Welcome to another edition of Conrad’s Weekly Rhythms. On today’s episode we will be discussing a band that I recently came across that is growing on me a lot. The group is called Mt. Joy. They are a very talented set of musicians that have a Dave Matthews meets O.A.R. meets Counting Crows meets Phish vibe. Yes, you read that correctly. I know it’s a very weird combo but you’ll see what I mean if you give them a listen. I first heard of this band last Thursday in Baltimore at a series of concerts called “First Thursday”, where on the first Thursday of each month in the summer, they have various free live music shows downtown. And this was Mt. Joy’s time to shine. I have never heard of them before. I had no idea what type of music they played. All I knew is that it was an awesome summer night and there’s no better way to take a night to another level of fun than live music. So, I was in without a question. Now back to Mt. Joy.
I was blown away how good they were. They have a summery-hippy vibe that complimented the night extremely well. Although I knew none of the words or songs, I found myself bobbing to their music and really getting into it. The music was fantastic, and the performance was even better. This is a very talented group that is perfect for a summer night. Since then, I’ve been listening to them quite a bit. I’ll list out my top tracks below so feel free to skip to the bottom if that’s all you’re looking for. Last weekend, I found myself on my roof deck looking over the Baltimore city skyline at 1am on Friday and Saturday night after a night out. I just sat there playing their music and enjoying the warm sights of Baltimore. Those two evenings put me in a tremendously chill mood as I smoked a cigar and enjoyed the moment.
That’s the thing about live music. The best way I can describe it is that it’s simply a shot of life. The right performance can put you in a great mood, put you at ease, and most importantly, put a smile on your face. I had a very similar experience with Dave Matthews Band when I saw them live before I even knew a song of theirs. The performance was so good that I immediately became a fan of their music afterwards and started to really enjoy their music. Another experience similar to this was when I saw Paul McCartney live, too. Although with Sir Paul, I knew a lot about The Beetles and their music, but not so much about his music outside of The Beetles. After the concert, I really started to enjoy his solo songs as well as the songs with another group he belonged to called, The Wings. In all three of these scenarios I shared, listening back to their music after the concert makes you feel like you’re back at the concert. It’s almost as if the memory of the live performance is just as good as the song you’re listening to, so it puts you back in the mind state that you were in when you saw the live performance. And that, is the power of live music.
Ok, here are my top Mt. Joy songs I’ve been listening to that I’ve had on repeat for the past week. Take a listen.
- Sheep – Mt. Joy
- Silver Lining – Mt. Joy
- Astrovan – Mt. Joy
- Bigfoot – Mt. Joy
- Jenny Jenkins – Mt. Joy
- Cardinal – Mt. Joy
- Julia – Mt. Joy
- Dirty Love – Mt. Joy
- Younger Days – Mt. Joy
- St. George – Mt. Joy
See you next time on Conrad’s Weekly Rhythms.
Dabbl 