PinkMouintaintops (1)

Pink Mountaintops Made Us A Road Trip Playlist

Frontman Stephen McBean prepares to revisit his formative west coast beginnings.

by Sebastian Buzzalino

Photo by Laura Pleasants | Collage by Marissa Ruggles

You hear that? It’s the rusted sound of cylinders turning over, thawing out from their seasonal slumber. Spring is in the air and bands across the country are cleaning out their vans, getting ready to hit that great open road.

Pink Mountaintops are one of those bands, heralding frontman Stephen McBean’s return to his formative west coast home for a string of dates that promises to bring together old friends and new fans alike. “It’s cool a bunch of us are still around and feel motivated enough to stamp hands, twist knobs and shake a rug,” McBean tells RANGE. “Outsiders run deep and will always tribe together! My mom thinks it’s amazing how many great friends I still have — I agree!”

Self-care is important on the road and nothing soothes the savage beast like a good playlist to make the miles go by just a bit quicker. Touring can be a ritualized experience complete with “Morning coffee. Animal watching. Arriving at the venue. Late-night drives to Pink Floyd” — and the perfect soundtrack to complete the ritual is essential. 

RANGE asked McBean to put together an indispensable compilation of his favourite road-trippin’ tracks ahead of their week-long loop of the west coast. They may not be rolling around in his ideal tour vehicle (an “RV full of a weiner dog army!”), but they’ll arrive for load-in in with high spirits thanks to this curated playlist of classic tracks that span early country, rock and roll, punk, psych, and new wave.