Matt Quinn is the frontman for Mt. Joy and is also a lifelong Philadelphia Eagles fan. His passions collide thanks to a Mt. Joy feature on the new album from The Philly Specials, the vocal group that features Eagles legend Jason Kelce and current Eagles players Lane Johnson and Jordan Mailata.
Along with Mt. Joy, the album, titled A Philly Special Christmas Party, features big-name musicians including Fleetwood Mac‘s Stevie Nicks. Which begs the question: is it more exciting for Quinn to be on the same record as a literal Rock & Roll Hall of Famer or Super Bowl winners from his favorite football team?
“That’s all very exciting, I’ll tell you that much,” Quinn tells ABC Audio. “Obviously, heroes of mine across the board there.”
“It’s just pretty surreal,” he adds. “I think it’s one of those things where maybe many years from now I’ll be able to sort of wrap my head around it.”
Mt. Joy’s contribution is a “Christmas-afied” version of their song “Astrovan,” retitled “Santa Drives an Astrovan,” which they recorded with Kelce. The new track replaces the original’s lyrics about Jesus driving an astrovan to be about Saint Nick instead.
“The idea of Jesus driving an astrovan around town could be Santa driving his van around town delivering presents,” Quinn says. “Once that popped into my mind, it’s pretty easy to kinda change the lyrics around to make it fit Philadelphia and Christmas a little bit.”
Meanwhile, Mt. Joy is using singing with Kelce, along with the Eagles’ current eight-game win streak, as motivation to finish a new album.
“The Eagles are red-hot and we’ve got a song with Jason Kelce,” Quinn says. “What more could we possibly need to have a good vibe to make the rest of this record?”
Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
