Billings, Montana might be more than 1,600 miles from Nashville, Tennessee, but country singer Patricia Ryan has always held close to her heart the music that made Music City famous.

“There’s always a country song to fit my mood or day,” Ryan says. “I think that’s why people love country music so much, because they can identify with it.”

The 23-year-old began her country music career much the same way a lot of Nashville’s finest have, doggedly playing festivals and jamborees on the regional...