Your Summer Playlist Is Here

(Natalie's Version)

Somehow it’s already Memorial Day Weekend, which means it’s one of my personal favorite times of year: summer playlist season!! Having the right music to soundtrack your drives and beach days and barbecues and patio drinks is, at least in my eyes, extremely high stakes. Realistically, you only get a few summer days where you don’t have to work, the weather is neither prohibitively hot nor sweaty and stormy, you’ve got some fun plans in the offing and you get to fully let loose; the musical vibe has to be perfect.

Obviously, I spend tons of time overthinking this. There are plenty of albums you could throw on and everything would be grand and sound great. But I am a chronic song-skipper (ask my poor husband), a person who will always fixate on the one track that isn’t quite there energetically — sinking the mood rather than boosting it. So, for the second year running, I bring you my (country) summer playlist: five hours of songs chosen by me for their summery vibe, presented in order (shuffle if you dare, I guess).

There is no more than one song per artist (collaborations excluded), and no repeated songs from last year’s playlist (rules force creativity!). It’s not meant to be exhaustive, obviously; your favorite summer tune might be absent. The intent is to create a musical flow — you might start it in one of the more party-ready sections rather than at the beginning if it feels right.

My playlist moodboard was basically being in the car on the way to something summery and festive, since I feel like that’s a situation that almost always requires a playlist; and/or tailgating a baseball game in 97 degree heat (a context in which I listened to last year’s playlist…). There’s a strong Texas bent, as well as a little bit of a rockish-bro-country thing…anyway, grab a cold drink, a lawn chair and a speaker and have a moment of zen (or three) this weekend. Happy summer!

Here’s a sampling of what you’ll hear:

“25 & Wastin’ Time,” Vincent Neil Emerson: This song just grooves like nobody’s business; it was playing in an outdoor party scene in Reservation Dogs, in case you need another cosign besides mine. Impossible not to take the biggest exhale you’ve had in months when that two-feel hits. (Also, check out our Q&A with VNE here!)

“I Got Time,” Brittney Spencer: The first song added to this year’s playlist!! Ideal Sheryl-style vibes, brilliant flips on classic country tropes — say it with me, country radio in a better world!!

“The Joneses,” Kelleigh Bannen: This Kelleigh Bannen album has been my country-pop cause for years now, and this song just absolutely goes: “We’d rather not keep up with the Joneses” is as good a premise as I’ve heard for a country song.

“Round Here,” Florida Georgia Line: I omitted FGL from last year’s playlist, trying to be tasteful or something… but to leave them off any summer playlist is to ignore the obvious. These are songs specifically designed for acting like an idiot while sweating your ass off; if you don’t feel compelled to scream “THAT FIREBALL WHISKEY WHISPERS TEMPTATION IN MY EAR” well…we’re different lol.

“First High,” Nikki Lane: Everything good about rock music is in this song. Nikki cracked the code with this one; a peak cruising down the highway over the speed limit track.