Alex Honnold is mostly into loud, fast rock and punk-influenced music, especially when he’s climbing, with a lot of aggressive “angry rock” on his playlists.

Quick Scoop

  • He has described himself as “happy to force some angry rock on people,” and his go‑to playlist for big solos is full of high‑energy rock and punk.
  • Bands he’s publicly listed include Bad Religion, Chevelle, Pennywise, The Offspring, Muse, Serj Tankian, AFI, Rise Against, System of a Down, Linkin Park, Mudvayne, Atreyu, The Smashing Pumpkins, and The Killers.
  • A famous example is his “Moonlight Buttress” solo playlist, where he just hit play on his iPod Top 25 and climbed the whole route with that mix.
  • In longer interviews, he’s also talked about music more generally for traveling and climbing, but the clearest specifics we have are that his performance playlists lean heavily toward rock/metal, not mellow ambient tracks.

Example: Moonlight Buttress Playlist

When he soloed Moonlight Buttress in Zion (a 1,200-foot 5.12+), he said he turned on his iPod, played his Top 25 most‑played songs, and “rocked that to the top.”

That Top 25, which he shared publicly, included tracks like:

  • “New Dark Ages” – Bad Religion
  • “Humanoid” – Chevelle
  • “Fuck Authority” – Pennywise
  • “Can’t Repeat” – The Offspring
  • “Plug In Baby” and “New Born” – Muse
  • “Sky Is Over” and “Empty Walls” – Serj Tankian
  • “Chop Suey” and “ATWA” – System of a Down
  • “Prayer of the Refugee” and “The Good Left Undone” – Rise Against
  • “Pushing Me Away” – Linkin Park
  • “Happy?” and “Forget to Remember” – Mudvayne
  • “Falling Down” – Atreyu
  • Several songs by AFI and The Smashing Pumpkins

Climbers and fans still pass around this playlist (and recreations of it) today as “Alex Honnold’s Moonlight Solo” on streaming platforms, often joking about how intense and nostalgic his taste is.

Bottom note: Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.