Rockin’ the Road

Ford and Hard Rock celebrate 50 years of the Mustang with music and a map

By Steve Turner
Photos courtesy of Ford Motor Company

As you know, we love a good road trip here at SVTP. Likewise, your author is a huge music fan. So, it should be no surprise that we’ve spent some time driving performance Fords to Hard Rock Hotels & Casinos. Apparently Ford’s marketing team has been following us…

Not really, but it does seem that we share some of the same interests. The latest celebration of the Mustang’s 50^th anniversary is the ICON50 partnership, which begins by promoting new musical artists and suggests a road-trip highlighted by stops at culturally significant musical destinations starting at the Brooklyn Bowl in Brooklyn, New York, and wrapping up at Grand Central in Miami, Florida. Along the way are stops in Washington, DC, Ashville, North Carolina, Nashville, Tennessee, Memphis, Tennessee, New Orleans, Louisiana, and Orlando, Florida.

“Hard Rock is the perfect collaborator to explore music as part of popular culture and to identify trends that will shape the industry’s future,” Melanie Banker, Mustang brand manager, Ford Motor Company, said. “For five decades Mustang has represented some of the best of American popular culture, and since the early ’70s Hard Rock has embodied that same spirit—one deeply rooted in rock ’n’ roll culture while evolving with the ever-changing music landscape and inspiring fans along the way.”

“There’s no denying the significant impact both music and Mustang have had on popular culture,” Matt Watts, director of music and marketing, Hard Rock Hotels & Casinos, said.

“There’s no better way to explore what’s coming in music than to hit the road and drive, and there’s no better car to do this in than Mustang,” Matt said. “The sense of freedom and adventure Mustang inspires has been echoed in many great songs over time.”

The artists celebrated in this program include ASTR, Betty Who, Cathedrals, Elle King, Joywave, MisterWives, Sheppard, Smallpools, Young Rising Sons and Young & Sick.

“The artists whom we’ve identified are each carving their own path, and have pushed musical and cultural barriers to reach a broader audience,” he added. “They not only represent what’s great and exciting about music right now, we feel they’ll inspire and move people in the future as well.”

In the near future, the ICON50 program will expand into the realms of food with Zagat, sports with ESPN, technology with Mashable. In November, the ICON50 driving route will appeal to foodies, when Zagat suggests a Mustang road trip.

We’d love to take a new Mustang on one of these road trips, so if Ford needs a cultural road trip beta tester, be sure to hit us up at SVTP.

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