B-Side Guys

Touring creates its own geography. Iowa City’s Joytrip discovered this during their 2024 Colorado run, when endless highway miles and altitude changes crystallized into something resembling revelation. “Juniper Lane” doesn’t just document travel; it captures the specific headspace that emerges when forward motion becomes meditation.

The band’s “electric-folk” designation makes perfect sense here. Michael Schodin’s vocals carry the conversational intimacy that folk music demands, while Eddie Hochman’s dual guitar-trumpet duties add instrumental texture that feels both rustic and sophisticated. Mitchell Wisniewski and Bennett Shapiro provide rhythmic foundation that suggests both steady highway driving and the irregular pulse of mountain roads.

What distinguishes this from typical road songs is Joytrip’s focus on absorption rather than adventure. They’re not celebrating escape or romanticizing the open road—they’re processing how landscape changes perception. Colorado’s dramatic geography appears to have triggered something more subtle than inspiration: recognition of “experienced concurrence,” as their press materials phrase it. Past and present collapse into single moments when you’re driving through terrain that makes time feel negotiable.

Their description of being “stewards of a sound” feels particularly relevant to this track. Joytrip isn’t trying to revolutionize folk music; they’re preserving something essential while adding contemporary perspective. The pandemic-era setbacks mentioned in their bio seem to have taught them the value of genuine connection, both with audiences and with the music itself.

The trumpet work deserves specific mention—Hochman’s brass adds warmth without overwhelming the track’s essential intimacy. It’s the kind of instrumental choice that suggests confidence in the song’s fundamental strength, embellishment that enhances rather than compensates.

Joytrip has created something that works equally well for actual road trips and imaginary ones. Sometimes the best way to understand where you’ve been is to keep moving forward until the pattern becomes clear. “Juniper Lane” suggests they’ve found their own route.