Hold on to your horses, Jonathan Peyton is about to take this year by storm.
You may remember Jonathan and his wife Abby from an episode of Zach Bryan’s Belting Bronco series from a few years back, or maybe more recently from the iconic Zach Bryan Red Rocks show which got all kinds of screwed up thanks to a November snow storm.
Jonathan and Abby were supposed to be one of the openers, but in a compromise with park officials had their performance scrapped to shorten the amount of time people would be up on the mountain.
They were still able to join Zach and Charles Wesley Godwin for the first song of the night, “Country Roads.”
But even cooler, they set up show in the parking lot before folks were allowed in and played a bunch of songs acoustically, bringing in a great crowd who took in the absolutely underrated duo in the rawest setting.
While at Greenville Country Music Fest, Jonathan let us know he had a record coming out this year, produced by none other than Sadler Vaden, who has quickly put his stamp on country music by producing some top tier albums, including Morgan Wade’s 2021 Reckless, and Drayton Farley’s upcoming project Twenty On High.
And pretty soon, we’re going to get the first taste of what he was able to do with the Peytons, and I am beyond excited.
“Denial” was one of the songs performed in that snowy Red Rocks parking lot, and it’s a good one, telling the story of a woman who refuses to believe her husband is dying, fueled by a belief that higher powers will save him; belief that looks a whole lot like denial…
“Probably sitting on your front porch
Rocking yourself to sleep
It’s the middle of the afternoon
All is well so it seems
Started baking cornbread, just like yesterday
She swept your dirt under the rug but the ends they started to fray
What you call faith, sure looks like denial
Praying next to his bed
He was fading all the while
Begging for resurrection, a holy ghost revival
What you call faith, sure looks like denial”
That right there, ladies and gentlemen, is what absolute quality writing looks like.
Buckle up, this just may be the year of Jonathan Peyton.
