Mt. Joy brings indie-rock to the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater in Vail this August

Starting off as friends in a Philadelphia high school, Matt Quinn and Sam Cooper reunited in Los Angeles thanks to the ebbs and flows of adult life and created Mt. Joy in 2016 — an ode to a mountain in Valley Forge National Park near Cooper’s childhood home. Thanks to a Craigslist ad, the band started to take shape with the addition of Michael Byrnes.

Mt. Joy initially recorded three songs and sent them out into the world, hoping for the best. Much to the band’s amazement, “Astrovan” accomplished the impossible. Without initial promotion or fanfare, the song took off on Spotify, racking up 5 million streams to date. Fast forward to today, and Mt. Joy has toured with the Lumineers and also popped up at some of the biggest summer festivals including Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza and more.

“The irony of ‘Astrovan’ was that song was really about being stuck in life and wanting to have the opportunity to pursue a dream, and in an instant, it gave us that opportunity,” Quinn said.

With Quinn on vocals and guitar, Cooper on guitar and multi-instrumentalist Byrnes on board, Mt. Joy quickly transitioned to a full-fledged band by adding Sotiris Eliopoulos on drums and Jackie Miclau on keyboard and piano.

“We were able to put on some big shows very quickly,” Quinn said. “The growth for us has been exponential — we’ve really just become a family that’s constantly pushing each other and the live show to be great.”

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Steeped in folk-rock tradition, Mt. Joy released their third full-length album in 2022, “Orange Blood.”

Tickets start at $65 for reserved pavilion seating and $55 for general admission lawn seating. Visit GRFAVail.com/event/mt-joy for tickets and more information.