It may be a bit of a misnomer, but if you’ll allow me some liberty, I’d say the first summer playlist I remember consists of a single song: “The Joker” by the Steve Miller Band. And I really only remember a few words, “I’m a joker, I’m a smoker…” I specifically remember sitting in the car in my parents’ driveway. So really, more of an end of the night song. I don’t know if it was playing because of my parents or my older brother or simply whatever station happened to be on that night. What I do remember is sitting in the car, the radio playing a laid-back groove with lyrics that were impossible not to sing along to.

As we continue to promote this year’s summer theme, Road Trips, we are leaning into playlists. Once upon a time, every road trip relied on whatever radio station happened to come in. For another generation, it was all about 8 Tracks. And then cassettes. While virtually everyone I knew had cd players in their vehicles, my hand-me-down vehicle had a cassette player. I do not recall making any mixtapes, but plenty of mixed cd’s, even if they were just to play in my friends’ cars.

Those many mixed cd’s, with orange and blue and green and red sharpie labels, represented anticipation for the good times ahead. It felt like choosing the music was almost as important as who you were with or where you were headed. Less about the destination than the soundtrack that would get us there and how you felt.

With countless road trip songs coming to mind, I spent far too much time compiling my 2026 summer road trip playlist. The Joker is on there, but I’m starting it with On the Road Again by Willie Nelson. Then Come as You Are by Nirvana, Carefree Highway by Gordon Lightfoot, Take on Me by a-ha, and Like a Prayer by Madonna. All testaments to my parents, a brother twelve years older than I am, and the staying power of music passed from one generation to the next.

As part of this, I texted a group of friends asking what songs come to mind for the road trips we took from 2009 to approximately 2014. Mr. Brightside by the Killers, What You Know by Two Door Cinema Club, Umbrella by Rihanna, Africa by Toto, Santeria by Sublime. “Well, I had a million dollars...” on repeat. As I write this, these songs transport me back to a specific highway, view, and these friends. I cannot remember where we stopped for lunch, but I can remember the song playing when we crossed a state line.

My playlist is random; some built for cruising, some that change up the pace, big energy boosts, moody and emotional detours. A time capsule of road trips and moments that have stayed with me. As I listen back through those songs, I realize they reflect many of the same ideas we’ve been celebrating with this year’s theme. Not necessarily because of the places they represent, but the feelings they evoke. Last month’s column, introducing this year’s summer theme, was about excitement.

Now, in mid-July and in the heat of summer, I am thinking of many of you traveling often on the weekends; for camping trips, family reunions, vacations, and weekend softball tournaments. There is no doubt excitement. I’m not pushing past any part of summer until it is actually over. But I am recognizing that this first part of the summer has meant thousands of miles for Monroe residents.

In the interest of doing the impossible and getting summer to pause, I hope you will take a moment or two to think of your favorite road trip songs. The one that had to play before you turned the car off, that had to be on your playlist, and the one that reminds you of your favorite vacation.

Even if the A/C is blasting, I hope you will play them. The right song has a way of taking us somewhere all over again. And if it becomes part of the soundtrack to your time downtown this summer and this year’s theme, all the better.

— Jordan Nordby is the executive director for Main Street Monroe. He can be reached at MonroeMainStreet@tds.net. Anyone interested in finding out more, including on how to volunteer, can at mainstreetmonroe.org.