USA! USA! USA! Playlist

15 hours of music to celebrate America

Hello friends! We hope you’re having a great summer and we hope your Fourth of July celebrations make it even better. We’re taking a break from our weekly newsletter until the fall, but we’ll pop up in your inbox a few times before then to swap a song or two.

The Fourth of July is upon us. Among many things, the Fourth is a great holiday for music lovers. Our friend Adam Tait has an epic Fourth of July playlist for your pool party swimmin’, fireworks flashin’, and hotdog grillin’ bashes this weekend and next week. Take it away, Tait.

USA! USA! USA!

There are seldom instances in my day when music is not playing. From my morning shower to finishing the dishes each night, music is constantly playing. Even in my office as I type this I have music playing (probably way too loud for an office setting).

Due to the constant onslaught of music in my life, there is always a need for a playlist. Why a playlist and not an album? Well, albums are meant to be thoughtfully ingested (at least five times to give it a true opinion by the way). A playlist is something you throw on to catch a certain vibe. A playlist is something you share with your friends. A playlist is something you listen to on a certain holiday. Playlists are a passion of mine. Few things excite me more than getting to make a playlist, and when I get going on a playlist it is hard to stop.

This would explain why I have a 16-hour beach-themed playlist for our annual voyage south to 30A or why I have a 14-hour playlist featuring my favorite Grateful Dead tunes. It would also explain why I have a playlist for Halloween, Fat Tuesday, Valentine's Day, and the 4th of July.

That last playlist is what we are here to chat about. As best as I can remember, this playlist started as a simple playlist with songs that had something to do with America or American things with some tunes included that I would want to hear while grilling up a hot dog. Songs like God Bless the USA by Lee Greenwood, U.S. Blues by the Dead, and whatever country song my wife asks for (gotta keep her happy and invested). In those days, all holidays were spent with the Gibsons (shoutout to the founder of the swap, Killa KG) and that would include the tunes. At some point, the decision was made for Kody to collaborate on the playlist. Soon after that, he tweeted about it, as he does, and it was then given an identity. There are still folks that reach out each 4th of July just to give a shoutout to this playlist. That is a really cool thing.

Please give this playlist a listen this upcoming 4th of July and have a hot dog for goodness sake. It’s the American way! This playlist is also still collaborative so add a tune or two if you feel the urge. And don’t forget to wave that flag, wave it wide and high. Happy 4th!

—Adam Tait lives in Kentucky and is seriously one of the best dudes you could ever know. He serves thousands of students through Crossings Ministries. He currently can’t stop listening to Goose (no surprise there) and here is how he ranks his last five live shows:

1. Goose

2. Dead and Company

3. My Morning Jacket

4. Dawes

5. Ruston Kelly

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Thank you for reading. We’ll follow up soon with that summer playlist we promised to help you power through the dog days of summer.

-TheMusicSwap