Thanks to Dr. Nolan Stolz for sharing his thoughts on the final two movements of his epic work. Click the link at the top of the page for our full interview. Scroll down to learn more about the project, connect with Dr. Stolz, and follow his journey!
More about the project: Composer Dr. Nolan Stolz, Professor of Music at University of South Carolina Upstate, has returned to Route 66, traveling up and down the Mother Road to complete the final 10 minutes of his one-hour composition for symphony orchestra titled Route 66 Suite.
The U.S. will celebrate Highway 66’s centennial in 2026, so Stolz will have the composition ready for symphony orchestras to perform it during their 2026/27 season. The Biden-appointed and U.S. Congress-approved Route 66 Centennial Commission recognized Stolz’s Route 66 Suite as an official piece of music with which communities can incorporate the arts into their centennial celebrations.
Through dozens of TV, radio, and newspaper interviews in 2022, Stolz made national news while on his epic 400- day road trip, during which he drove Route 66 from Chicago to L.A. and back eight times in order to get inspiration for the music. Stolz returned to 66 in the summer of 2023 for two additional inspiration trips and has been writing music for the suite since.
Stolz describes his Route 66 Suite as “a musical reflection of the historic highway,” representing various aspects of the road that he found inspiring. From 2021-23, Stolz spent time in every town along Route 66, getting to know the community, including its business owners, residents, and historical buildings. He is now reconnecting with the Mother Road to compose the remaining two of the suite’s eight movements.
In March 2025, the Oklahoma City University Symphony Orchestra gave a preview performance of the second movement of the suite, “26 Gas Stations.” The Signature Symphony of Tulsa, OK will perform the “Vacancy / No Vacancy” movement in September.
The other movements’ titles are “A.D. 1926,” “66 Ghost Towns,” “Neon Dreams,” “Desert 66,” “Among the Trees,” and “The Show Will Go On.” Currently, Stolz is working on completing the final movement of the eight-movement suite, “The Show Will Go On,” which gets its inspiration from current and former performance and movie theaters on or near Route 66, from the theaters circa 1926 and the drive-in movie theaters of the mid-century to the modern ones.
The official Route 66 Suite has a web page, Facebook, and Instagram designed for conductors and staff of symphony orchestras. Additionally, there is a Patreon page for the project a intended for the general public, especially Route 66 enthusiasts.
