PAYTON SULLIVAN TALKS COWBOY OUTTA YOU
"Trying to figure out my own feelings"
Daniel John
What got you to write 'Cowboy Outta You'?
It honestly started as a joke. I’ve always had a thing for jeans, Cherokee-rings, and boys who don’t mind a little brown liquor. But the guy I was writing about? Not exactly a cowboy. So I thought, okay, give me one minute and a pair of boots, I can fix that. Then it turned into this whole fantasy of tweaking a few things, taking the reins, and teaching someone how to two-step. It’s playful, but there’s heart under it too. It’s like, you let me in, I’ll meet you halfway, and we’ll see what we become together.
How was it shooting the music video for it?
I had the most fun casting my sister and her fiance in this music video! We wanted to create the illusion of what it would look like to date any old boy vs a cowboy. It came together so well. And we had the most fun filming this in downtown Nashville, with my friend Marshall directing.
A love story of highs and lows is very true to country music. What is country to you. What do you think it is that has drawn you to the backroads of this genre?
For me, country is just telling the truth with a little melody on top. My version might smell like ocean water and coconuts instead of tractor diesel, but the heart’s the same. Country is honest stories about real feelings, wanting love, losing love, dreaming about love and I think that’s why I fell for it. I like music that says what it mean.
Your approach has been a fresh one. What less classical inspirations do you carry with you and bring into your country, that stand further away from tradition?
I grew up on country and pop music. And whatever was playing in my mom’s car that week. So naturally my country comes with a tan since moving to Hawaii, lines like "where the dirt meets the sand" are literally my life. I love blending the sparkle of pop and that saltwater softness with country grit. It’s coastal cowgirl energy, boots on the beach, basically.
When did you first lace up your cowboy boots and find your way into songwriting?
I’ve been writing songs since forever, mostly trying to figure out my own feelings because therapy was not an option at ten. Country came later, and I was like, wait, these people are really out here saying everything out loud. And I loved it.
You seem quite comfortable around horses. Did you start wearing the cowboy-boots in a less figurative way earlier?
I love horses. They make me feel grounded. I grew up with horses, since my Aunt Lynn was an avid trail rider. She loved to saddle the horses up and take me and my sisters for rides in my hometown back in Florida.
Not to jump the gun but with a new year on the horizon, what can we saddle up for?
Oh, so much. 'Cowboy Outta You' is just the start of this little world I’m building of sunsets, sand, denim, love stories, the whole thing. I’ve got more songs coming that show the softer side, the sassier side and the side that falls in love way too fast, it’s all connected. All coming in an EP I am dropping in 2026.
