(Image: Photo by Brad Bates, Gate outside of Ehrhardt, SC)

There are three things I like a lot in this world: traveling, food, and music! The best part about it is…these three things go together like peas and carrots, sausage and gravy, peanut butter and jelly…and…ah…you get the point. They were meant for each other!

I don’t know about you, but when I’m traveling there are three things on my mind: where I’m going, what I’m going to eat when I get there, and what I’m going to listen to while I’m getting there.

In addition to being a lover of travel and food I am also a musician. Not only do I write my own stuff (you can check me out HERE), but I also enjoy a wide selection of music. But if I had to choose a specific genre that best reflected my taste in music, it would be Americana and Folk.

You see, the Road trip playlist is a very important aspect of traveling. The music choices we make can dramatically shape the experience we have as we travel.

Think about it…if you’re stuck in bumper to bumper traffic or behind a massive wreck on the interstate, the last thing you probably need to be listening to is some heavy metal to fuel the already bubbling rage building up inside of your Road Warrior chest…though, you convince yourself that this is EXACTLY what you want to listen to because it totally reflects how you are feeling at that moment.

Instead, choose some music that will help calm and soothe your restless traveling mind instead of bringing out the warrior side of the road warrior in you. For me, I find the best travel mix to consist of folk, classic rock, Americana, and Enya.

Yeah…I said it…Enya!

Don’t judge me. I’m totally secure in my music choices.

While you’re over there banging on your steering wheel to Rammstein yelling at the stalled traffic in German (because…you know…everything angry sounds better in German), I’m over there chilling and relaxing all cool with some Enya in my ears.

But then again, I wouldn’t be caught dead on the interstate to begin with. Instead, I’m over on the back roads where the minor hiccup of a wreck can be circumvented by a quick look at the atlas or GPS and finding a new and exciting route for this back road warrior to travel down.

Remember…part of the joy of traveling is the actual process of getting there…the journey.

Go into it with the expectation that you’re probably going to have some minor setbacks once in a while, and plan your route and the Trippin’ Tunes accordingly. (i.e. AVOID the interstates…seriously though, they suck!)

So here’s my question to you fellow Back Road Warriors…what are some songs, solo artists, groups, genres, etc. that you listen to when you hit the road?

Comment below!