It’s only April but 2024 is already shaping up to be a milestone year for Mackenzie Porter.
Alongside performing at the Grand Ole Opry and being announced as host of the 2024 Canadian Country Music Awards, she’s been working on her debut album, ‘Nobody’s Born With A Broken Heart’, due for release this Friday. She also became a mum last month when she and her husband, fellow musician Jake Etheridge, welcomed their daughter Bowen.
Ahead of the album release I caught up with Mackenzie to chat about the project, her trip over to the UK for C2C last year, her recent headline tour in her native Canada, what the rest of the year looks like for her and more.
We last spoke just before you came over for C2C in 2023 – what’s been happening since then?
Oh my gosh, so much. I’ve recorded and have a record coming out. So I probably at that point was maybe like, just starting that process. I can’t remember. I probably had written a lot of it, but not like recorded it. So recorded it, we shot the album art, we shot all the videos. I got pregnant [laughs]. All the things, so it’s all happening at once.
What are your standout memories from that trip over here?
Yeah, I had come to visit just personally as a tourist. And then to come and play music was such a cool first experience. And, I mean, it was just a really beautiful thing to see, the fans over there. And they’re very different from the fans here, I think, like very attentive and in it. And that was so cool to see, like people just loving country music and really paying attention.
We’ve mentioned your debut album which is coming out this week – what can you tell us about that?
Yeah. So it’s called ‘Nobody’s Born With A Broken Heart’. There’s 19 songs, we have six released already. And then I’ll have a couple more before the record drops. And it’s just time. I mean, I had all these songs kind of sitting in the chamber, like ready to go. And finally we were able to put them all together in one body of work.
Was it quite challenging to get down to those 19 songs?
Yeah, honestly, it was. I mean, we worked on that for a couple of months, probably just narrowing it down. And of course, we cut our favourites right away. And then when we got to the middle of it, we loved a lot of them, but not sure which ones. So it was kind of just like seeing what fit together, which made the most sense, like sonically, lyrically to all fit on the same project.
Is there a song for people you’re excited for people to hear – either live or in general?
So one that I’m excited for people to hear live is this one called ‘Rough Ride For A Cowboy’. It’s definitely a fun energetic song. I add this fiddle solo into it. It’s a good vibe live. And then one that I’m just excited for people to hear and listen to is called ‘Coming Home To You’. And it’s kind of like a love song on the record. But honestly, like, there’s so many on there. Like, I have a song called ‘Confession’ that I teased online, and people seem to love that one too.
Did you find any of the songs on the album particularly easy or particularly challenging in terms of the writing?
Oh, my gosh, I think ‘Nobody’s Born With A Broken Heart’. That’s the title track on the record. I feel like that was pretty easy to write just because it’s definitely just my story. And I could just pull specific moments from my life. So I feel like that was pretty easy. And then challenging, let me think. I don’t know. They’re all challenging in a way, you know, like finding that hook. And that turn of phrase and country music that’s so popular. But yeah, maybe the emotional ones are always like, a little more challenging, like being really honest.
I did want to ask you about ‘Nobody’s Born With A Broken Heart’. Why did you choose that one as the title track? And was it a significant thing for you to put it as the last song on the record?
Yeah, so I think that song like definitely embodies the whole record. Like, nobody’s born with a broken heart – we all start off so pure, and then we go through all these moments in life that maybe take a little chip away at our heart and all the songs are these little chips. And at the very end, it does have a turn of hopefulness, I guess, and I wanted to end the project like that. And that meaning now with me having a baby, it kind of turns into that. And so it’s kind of just where I’m at. I feel like it was the most wrapping up the whole story.
What did you learn from the process of making this album?
Oh my god, so much. Like patience [laughs]. Kinda like how to put a project together. I mean, to do everything from the sequencing to how long it takes to turn music in to streaming services, all of that. It was a lot of learning how to tell a full story with a body of work and not just have it like, ‘song song song song’.
And do you feel that the way you’ve approached your music has changed at all whilst you’ve been working on this project?
Yeah, I think so. I mean, we were so in the singles game before – just dropping singles, what we thought were like radio songs. And now I’m in the phase of, I want songs on there that will never be a single. But there’ll be like these deep cuts on the record that people hopefully will really connect with. And be able to show another side to my art other than just the more commercial side.
You recently played your first headline tour in Canada – how was that?
It was so fun. I mean, I’ve never played where just people would come just to see me. And you know, it was scary not knowing how many people are going to come or show up or buy tickets when you’re the draw. And to see that many people care and sing the lyrics and show up for me was very cool.
I also saw on your Instagram that you did some shows on a train at Christmas – tell us about that…
Yeah, so sweet. So basically, it’s just, the CP, Canadian Pacific Railroad, they go across the country, and you roll up to all these little towns and big towns and cities. And you play a set for them while they raise money for their local food bank. You play Christmas songs. It’s very sweet and wholesome and innocent. And you know, you’re raising thousands of dollars at the same time. And you live on the train, you play like four to eight shows a day. And it’s kind of like a little Polar Express vibe [chuckles].
The other thing I wanted to ask about was your Country vs Cancer concert in Nashville last year. Can you tell us a bit more about how that came about?
Yeah, so I played an event for a breast cancer fundraiser back, probably like 10 months before that. And then I met the head of ACS, the American Cancer Society, and kind of got to talking. My mom had breast cancer, so we were talking about my story and his work at the American Cancer Society. And eventually, we just kind of were like, “we should do something at some point together”. And so then they asked me to be the ambassador for the American Cancer Society, and said, “What do you want to do with that?” And I was like, “I would love to put on a concert”. I mean, that’s all I know how to do and raise money at the same time. So we did that. I asked a bunch of my friends like Walker Hayes, Dustin Lynch, Nate Smith, Alana Springsteen, Lily Rose. We put on a show and we raised $85,000 for the American Cancer Society. And we’re gonna do it next year, and hopefully raise more.
You also recently worked with Elijah Woods on the song ‘last girl’ – tell us a bit more about that…
Yeah. So they reached out to us, and they kind of were like, “hey, we want a country feature on this song. And would you want to work with Elijah?” I’m a big fan of his stuff. And the song was super cool. And just it was in the midterm of I had just put on a single but the project wasn’t ready. So it felt like a nice bridge to still have music come out. And yeah, it was a really cool thing to do with him.
Would you want to work together again in the future?
Yeah. I mean, he’s such a sweet guy, like super, super kind. And I think he’s really talented. So yeah, if he was into it, I’m into it.
I know you started out acting as well as with music. How do you feel that experience has fed into where you are now as a musician?
Yeah, I think it definitely makes me more comfortable on a video shoot in front of a camera. Even like doing stuff like this, I feel like interviews, it has helped me a lot. And just kind of let me get into entertainment and see some of the really beautiful things about the entertainment industry and some of the not so beautiful. I think acting really like gave me like a thick skin in the sense that you do 800 auditions and you hear it a million ways. You know why you’re not the right fit. And it kind of like gave me that hustle and grind that I now incorporate into my music career as well.
What does the rest of the year look like for you? You’ve got the new baby and the album – presumably those are the main focus?
[laughs] Yeah, dropping two little babies at the same time – an album baby and a real baby! No, but then after that, we’ll tour. So I’ll probably take a couple months off – like not off but just stay in Nashville to get her healthy and growing. And then we’ll start touring in the summer. I have a bunch of dates in the summer and then heavily in the fall.
And lastly – do you have any plans to come back to the UK soon?
Yes, I would love to. I don’t have anything booked at this exact moment but I had the best time and so definitely I will be coming back over.
Mackenzie Porter’s debut album, ‘Nobody’s Born With A Broken Heart’, is out on 26th April on Big Loud Records.
