Philadelphia/Los Angeles based band Mt. Joy shares their most personal song to date, 'Highway Queen', ahead of an epic touring season.
The track is self-funded and independently released via the band’s own Bloom Field Records in collaboration with Neon Gold Records (Matt Maeson, HAIM, Charli XCX, et. al). Deeply personal lyrics laid bare with emotional depth and honesty, the song came to frontman Matt Quinn while touring the country in 2023. The band were able to introduce it live as the song evolved and found an instant connection with audiences around the world, and finally the fan favorite finds its official release across all platforms today.
Matt Quinn elaborates on ‘Highway Queen’: “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 out run 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.”
Listen to ‘Highway Queen’ by Mt. Joy on the F1 Tracks Playlist on Spotify.
The single is also 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.
The Philadelphia and Los Angeles based band—Matt Quinn [vocals, guitar], Sam Cooper [guitar], Sotiris Eliopoulos [drums], Jackie Miclau [keys, piano], and Michael Byrnes [bass]— take their name from the quiet and rural National Park in Southwest Pennsylvania, about four hours from their Philadelphia base.
Forming in 2016, they made their mark two years later when their self-titled 2018 debut album spun off platinum single ‘Silver Lining’, an uplifting power ballad that went to #1 at AAA radio (Billboard Adult Alternative Airplay) and has eclipsed over 240 million streams across platforms. Their second album, Rearrange Us (2020) drew widespread critical raves, with title track gaining 92 million Spotify streams since the release. Their third LP, Orange Blood (2022), came out of the pandemic and further cemented them with another #1, ‘Lemon Tree’, at AAA and a 70 date headline tour that sold over 180K tickets.
Over the past five years, Mt. Joy has amassed over half a billion streams and earned acclaim from NPR, Billboard, Rolling Stone, The Line of Best Fit, and more. Throughout their career, the band has performed at a variety of festivals such as Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits, Bonnaroo. Additionally, the band has performed on Stephen Colbert, CBS Morning, Samantha Bee, Seth Meyers, Jimmy Kimmel, and Conan.
Mt. Joy will continue bringing their energetic live shows through the US, Canada and Europe this year. In Boston, they’ll team up with Noah Kahan for two shows at Fenway Park in July. They’ve got an iconic Madison Square Garden headline date in the books for September 28, another sold out double date at Red Rocks on August 8 and 9, and a debut at the prestigious Hollywood Bowl on August 25. The band’s musical prowess, charisma and stage presence contribute to their growing popularity and dedicated fanbase.
