The Music Beat: At Carr’s Hill and JPJ, Mt. Joy Hopes You Had Fun – UVA Today

Mt. Joy’s new album, “Hope We Have Fun,” drops May 30. (Photos by Tristan Williams and Lathan Goumas, University Communications; illustration by John DiJulio, University Communications)
American indie rock band Mt. Joy returned to the University of Virginia on Friday evening for its second “Arts on the Hill” appearance since April 2023. The band performed an intimate set at President Jim Ryan’s Carr’s Hill home, just one day before headlining a nearly sold-out show at John Paul Jones Arena.
More than 100 students and community members, selected through a lottery system, attended Friday’s exclusive performance. Mt. Joy performed five songs, including fan favorites “Silver Lining” and “Strangers,” while also debuting its newest release, “God Loves Weirdos,” which dropped the same day as the performance.
After forming in 2016 and releasing its debut single “Astrovan,” the five-piece band has accumulated more than 1 billion streams and performed at iconic venues such as Madison Square Garden and Red Rocks Amphitheater. Despite its growing success, the band was eager to return to Charlottesville.
“We have a great fan base here,” keyboardist Jackie Miclau said.
And maybe we’re all alone together now
And I don’t wanna see those tears again
You know Jesus drives an Astrovan
Toward the end of the Carr’s Hill event, audience members had the opportunity to engage directly with the band during a Q&A session.
Asked about returning to Charlottesville for another Arts on the Hill performance, frontman Matt Quinn said, “It’s cool to do the more intimate stuff. I think it’s harder for us to do now. So, it is cool. It’s fun to change it up.”
The following night, Mt. Joy hit a much bigger stage at John Paul Jones Arena as the first stop on its “Hope We Have Fun” tour.
The last time the band played in Charlottesville, it headlined a show at Ting Pavilion on the Downtown Mall, a venue with a capacity of 3,500. The recent show at JPJ, which holds four times as many people, marked the group’s second time performing in the arena. Mt. Joy opened there for The Lumineers in March 2020, just before the pandemic shut public events down.
“It’s great to be back in the same building,” Quinn said. 
In addition to performing its biggest hits, the band also debuted unreleased songs from its upcoming album, including “Pink Lady” and “Lucy.”
Alice Berry
University News Associate Office of University Communications
aberry@virginia.edu 434-924-6861
April 21, 2025

source