Porter's professional career as a musician began in 1990 with his album The Trees Have Soul with Paul Perrone.

Much of this album was developed playing a Sunday night residency at the Club de Wash in Madison, Wisconsin.

The single led to the Willy Porter Band touring as an opening act for artists including Tori Amos, Rickie Lee Jones, and The Cranberries.

Following, his 2012 CD, Cheeseburgers & Gasoline, Porter released Human Kindness in 2014, followed by Bonfire to Ash, a collaboration with vocalist and songwriter Carmen Nickerson in November 2016.

The Boston Globe reported that Porter is a guitarist who possesses "the Olympian speed of Leo Kottke bolstered by rootsy vocals and twisting, offbeat lyrics.