After the release of their fourth studio album, ‘Hope We Have Fun,’ one of Philadelphia’s favorite native bands, Mt. Joy, is touring across North America. As the band prepares to close out their road trip, they will do so with a return home, with back-to-back performances at The TD Pavilion at The Mann featuring a special collection for community members in need.
The band will once again host a non-perishable food drive during both shows, as they continue to combat food insecurity.
Ahead of the band’s return home, Mt. Joy frontman Matt Quinn sat down with Metro to discuss fighting food insecurity in the community, closing out their tour at home, and more.
Fighting for Philly
Food insecurity is a worldwide issue, not unfamiliar to Philadelphia. As they have many times before, Mt. Joy will once again collaborate with locally founded nonprofit Sharing Excess in an effort to provide for many in the Philadelphia community.
“Food insecurity is something that we have kind of circled and worked with for a few years now,” Quinn said. “Sharing Excess is a really cool charity where they try to connect excess food, as the name sort of indicates, with people who need it. We waste an extraordinary amount of food in the United States. Food insecurity is something that impacts Philadelphia a great deal. There are amazing charities like Philabundance as well that try to tackle this, but it seems pretty self-explanatory that if you have extra food that we’re throwing away, and you have people going hungry, then we’ve got to fill that gap.
“We feel like there are so many amazing charities and people doing amazing work, but [one of the] ways we feel like we can really have a direct impact on our community is food insecurity. There are complex problems that need funding and need people working on them, too, but we just feel like that’s something simple in our community, not that it’s simple. It’s obviously a complex issue, but the solution, in some ways, is simple. So we need to get these people food, and hopefully, we can help to do that.”
The band is no stranger to working for the betterment of the Philadelphia community. In addition to their years working with Sharing Excess, they’ve partnered with Philadbundance, played dedicated shows for local service providers and nonprofit employees, and collaborated with The Philly Specials on their third and final album, which included Operation Snowball, a project dedicated to supplying a gift to every child in the Philadelphia School District.
Part of their contribution to Operation Snowball included a pop-up concert at Lincoln Financial Field before the Philadelphia Eagles’ Nov. 14 matchup against the Washington Commanders. Not only was this far from the band’s first charitable contribution, it was also yet another in a long line of pop-up shows in and around Philadelphia.
A band by Philly, for Philly
“I think that’s something we just tried and like to do. I grew up kind of popping up at open mics, and that’s how I learned to play live. So, it’s something that I feel pretty comfortable with, and I think it’s fun. I would say one challenge is, I think our shows are really fun, and they’ve gotten to be these big things with thousands of people, and it’s really cool. That medium is amazing, and it’s so cool, like, with an Eagles game or a Sixers game. It’s pretty special when you get 10,000 plus people pulling for you and cheering us on. That energy is unique, but it’s also kind of its own thing.
“I think it’s fun to be able to play something intimate and pop-up and just do something where you don’t really know what’s going to happen, and then to see people kind of come out, and maybe certain people couldn’t make the show—people have busy lives, I get it—maybe they’re able to take the kids down the street, wherever we are, and see something like that. I guess it’s hopefully symbiotic. We like to do it, and hopefully, it allows more people to interact with us.”
No place like home
As Mt. Joy’s popularity continues to rise, the band has played across the U.S. and even in Europe. While all the traveling and legendary venues are exciting, the band says there is something special about playing in front of their home crowd.
“People ask us our favorite places to play. And, there’s Red Rocks and things like that, but for me, I love coming home and playing in Philly. I always dreamed of playing certain venues. I honestly never thought I’d make it to The Mann, but I always dreamed of [it]. I grew up going to concerts, whether it’s the [Theater of the Living Arts] or Union Transfer, Johnny Brenda’s, or whatever, to be on the other side of that with my friends, my family, in the audience, and just the juice that Philly brings.
“I mean, it’s not pandering. Genuinely, one of the most enthusiastic crowds any band or, I guess, sports teams could play in front of on the planet. So that just makes you excited to play in Philly. And this tour, which is somewhat of a first, we’ve been out for weeks and weeks and weeks, and it ends in Philly, two nights in Philly. So after that show, I’ll just drive my car home and go to bed. It’ll be pretty cool.”
What to expect this time around
Looking forward to the upcoming show, Mt. Joy will almost certainly have some of their fan favorites sprinkled in, but the show will undoubtedly feature plenty of music off their latest album, some of which have already become hits among the fanbase.
“We’ve been fortunate this run,” Quinn said. “‘Pink Lady’ has been a fun one to jam live. I feel like it just works in that format really well, and we can extend it a bit. And then ‘Lucy,’ I feel like, is a story that has been really cool to see the way it has touched people. There are a lot of people that we found who have gone through similar things, or are going through something similar. So that one feels like a really poignant moment in the set. I feel like ‘God Loves Weirdos’ is one that’s gone well, and a few others, but I could just list the whole album.”
Last year, the band was joined on stage by the Phillie Phanatic and Philadelphia 76ers head coach Nick Nurse. When asked about any potential surprises this season, Quinn was playfully mum on the matter.
“I’ll put it this way, we hope so,” Quinn said with a grin. “I mean, the truth of it is, as we get down to it, you kind of see people’s schedules, and we always like to try to have a couple of tricks up our sleeves. So, we’ll be trying, I’ll say that much.”
Mt. Joy will take the stage at The TD Pavilion at The Mann on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 26 and 27. Doors open at 7 p.m. For tickets or more information, visit manncenter.org. For more information about Sharing Excess, visit sharingexcess.com.
