Wawa is a defining feature of life at Penn. Their hoagies are to die for, that F’real milkshake machine is great enough to bring grown men to tears and—Street Beats has to admit—their playlist is incredible. No matter what time of day (or night), anyone finding themselves by the Spruce Goose’s glowing white letters gets to listen to a memorable mix of current top hits and upbeat chart–toppers of decades past.
As it turns out, Wawa’s love for music goes beyond their annual July 4th Welcome America! show. According to Billy Penn, every Wawa in the country is blasting tunes from the same 1,000-song playlist at any given moment. The playlist is carefully curated by Music Technologies International (MTI), and is updated weekly. The one criteria? The songs must all be fun and upbeat.
If cultivating fun in Wawa was MTI’s goal, they’ve done it. @WawaBangers, a Twitter account run by Philly–based Amy Perlingiero, encourages followers to post the names of songs they hear in Wawa, which Perlingiero then adds to a Spotify playlist of the same name. As of right now, Wawa Bangers has collected 163 song titles out of the 1,000 out there.
Street knows that even the best music can be even better with collaboration. Next time you find yourself in Wawa, try kicking up a little extra fun by letting the music dictate your choice of chow. Here are some of our best suggestions for foods to pair with our favorite Wawa hits.
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