When was your last good road trip? Remember getting ready for this epic event with your friends? Or maybe it was even just a solo trip, because you needed some time away for enlightenment. After choosing the right clothing and gear you need, you’re still missing something. That perfect road trip playlist that will set everyone free for that weekend. 

What is it about music that just touches the soul and makes a moment even better? So much of our lives are tied in with music and some of us don’t even realize it. Ever been in the car and heard a song, to say to yourself or a friend, “this song brings me back”, or “the last time I heard this song was when I was 14 and …”.  This has to sound familiar to so many of us. 

As we walked our way through Paris and made our way across Pont Alexandre III over to Musee D’Orsay, we got more excited as we got closer and closer to the building. As we turned the corner to the beautiful sound of a cello and violin playing in harmony, we came upon a street band entertaining just below the steps of the museum. People were captivated as we scrolled through. Alarms could be going off on the next block, but that wouldn’t stop them from being mesmerized by the melody. A mom sitting on the steps with her daughter, smiles on their faces as they listened on and watched the band do their thing. The elderly lady that got up and started dancing with the band members. Acting like she was just as limber as she was 30 years ago. All of this, a response to music. 

A road trip through Napa valley. Taking my time to select the perfect play list including “Red, Red, wine”, “Barcelona” and some Tony Martin, “That’s Amore”. Each song selected after careful consideration of where we will be going and which winery will be the perfect setting for each song. The selection of songs in itself was an experience, but the day of our trip, was even more memorable. As we made our way, winery after winery in Napa, each song becoming it’s own special background to our memories we were making. Also, as each winery went on and we continued to indulge further, we found ourselves singing at the top of our lungs to these hits. 

Music can make your travel experience so much better. Whether its local street musicians in Paris or creating that special playlist for your road trip in Napa. Regardless the experience, when you travel with music, it sometimes just gets you out of your head. It creates memories and special experiences that you might never have had without the rhythm in the background. 

“Music is a world within itself, it is a language we all understand”.

– Stevie Wonder

Music has been studied for years now on how it affects our brain. There were studies in the 90’s talking about playing classical music for infants will help increase their intelligence. So of course everyone went out and bought Beethoven to play in their nursery rooms! It’s been shown as stress relief for people, depending on what memories the music ilicits a response to. Of course memory in itself has been a massive link between our brain response to music. I still remember riding down the road with my dad in his green Ford truck everytime I hear CCR, “Born on the Bayou”. The smile it puts on my face when I think of the experience I had, as we made our way through the back roads of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. 

Music has always been instrumental (wasn’t meaning for a pun, but we will take it!) in the travel experiences I have had throughout life and will continue to do so. Whether listening to techno music in Berlin, walking Abbey Road in England and listening to the Beatles or relaxing on the beach in Key West jamming to some Jimmy Buffet. Music hits my soul and causes a response that I just can’t get enough of. The addiction to music goes hand and hand with the addiction to travel. What’s on your playlist when you travel?