This Week's Cab Playlist: Dig Deeper with this Jobsite Soundtrack

Keith Gribbins here. Before I wrote about iron, hydraulics, and diesel regens, I wrote about music for a decade. I interviewed bands and artists like Interpol, Jack Johnson, Kid Rock, and the Pixies for alternative tabloids under the Village Voice and New Times umbrella. I lived in clubs, and I subsisted on riffs. Those were the days. Today, I chase excavators and skid steers, but the music still matters — no matter life’s settings. Personally, I find music changes how you operate a machine. It locks you in. It smooths your inputs. It keeps your head steady when the trench runs long and the grade stakes look crooked. I built this mix for long days in the cab. Country, classic rock, indie, electronic, hip hop. You can jump over to our YouTube page and fire up the full playlist in your cab right now. Bluetooth it and move some dirt.

WARNING: Do not use headphones in your cab. Keep volume safe enough to hear radios, horns, spotters, and jobsite noises. Check with your manager to ensure playing music is allowed. 

Blues for joystick finesse

1. Snatch It Back and Hold It – Junior Wells’ Chicago Blues Band, Buddy Guy, Amos Blakemore

This is pure joystick music. The groove swings like a smooth hydraulic cycle. It reminds me of feathering controls on a tight dig around utilities. Total control.

Indie spark for early mornings

2. Dead American Writers — Tired Pony

That line — I’ve been waiting for the spark myself — hits at 7 a.m. in a cold cab. It builds steady, like bringing a diesel up to operating temp. Good for trenching straight and thinking clearly.

Anthemic country for wide-open sites

3. Smoke & a Light — Ole 60

Big guitars. Big chorus. Big sky energy. This song is perfect for grading pads or hauling spoils across a wide commercial jobsite. Crank it, Kemosabe.

Fuzz guitars and production pace

5. Feral — Elder Island

After eight hours in the seat, you feel a little feral. This Bristol trio delivers pulsing electronic beats that keep your head bobbing. Ideal for fine grading when you need focus but also energy.

Groove for cycle times

6. The Single — Automato

Fresh beats. Tight rhymes. That chorus about soul music sticks. It’s groove-driven, which makes it perfect for repetitive tasks like stockpiling, backfilling, or running a wheel loader all day. If ain't soul music, it ain't my music. 

Dark indie for moving dirt

7. Future Folklore — The Crystal Stills

It sounds like Black Lips met Joy Division in a gravel pit. Gritty, moody, and propulsive. This is dig-deep music for pushing through tough clay or frozen ground.

Country grin for rough mornings

8. Truck Bed — Hardy

Those opening lines never fail to make me smile. Waking up on the wrong side of the truck bed feels relatable. Good for shaking off a bad start and getting productive before first break.

Earth-moving blues

9. Earth Blues — Jimi Hendrix

Funky guitar and heavy groove. Operators know about earth blues. This one belongs in a crawler excavator cutting a deep trench with authority. Nothing better than Jimi.

Remix rocket fuel

10. Crystalline (Omar Souleyman Remix) — Björk

This remix absolutely rips. The beat pushes you forward like a turbo lurching under load. If you need to outperform everyone on the jobsite, start here. Or, end here.