Exclusive: Stream Shred Kelly’s “Blurry Vision Tour Van Anthems” Curated Spotify Playlist

By: Staff –

To celebrate the release of Shred Kelly’s new album, Blurry Vision (out now), the Fernie, BC-based folk rock band curated a brand new Spotify playlist of tour van anthems that keep them feeling awake and energized while on tour.

Elliott BROOD – “Rose City”

Elliott BROOD is a band that had a significant influence on Shred Kelly in the early days. Tim might never have bought his first banjo if he hadn’t heard Elliott BROOD’s first Tin Type EP and their album Mountain Meadows is certainly a desert island album for us. This fall we have had the amazing opportunity to tour with Elliott Brood throughout Western Canada just as they are about to release their new album called “Town” and each night we got to see them debut one of the new songs “Rose City” which is a tribute to their home town of Windsor, Ontario. It’s a tour van staple now and keeps us grooving on the long drives.  

The Smashing Pumpkins – “Cherub Rock”

This opening track to their 1993 album Siamese Dream is the song that perfectly introduces what is about to be an onslaught of fuzzed out guitars and dreamy vocals throughout the entirety of the album.  It’s the powerhouse song that picked me up and never spat me out because I still listen to this album front to back regularly 30 years in. If we’re about to embark on an epic drive to the next show and I’m behind the wheel, this song is going on and the rest of the album will play out too and I’ll be air drumming my heart out. 

The War on Drugs – “An Ocean in Between the Waves”

With music streaming making all music so available these days, it’s sometimes hard to become a super fan of a band because its difficult to find the gems in a sea of content, but one day on a long drive across the prairies Ty put on The War on Drugs album Lost in a Dream and by the time we got to song four, “An Ocean in Between the Waves” I could tell that I was going to be a super fan. The song has this linear groove that builds in energy until I’m smacking the ceiling of the van Lebowski style. When Ty and I watched their set side stage at Skookum Fest Vancouver where we had played earlier in the day, I witnessed this song make 20,000 people do the same. 

The Tragically Hip – “Grace Too”

Throughout the years, I have been to more Tragically Hip concerts than any other band, starting in high school all the way up until their final tour. They have had an immeasurable influence on me as a song writer and the album Day For Night was the soundtrack to my musical upbringing. I was able to get tickets to their final show in Vancouver. The energy in the stadium was immense. Each song was met with a thunderous response from life long fan’s knowing this was the final one. When they played ‘Grace Too’ the crowd sang it word for word and when Gord sang that final agonizing vocal build up, the entire stadium stood out of their chairs and their wasn’t a dry eye in the place. Now when I listen to that song it has a different meaning for me. It brings back a life of nostalgia but takes me to that final emotional performance. 

Ben E King – “Stand By Me”

This is just universally the most classic and perfect songs in the world. I can listen to it over and over without getting tired of it. I think it’s lyrically beautiful and it brings back a lifetime of memories. It’s a song from my parents era and was the soundtrack to every family road trip. When Sage was pregnant with our daughter Murphy we sang this song to her belly every day and minutes after she was born we sang it to her so that she recognized our voices. It’s a song that will get everyone singing along because it’s so universally known. If it’s the last song I hear on this earth, I’ll go out with a smile. On more than occasion we have all sang this song in the van at the top of our lungs. 

Billy Strings – “Away From The Mire”

In 2015 we went down to Kansas City and took part in Folk Alliance International which is a folk music conference where you pitch your live music to industry people and festival buyers. Ty ran into this guy named Billy Strings in the hotel staircase who was jamming out bluegrass music on an acoustic guitar and he couldn’t believe how good this guy was. We all got started following his music and got hooked on the song writing. “Away From the Mire” has such an amazing hook in the chorus and a total sing along. I recall hearing it for the first time while barreling down the autobahn on a European Tour. It’s inspiring to hear Billy’s modern approach to bluegrass music. Now he’s a Grammy winning artist headlining all the major festivals.

The Dead South – “Dead Man’s Isle”

We’ve had the great fortune of opening for The Dead South throughout Europe three times playing to large sold out rooms. When you get to watch such a talented hard working band absolutely own the crowd night after night, their songs start to become the soundtrack to the amazing journey that you’re on. Night after night we would watch them play and in the van the next day on the way to another city we’d all be howling the lyrics “I’m going away for a while!” as it kind of became our travelling musician anthem. 

Weezer – “Undone – The Sweater Song”

When I was a kid the first guitar riff I ever learned was “The Sweater Song”. I love this song on so many levels because it’s huge, but it’s slow, and it makes me want to sway and head bang at the same time. It’s a bit goofy and light hearted but it builds to a wall of guitar wailing and distortion that makes me so happy.  Everyone tries to mimic the slacker surfer guy at the beginning  (“You going to party after the show? Life’s so rad”) and on more than one occasion we have belted out the epic chorus at the top of our lungs in the van. But sometimes when tour is hard I just put on in my headphones to feel happy. 

NOFX – “The Decline”

I bought this CD and thought it was going to be a full album, but it turning out to be just one song…a 22 minute absolute epic song that takes you on a punk rock listening journey that is hard describe. This is an impressive and inspiring song that is so far out of the radio formula it “Bohemian Rhapsody” to shame. I love it when bands like this take risks. It’s songs like this that inspired us to write our new song “Nothing for a  While” which is only a 6:40 running time but with the goal of taking the listener on a journey that lifts you up, brings you down, and throws you up again. “The Decline” is a 22 minute journey and we can recite every lyric along the way. If it’s late and I’m getting blurry vision behind the wheel on tour, this song is my Red Bull.

Peter Frampton – “Frampton Comes Alive”

There have been many nights where I’ve been behind the wheel of the van as the sun is going down and I just wanted to be transported to a live concert. “Frampton Comes Alive” is full of the hits and is just a joyous experience to listen to while driving. As we are heading down the Trans-Canada highway in the middle of winter and the sky is lit up all golden and red, we can almost picture ourselves playing to thousands of screaming fans as we head to the next show. It’s what keeps us going.