocks Amphitheatre for two nights in August. The Red Rocks shows will be available to stream through Veeps.com.

Mt. Joy Tour Dates:

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 (w/ 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, IE @ 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, MA @ Fenway Park (w/ Noah Kahan)
7.19 - Boston, MA @ Fenway Park (w/ 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 Amphitheatre
8.09 - Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre
8.10 - Dillon, CO @ Dillon Amphitheatre
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 Music Series Hollywood Bowl
9.13 - Austin, TX @ Moody Center
9.15 - Alpharetta, GA @ Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
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, NY @ Madison Square Garden
9.29 - Ocean City, MD @ Ocean’ Calling
10.01 - Rochester, NY @ Gordon Field House, Rochester Institute of Technology
10.03 - Chicago, IL @ Salt Shed (Outdoors)
10.04 - Chicago, IL @ Salt Shed (Outdoors)
10.05 - Chicago, IL @ Salt Shed (Outdoors)

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