Raised in Arizona, Day was immersed in the café and art space her parents helped to create in their small mountain town of Pinetop-Lakeside.

Her first songs, written soon after picking up the guitar at age 9, took influence from the classic singer-songwriter records of her parents and the mystique of the rugged desert landscape around her.

The initial success of Powered by Love brought the attention of BMG Publishing, who connected her with John Paul White of the Civil Wars and Meghan Trainor for writing sessions.

The single, which debuted in early October 2014 on Pete Tong's BBC Radio 1 broadcast, was celebrated by Billboard for its "ebbs and flows with harmonies and rhythmic shifts.

It was celebrated as an "intangible tapestry of sound and raw emotion, blanketing the pop, alternative, and folk genres" by Atwood magazine.

The album title references the old Arizona mining town where Day's parents married while exploring toxic relationships, breakups, broken homes, love and lust.

Speaking about the album, she explained, "The music's spiritual resonance is clearly influenced by the Northern Arizona mountains that sheltered my creative energy from any outside implications of city mentality.

"[18] On May 4, 2016 Day was featured again as a musical guest on Last Call with Carson Daly, debuting her newest single, "Mustang Kids", live.

Day performed a cover of "For Free" alongside Weyes Blood with Lana Del Rey for her The Norman Fucking Rockwell!

[24] After signing a deal with Easy Eye Sound and Concord Records, Day released the singles "People Are Strangers" in April and "My Game" in May, alongside accompanying music videos.

In 2023, Day moved from California to Texas and formed the country music group Chaparelle with singer-songwriter and romantic partner Jesse Woods as well as producer Beau Bedford, performing a number of live shows together throughout late 2023 and early 2024.