Back in 2016, a couple of high school friends from Philadelphia—Matt Quinn and Sam Cooper—reunited in Los Angeles. They weren't trying to change the world. They were just writing songs. But then they dropped "Astrovan." It was weird, catchy, and had a line about Jesus driving a van. People loved it. By the time they released their debut album, Mt. Joy, on March 2, 2018, it was clear this wasn't just another indie-folk flash in the pan.
Honestly, looking back at it now from 2026, that record feels like a time capsule. It’s got this specific grit. It’s folk-rock, sure, but it’s messy and soulful in a way that most "stomp and holler" bands never quite figured out.
The Sound of a Slow Burn
When you listen to Mt. Joy, you’re hearing a band figure out who they are in real-time. It’s not a polished studio project. The group—Matt Quinn, Sam Cooper, Michael Byrnes, Sotiris Eliopoulos, and Jackie Miclau—recorded a lot of it with producer Jon Gilbert in a home studio in Pasadena. You can feel that. It’s intimate.
The tracks amble. They pulsate.
"Silver Lining" became the massive breakout hit, eventually hitting number one on the Billboard Triple A charts. It’s a song about the cycle of addiction and watching people you love struggle, but it sounds like a celebration. That's the Mt. Joy magic: taking something heavy and making you want to shout it out in a crowded room. As of last year, the songs from this debut alone have racked up nearly a billion streams on Spotify. That is a wild number for an indie debut.
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Why it feels different
Most folk-rock gets a bad rap for being "too nice." You know the vibe—suspenders, banjos, and songs about mountains. Mt. Joy had the name (named after a hill in Valley Forge National Park), but the lyrics were sharper.
Take "Sheep." It’s a post-2016 political song that doesn't feel like a lecture. It’s got this collapsing, hoarse-voiced energy where Quinn sings about freedom being "paid in blood." Then you have "Dirty Love," which is raw and almost feels like folk with a grunge hangover. It’s not always pretty.
10 Years of Mt. Joy
It’s 2026 now, and the band is currently on their 10th-anniversary tour. It’s pretty crazy to think they went from playing tiny clubs to selling out Madison Square Garden and doing multi-night runs at Red Rocks. They’ve added a massive slate of dates for this year, including stops at the Kia Forum and the Eventim Apollo in London.
Success has changed them, obviously. Their newer stuff like Hope We Have Fun (released in 2025) leans more into their jam-band tendencies. Some old-school fans on Reddit complain they've "sold out" or shifted too far into "sentimental folk," but the live shows tell a different story. If you’ve seen them recently, you know they just jam out. They'll take a three-minute song from the debut and turn it into a ten-minute psychedelic exploration.
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The Tracks You Can't Skip
If you're revisiting the self-titled album or checking it out for the first time, some songs just stand taller than others.
- I’m Your Wreck: The opener. It captures that 3:00 AM anxiety perfectly. "Am I the only one that sleeps with the TV on?"
- Silver Lining: The anthem. If you only know one song, it's this one.
- Astrovan: The song that started it all. It posits a "Deadhead Jesus" and somehow makes it feel profound.
- Younger Days: This is the closer. It’s melancholic, focusing on a failing relationship and the fear of choosing the wrong path.
The anniversary edition of the vinyl actually includes some cool extras, like an acoustic version of "Jenny Jenkins" and a cover of Neil Young's "Don’t Let It Bring You Down." It’s worth tracking down if you're into physical media.
What Most People Get Wrong
There's this idea that Mt. Joy is just another "Lumineers-lite" band. I'd argue that’s a total misunderstanding of what Matt Quinn is doing with his vocals. He’s got this soulful, almost R&B-influenced delivery that he masks with folk arrangements.
The band is also way more technical than they get credit for. Jackie Miclau’s piano work and Sam Cooper’s guitar leads provide a layer of complexity that keeps the songs from feeling repetitive. They aren't just playing chords; they're building textures.
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The 2026 Perspective
Bands usually fade out by their fourth or fifth album. Mt. Joy seems to be doing the opposite—they're getting bigger. Their 2026 tour is one of the highest-selling in their genre this year. They’ve stayed independent-minded even as the venues have grown to arena size.
Whether you love the new "playful" direction or you’re still clinging to the "gritty" vibes of the 2018 debut, you can't deny the staying power. The self-titled record wasn't just a lucky break. It was a blueprint.
Next Steps for Mt. Joy Fans
- Check the 2026 Tour Schedule: They are hitting almost every major city this year, including a heavy run of festivals like Bonnaroo and Railbird.
- Listen to the Anniversary Reissues: The 2023 and 2025 represses often include "letter from the band" inserts that explain the headspace they were in during the L.A. sessions.
- Watch Recent Live Sets: To see how the Mt. Joy tracks have evolved, look for their 2025-2026 Red Rocks recordings. The arrangements for "Silver Lining" and "Julia" are completely different now than they were on the record.