Great Music for a Great Road Trip

Every great road trip needs a great soundtrack, regardless of where you're headed. On a recent trip home to see my family I pulled out my case of CDs (yes, I still have one of those) and left the iPod stowed away. I found that in listening to entire albums, I enjoyed the music much more and was less likely to skip any songs.

I started out the trip with Death Cab For Cutie's Photo Album (2001). Ben Gibbard's clever lyrics took me on an emotional journey through the eternally sunny Los Angeles in "Why You'd Want to Live Here" to his friend's loathing of his late father in "Styrofoam Plates". I was in the mood for more Ben Gibbard and I popped in The Postal Service's sole LP, Give Up (2003), and found myself wishing they would release a second album. As the Appalachian mountains welcomed me home, I finished off the trip with two My Morning Jacket albums, Z (2005) and It Still Moves (2003).

Bon Iver

Departing from Asheville on an unseasonably warm, late winter's day, I decided to roll the windows all the way down and blast Bon Iver's second self-titled album (2011), which won "Best New Artist" and "Best Alternative Album" at the 2012 Grammys. Later, just a day after a lighthearted debate with my brother about which Ben Folds Five album was the best, I decided to give The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messener (1999) a spin. I continued my trip down I-40 to the tunes of Maritime with We, the Vehicles (2006). And finally, in range of WKNC 88.1 FM, I finished off the trip with some of their jams. Now, enjoy a sample of my road trip soundtrack!


My Morning Jacket - It Beats 4U
Bon Iver - Perth
Ben Folds Five - Army
Maritime - Young Alumni

Forecastle Music Festival 2012 Lineup

For people living in central Kentucky and southern Indiana, Forecastle is the closest and best music festival in the area. Over the past decade, in the heart of Louisville, Forecastle has become one of the best outdoor festivals in the country and to celebrate its 10 year anniversary, one of Louisville's most successful bands, My Morning Jacket, will be headlining and collaborating the festival's lineup.

Yesterday the lineup was released with many great bands set to play at the festival, headlining each night will be Bassnectar (Friday), My Morning Jacket (Saturday), and Wilco (Sunday). The rest of bands are a great mix of popular alternative Pop/Rock (Sleigh Bells, Beach House, Atlas Sounds, Andrew Bird, Dr. Dog, Deer Tick, etc.), Folk/ Classic Country (Ben Sollee, Justin Townes Earle, The Head and The Heart), Techno/ Electronic (Girl Talk, Washed Out, Flying Lotuc, etc.), Blues/ Soul (Galactic, Stax! Soul Revue, Charles Bradley), Heavy Metal (Clutch) and Rap (Atmosphere).

Here is the complete list...

There are currently 3 Day tickets available for $144.50 (soon to be $159.50).

Single day tickets for $49.50 will go on sale this Friday (March 2nd).

VIP 3 Day tickets and 1 Day tickets are available as well ($350.00 and $150.00).






















I plan on writing up on some of the bands playing at the festival over the next few months, so stand by for some in-depth reviews on bands you may not know about but might be interested in seeing at the festival this year.

I hope everyone who wants to make it out to Louisville, Ky July 13-15th for this fantastic festival gets a chance.