Ah, the summer road trip…
Is there anything better than waking up at the crack of dawn, packing up the car with beach gear & a cooler full of snacks, cranking up the jams and hitting the open road on your way to somewhere fun?
We think not.
There’s something beautifully timeless about it. No matter how many years it’s been since the road trips of your younger years, driving to your vacation destination never fails to brings back fond memories of similar trips you took when you were a child or a carefree college kid.
In those days, we used to put together carefully-chosen playlists in the form of a mixtape or burned compilation CD. Now, though, most of us have our music on our phones and rarely take the trouble to make a special playlist for a specific occasion.
But remember how much fun that used to be?
So we went ahead and made one for you – and don’t worry, there’s a little something here for everyone, from classic rock to modern indie to old school soul and everything in between.
Connect to us on Spotify (username: TheKirbyHotel) and when you jump in the car for your next road trip (hopefully to Saugatuck), roll down the windows, crank up the volume and enjoy these songs as you roll out of town. And we’ve added the whole playlist here, so you can even listen to it now while you plan your trip!
- Hit the Road Jack – Ray Charles
- Daylight – Matt & Kim
- A Message to You Rudy – The Specials
- Shine – Wild Belle
- You Got What I Need – Freddie Scott
- Carolina in My Mind – James Taylor
- Road to Nowhere – Talking Heads
- Midnight Rider – Allman Brothers Band
- Get Lucky – Daft Punk
- Walking on Sunshine – Katrina & The Waves
- Blurred Lines – Robin Thicke
- Electric Feel – MGMT
- Sweet Caroline – Neil Diamond
- I Love It – Icona Pop
- Short Skirt / Long Jacket – Cake
- Mustang Sally – Wilson Pickett
- Green Onions – Booker T. & The M.G.’s
- Jack & Diane – John Mellencamp
- Wildflowers – Tom Petty
- Love Shack – The B-52’s
- Going Up the Country – Canned Heat
- America – Simon & Garfunkel
- Kiss – Prince
- Truckin – Grateful Dead
- Island in the Sun – Weezer
- Graceland – Paul Simon
- Bam Bam – Sister Nancy
- California – Joni Mitchell
- Under the Boardwalk – The Drifters
- The Wire – Haim
- In the Summertime – Mungo Jerry
- Bennie & The Jets – Elton John
- Wouldn’t it Be Nice – Beach Boys
- Time of the Season – The Zombies
- Lovely Day – Bill Withers
- Beast of Burden – Rolling Stones
- Son of a Preacher Man – Dusty Springfield
- The Weight – The Band
- Mellow Mood – Bob Marley
- Wagon Wheel – Old Crow Medicine Show
There you have it, the ultimate summer road trip playlist!
Feel free to play it all the way through, shuffle or just skip around to your favorites. But if you play it from start to finish, it should take you all the way from Chicago to Douglas… you know, if that happens to be the trip you’re taking.
Drive safely & have a great trip!