Sometimes getting away from Nashville is exactly what an artist needs.
For Peytan Porter, that place became Colorado. After stepping away from a longtime Nashville publishing deal, the Dawsonville, Georgia, native headed west, spent part of the summer near Estes Park and found herself reconnecting with music outside the industry bubble.
Country singer-songwriter Peytan Porter discusses “Always Colorado,” Deep Cut — B Side and finding inspiration outside Nashville during her Heart of the Gulch interview.
What started as a personal reset eventually became “Always Colorado”—a song Peytan hadn't planned to release and hadn't even finished when people started paying attention.
Inside Peytan Porter’s Heart of the Gulch Interview
Welcome to Heart of the Gulch, a Nashville-based interview show and country music platform featuring artists, singer-songwriters and personalities shaping music and entertainment. Host and creator Tony Mendoza sits down with Peytan Porter to discuss “Always Colorado,” Deep Cut — B Side, finding inspiration outside Nashville, opening arenas for Tim McGraw, performing at the Grand Ole Opry and the next chapter of her music.
The Unexpected Story Behind “Always Colorado”
“Always Colorado” wasn't created during a Nashville writing appointment or as part of a release strategy.
Peytan Porter with host Tony Mendoza during her Heart of the Gulch interview in Nashville.
Peytan was interested in someone, thought she had messed up the relationship and wrote the chorus as honestly as she could. She initially shared it online for one very specific reason:
She wanted him to text her back.
The song wasn't even finished.
But listeners began responding. Eventually, people were driving from Denver to Estes Park specifically to hear Peytan perform. By the end of the summer, audiences were arriving in Peytan Porter merchandise and singing along to original songs at places where she had initially been playing for tips.
Finding Herself Outside Nashville
Peytan Porter discusses the Colorado experience that inspired her song “Always Colorado,” including time spent near Estes Park.
Colorado became part of a larger creative shift.
After years surrounded by Nashville's music business, Peytan says performing elsewhere reminded her that listeners don't care about publishing deals, industry politics or who an artist works with.
They care whether the music makes them feel something.
That perspective runs through the world Peytan is building around Deep Cut — B Side, “Mountains by Morning,” “Blue Calls,” “Deep Cut” and the music still to come.
Tony and Peytan also unpack the geography behind “Always Colorado,” including the “postcard town just north of Denver,” why Evergreen made its way into the song, and the contrast between Colorado's Rocky Mountains and the Appalachian landscape surrounding her Georgia upbringing.
Peytan Porter discusses opening arenas for Tim McGraw and performing at the Grand Ole Opry.
Tim McGraw, the Grand Ole Opry and Starting Over
Peytan has already experienced stages most developing artists dream about.
She's opened arenas for Tim McGraw, shared a stage with Willie Nelson and performed multiple times at the Grand Ole Opry.
But Peytan didn't treat those opportunities as proof that she had made it.
She tells Tony why she squeezed nine songs into a 15-minute opening set on the Tim McGraw tour—and why she later went back to playing three-hour bar gigs to become an even stronger performer before the larger stages came calling again.
Her goal isn't one big Nashville moment. It's a career sustainable enough to last.
And there's still one stage high on the list:
Red Rocks Amphitheatre.
There’s Always Colorado
With “Always Colorado” finding an audience and more of the Deep Cut story still ahead, Peytan is creating music that increasingly reflects the person behind it.
Colorado gave her space to write, perform and reconnect with listeners outside Nashville. It also reminded her that home doesn't necessarily have to be one place.
Sometimes it's the people.
Sometimes it's the songs.
And sometimes, there's always Colorado.
Watch Peytan Porter on Heart of the Gulch
Watch Tony Mendoza's complete conversation with Peytan Porter as they discuss “Always Colorado,” Deep Cut — B Side, Estes Park, leaving Nashville, her Georgia roots, opening for Tim McGraw and Willie Nelson, performing at the Grand Ole Opry and her dream of one day playing Red Rocks.
Listen to “Always Colorado” and Deep Cut — B Side now on your favorite streaming platform.
Tony Mendoza is the Nashville-based host and creator of Heart of the Gulch, featuring conversations with country artists, singer-songwriters and personalities from Nashville and beyond.
