Whether people are going on road trips or having cookouts in the backyard, great playlists can add so much more vibrancy and life to their experiences.

My preferred summer vibe is driving at sunset with the windows down and the air dry (like the desert).

My favorite bands create that exact vibe with their music. It makes you want to throw your hands up and scream the lyrics along with them.

Depending on people’s unique and diverse music preferences, my suggestions may not match their own tastes. In any case, here are my favorite bands and my favorite songs by them to listen to over the summer in case anyone wants to check them out themselves.

Currently, my favorite band is Vacation Manor. It’s a group of guys from Nashville who have released an EP (extended play), a separate single and an album called “Everything I Can’t Say Out Loud.”

They recorded the entire album at a studio in Joshua Tree National Park, and for one of the songs (“Hourglass”), they actually went out into the middle of the desert to record it. Their music just has a desert feel to it, and it’s the perfect summer vibe.

In my opinion, pretty much every song by Vacation Manor is great. My favorites, however, are “Hourglass,” “Move On,” “A Toast and a Spirit” and “Fading.”

They also have a song called “Don’t Say It’s Over,” which is roughly five minutes long. It’s the last song on their vinyl, and instead of wasting the five minutes of empty space left, they kept improvising after the end. It’s basically a 10-minute song with a super long ending. They did it in one take, and it sounds fantastic.

They also have a documentary on YouTube of the making of their album where you can actually watch them record the music.

My second favorite band this summer is called HUNNY. I haven’t looked into their story as much as I have with Vacation Manor, but their music fits the same vibe. The first song I heard from them was “Gilding the Lily,” but my favorite song of theirs is “Vowels (and the Importance of Being Me).”

Another good band is called COIN. Similar to HUNNY, I don’t know much about their band besides the fact that they create great music. COIN has a lot of really good songs, but my favorites are “Cemetery,” “Atlas,” “Talk Too Much” and “I Don’t Wanna Dance.”

There are a lot of songs I could’ve mentioned here, but here are a few more bands: Catfish and the Bottlemen, Colony House, CRUISR, Grizfolk, Wild Party and VHS Collection.

These are just some suggestions I have to fit that perfect summer vibe. If you’re interested in more, there are plenty of playlists on Spotify with these artists and other similar ones, including a seven-hour playlist my boyfriend and I made called “Certified.” If you’re looking for new music, this is a great place to start.

Jessica Stewart is a junior English major. She can be reached at 581-2812 or at jrstewart3@eiu.edu.