Over the last decade, Jake Owen has earned a reputation for bringing beach-bum breeziness to the country airwaves. But the 34-year-old Florida native has rarely sounded more footloose than he does during the leisurely, loop-laced country-funk number “VW Van” on his fifth album American Love. Owen even acquired a vintage Volkswagen bus of his own and promptly informed his label, RCA Nashville, that he was heading out on his most hang-loose promotional tour to date. “I’m gonna take a road trip,” he recalls telling them, “and I’m gonna stop along the way, wherever it takes us, from here to Key West, and I just wanna run into random people and film it as we go along.” Footage of him cruising down byways, serenading parking lot crowds and running out of gas made it into the video for his single “American Country Love Song.” Here he shares a road trip playlist that’ll suit a summertime sojourn in any set of wheels.
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“On the Road Again,” Willie Nelson (1980)
“Road trips, for me, are all about having fun and feeling good and seeing where the road takes you. So I think this Willie Nelson song should lead off the playlist. Do I really need to explain this one? I didn’t think so.”
“Long White Line,” Sturgill Simpson (2014)
“I think that’d be rather appropriate for a journey, you know, finding the end of that long white line. I love that psychedelic feel that Sturgill’s music has. I’m a big fan of what he’s doing right now. It’s nice to have guys like Chris Stapleton and Sturgill come out and say, ‘Look, I’m okay with not being a radio-friendly artist. I’m gonna make music that shows what you can do with country.’”
“Doin’ Time” (AKA “Summertime”), Sublime (1996)
“Growing up as an East Coast kid, I loved listening to this West Coast surfer band that had this funky side. The lyrics were so true to them being a California kind of band, and this song was always one of my favorites, because it was summertime all the time in Florida.”
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“And It Stoned Me,” Van Morrison (1970)
“It’s just a good song about a couple of buddies going fishing, getting caught in the rain and hitching a ride. I’ve been totally into Van Morrison lately, particularly the Moondance album.”
“Steal My Kisses,” Ben Harper (1999)
“This is a breezy, good-feeling tune about chasing a girl down to steal those kisses, following her even. I put that song on my Endless Summer EP a few years ago.”
“I Take a Lot of Pride in What I Am,” Merle Haggard (1968)
“I love the honesty that Merle Haggard used to put in all his songs. And I think that a road trip is also a lot about reflecting and using the time that you have driving to think about things. That song would really get me thinking about the kind of person I am.”
“I’ll Wait,” Van Halen (1984)
“And then again, sometimes you’ve gotta switch gears and go for a song that makes you feel good and gives you energy, because road trips are also all about staying awake and rocking.”
“I Fall In Love Too Easily,” Chet Baker (1956)
“I like juxtaposition on a playlist. I like to go from a song that’s rocking to all of a sudden Chet Baker crooning, ‘I fall love too easily/I fall in love too fast.’ It’s a little bit of a cool, stripped-down, jazzy sort of song.”
“Feelin’ Better,” Hank Williams, Jr. (1977)
“Hank Jr. wrote that after he fell off the mountain and he got back to being himself. A lot of people wanted him to be his dad, and he got tired of singing his dad’s songs. It’s all about him changing to be who he wanted to be. He says, ‘I’m feeling better, now that I’m back on the road.’ Obviously that song is about being on the road, but it’s also about being an individual.”