Roséwave: 102 Songs To Juice Up Your Summer

The days are getting longer, the temperatures are rising and you're willing to see yet another superhero movie just for the air conditioning. Maybe to you, this time of year signifies the start of music festival season. Maybe you're looking forward to your annual extended stay down the shore. Maybe you're preparing for a plethora of summer weddings — not always a bridesmaid, but always the life of the bachelorette party. Maybe you're looking forward to living your best life at your city's Pride parade. Or maybe you've finally concocted the perfect punch recipe for backyard barbecues.

Regardless of your plans, to us, the period between Memorial Day and Labor Day can only mean one thing: roséwave, our one-word Twitter joke turned full-on lifestyle. And that means we have a playlist for any and all of these seasonal occasions and celebrations.

For the uninitiated, roséwave doesn't describe a genre as much as an ethos. For the past two summers, we've concocted a easily-sipped blend of songs that feel right at home on the stereo when you're with all your best friends, and their parents, and their newborns. Roséwave is for everyone — from crate-diggers cataloguing on Discogs to casual fans who are just fine with seats on the lawn — and meant to encompass the full spectrum of summertime living, from happy to sad to happy and sad at the same time. Music that makes you cry? That's roséwave. Songs to hit the gym to? That's roséwave. Soundtrack to being single for the summer? That, my friends, is roséwave, too. So we're following two seasons of sommelier-level playlist curation with another round. Roséwave is officially back for another summer of pink drinks and seasonally-appropriate bops, bangers and deep cuts.

Occasionally, upon the release of a new smash hit, we here at roséwave HQ ask one another, "Is this song roséwave?" In the case of this year's top Song of the Summer contender, Lil Nas X's "Old Town Road," its ability to unify fans across genres means it definitely counts. This year, our patron saints of roséwave delivered: The 1975 contributes recent single "It's Not Living If (It's Not With You)" to this year's season opener playlist, and "Now That I Found You" by Carly Rae Jepsen (who recently blessed us with a new, very roséwave album) is an exemplar of the form. And lest we go another year without including Vanessa Carlton's "A Thousand Miles," a basic anthem that you can admit gets you in your feelings when you've had one too many Aperol spritzes.

Pass us the aux cord and we'll start your summer with a little "Juice," courtesy of Lizzo; stick around for another healthy pour of roséwave all summer long.

Thanks to roséwave contributors who shared songs for the playlist, including Sidney Madden, Stefanie Fernández, Joshua Bote and Lars Gotrich.

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