Matt Quinn and Sam Cooper first made music as students at Conestoga High School.
But the two guitar playing friends didn’t become Mt. Joy until they met up years later in Los Angeles, where Cooper was working as an attorney after graduating Temple Law School and Quinn was taking law classes at night.
One of the first tunes they wrote together “Astrovan,” the catchy single about a hippie Jesus who loves the Grateful Dead. It took off on Spotify in 2016, and put their band named after a wooded-hill in Valley Forge National Historical Park on the map.
Ten years later, Mt. Joy — which includes bassist Michael Byrnes, drummer Sotiris Eliopoulos and keyboard player Jackie Miclau — have grown into an amphitheater-filling act that straddles the folk-pop and jam-band worlds.
Last fall, they headlined the TD Pavilion at the Mann Center bringing the Philly Phanatic on stage and jamming with Sixers coach Nick Nurse on Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams.” They further lived out their Philly sports fan dreams with Quinn duetting with Jason Kelce on 2025’s A Philly Special Christmas Special, remaking their signature song as “Santa Drives An Astrovan.”
This weekend, the band will play Friday and Saturday at the Mann supporting the new Hope We Have Fun, which features Gigi Perez on “In The Middle” and Nathaniel Rateliff on “Wild And Rotten.”
A two-night stand at the Fairmount Park venue is a milestone for the band, despite being largely ignored by the media.
“We’re not winning Grammys, and we don’t really feel part of that world,” Quinn said, talking via Zoom with Cooper before a show in Vancouver. “We just exist in this world where there’s people who really love our music, and they show up and sing our songs, and that powers the whole thing. And that really frees you up creatively.”
Looking forward the Mann shows, Quinn say, “when you get the tail wind of Philadelphia behind you, you feel pretty invincible. There are a few towns like that in the States, and Philly is one of them.”
Quinn lives in Philadelphia, and Cooper recently moved from Los Angeles to Seattle. Each shared his own version of a perfect day in Philly.
9 a.m.
When I come home, I stay with my parents. They live on Valley Forge mountain, right next to Mt. Joy. I’d wake up and just make coffee, maybe have some pancakes. Then run around the yard with the dogs. One is called Poop. He’s a German Shepherd. And Maya is this little Mexican rescue dog my brother found in Rivera Maya.
My dad might go over to Hymie’s in Merion and get some lox and bagels. That’s a great little Jewish deli.
When we’re on tour, we’ll play Vancouver, then Seattle, and then go to bed in San Francisco. So it’s nice to end up in the woods in Pennsylvania and just zen out.
I live west of Front, so I guess it’s Olde Kensington. Though I could hit Fishtown with a rock if I wanted to.
When I’m home and hanging out, it’s pretty boring. I’d wake up and walk to Liberty Kitchen and get the breakfast sandwich. There’s a spicy ketchup thing, with egg and cheese on a bun with poppy seeds.
Or we might go to La Colombe on Frankford. They have a pretty good breakfast sandwich there, too. My wife drinks coffee. I don’t because it makes me crazy. If the band’s in town, they’ll stay at my place, and we all go to La Colombe every morning. And then we’ll go straight to the studio at Spice House in Fishtown [where Japanese Breakfast, Meek Mill, the Stylistics and many others have recorded].
1 p.m.
For lunch, we like this place Castellino’s in Fishtown. The Franklin is the play there. Kind of like a turkey sandwich that’s really good. And then back to the studio with a big sandwich in our belly.
After being on tour, I like to go to the gym. So if I’m hanging out down at Matt’s, I’ll go to the City Fitness in Fishtown. Or the L.A. Fitness in King of Prussia is always good.
» READ MORE: Mt. Joy, the band certified ‘fantastic’ by Jason Kelce, is playing a hometown show at the Mann
6 p.m.
At my parents, we would either order from or go to Valley Forge Trattoria. We call it “Angry Pasta,” because when we call to order, they sound angry and pretend that they’re annoyed that you’re giving them business.
I get the lobster ravioli. And their pizza is great. When you go there, they kind of treat you like s— in a way that’s very endearing. It’s like a Philly thing. I would still give them five stars.
If it’s a long studio day, we’re going to either Wm. Mulherin’s Sons or Laser Wolf for dinner. The Double Margherita pizza at Mulherin’s is one of the my favorite things to eat. I don’t know if someone over at Laser Wolf is a fan, but they’ve always been really great to us.
9 p.m.
Generally, nothing happens in Valley Forge. Like, I’m not going to the casino. There is a Top Golf but I haven’t tried it. I’m staying home, I’m sitting around with a guitar, watching The Sopranos, surrounded by dogs. If a band we know is in town we’ll go see them, like we saw Flipturn at Franklin Music Hall.