Friday Playlist - Siblings Day

Siblings Day was born of loss. The founder of the Siblings Day Foundation, Claudia Evart, created the holiday to honor her two siblings, Alan and Lisette, who both died too young.

Knowing this has softened my feelings on the holiday, which in years past has felt like the world’s cruel opportunity to remind me of losing Kate. And I’ve gotten really good at shoving grief aside, at swallowing it down each time I feel it catching in my throat. 

But this year I let the grief linger long enough to make a playlist revisiting my time with Kate. So much of our relationship revolved around music. We strummed guitars together as kids, we stalked folk festival grounds looking for pot, we traded song recommendations back & forth, we taught each other guitar licks over Zoom.

Music fans like to soundtrack our entire lives. We make mixtapes for people we want to sleep with, we find that perfect song to start the day, we drive wedding DJs insane with our carefully choreographed requests. 

It’s an unending conversation with the songs that shape us and give understanding to our time on earth. Which makes for a strange sensation soundtracking my relationship with my sister, where there’s a clear place to stop.

Kate’s playlist tops out at just under an hour, and its brevity stings like the sharp beginning of a sunburn. But it gives context to my grief, and puts up some boundaries on how long I can lose myself in sadness.

Enjoy, and if you’ve got a sibling make sure you give them a call.

Sibling’s Day Playlist - 2026

1. Dar Williams - The Babysitter’s Here

2. Credence Clearwater Revival - Who’ll Stop the Rain

3. The Cranberries - Zombie

4. The Neilds - Best Black Dress

5. Better than Ezra - Good

6. Bloodhound Gang - Fire Water Burn

7. Ani DiFranco - Not A Pretty Girl

8. Andrew Bird & Fiona Apple - Left Handed Kisses

9. Mal Blum - New Year’s Eve

10. Joan Osborne - St. Teresa

11. Tom Petty - Yer So Bad

12. Avett Brothers - Murder in the City

13. Wailin’ Jennys - Keep Me in Your Heart