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Wellsprings of human talent rarely look as bright & obvious as movies suggest. Often they appear in places shaded beneath tall pine trees, fading gas station signs, next to double lane bridge over a favorite fishing hole. Poetic excellence and observation can be tucked beneath a well-worn ball cap, wrapped up in a Carhartt coat, kicking rocks down a dirt road. It can be out of the blue and it can be young too, even with eyes that hint at a longer life lived. In the case of Waylon Wyatt, it can rinse itself into the voice of a young eighteen year old man from Hackett, Arkansas. On his second EP Out of Blue, Waylon cleaves emotive songwriting in a way that indicates generational intent. The songs, including the title track which was written in less than ten minutes, have the proper endurance of an artist penning the intro chapter to a multi decade career. It feels more immersive and impressive with every repeat listen. Wanting to pay such a talented writer his respect, we dialed up the audio transmitter to hear world from this gifted man himself:

OnesToWatch: Why are you an artist? 

Waylon Wyatt: Why am I an artist? 
You know what? I don't really have a true answer to that, you know? The reason that I ever became an artist in the first place was because of my brother's passing. He was a big guitar player. When he passed away, to cope with the depression I got from losing him, I picked up that big hobby of his as a way to remember him. I actually got pretty decent at it, and started by playing other people's songs. One day I had the crazy notion of trying to write my own, and it rocked me all the way to here. 


I did not actually know that about your brother, so rest in peace, and that's a beautiful gift that he gave you at the end there: a way to keep telling his story. Did you literally not play guitar before that at all? 


Not at all. 

Wow. Why had you not wanted to play before that? 


I just saw him as the lead guitarist of the family. He would come over – he’s 12 years older than me, so he’d be 30 now – and bring his guitar and play it for us. Being a little kid, I didn't actually know how to play or anything. I had this fake inflatable air guitar and I would act like I was jamming out with them. But when he passed away, that’s when I really got into it. 

Does anyone else in your family play? 

My grandpa was the only other person that ever picked up guitar. He couldn’t play it, but he picked it up. He was a bar hopper. He’d go sing at local bars and just have the guitar there as a prop.

Love that. Diving into your sound, how long have you been writing songs? You’re obviously quite young. 

I've always been into writing – just writing – ever since I was six years old. I was writing little nursery rhymes. I had this song called “How to Be a Man” that I wrote at six years old – it sounded like a six year old wrote it, but you could tell that there was some creativity back then. I started taking it a lot more seriously at around 12 years old. I actually got into a rap phase, and for being 12, my lyrics were pretty good. I then got into country music at about 15. 


You gotta give a shout out. Who were your rap influences when you were 12?

Eminem for sure, and randomly Twenty One Pilots. 

The more I listen to modern country, the more I notice crossovers to hip hop, so that doesn’t quite surprise me. So you’ve been writing songs for a few years, do you feel like you have a writing process now? 

I'm still young, so I’d say I’ve got quite a few years left to learn the songwriting craft. 

What sparks a song for you then? 

I find inspiration in every little thing. You could write a song about anything right here. And Arkansas in general is just such a beautiful state.

What was it like growing up in Arkansas? Did you have a sense of Arkansas being any different from other places, or was it just home and it felt right for you? 

It definitely felt right for me. Being that I've been to Nashville a couple times, I much prefer my hometown over Nashville, Tennessee. My hometown's got a lot of peace and quiet. 
Nashville does not sleep. I need slumber sometimes. 

Does Nashville feel like a big wild city to you? 


It's like New York City for country folks. 

That's well put. I'm a big city boy, so when I get out on the country, I feel like something's about to go wrong, like a horror movie. 
It's too slow, you know? But I love that. Let's dive into the EP. What's the title? 

The title of the EP is Out of the Blue. It’s named after one of the songs on the record that I love so much, that I just figured I'd name the whole thing after it. 

Where did that song come from? 

I'm a big fan of slow, sad songs, which is what that song is.
I know you said you're not a fan of the slow stuff, but me, man, I can't get enough of it. I wrote that song in ten minutes and it's been my favorite song I've ever written in my entire life so far. I could compare it to songs I've spent months on, and that song still blows the other ones out of the water for me. Some other people might not see it that way, but I love it that way, so I kept it that way. 

Also, I'm blue collar. 
I work a construction job out here in Arkansas with my pops, and out of the blue, it kind of refers to being a blue collar – being out of the blue, out of the blue collar, going from this to that. It’s got a metaphorical meaning behind it. 

That sounds like a lightning strike kind of moment. How did that sort of come about in 10 minutes? Were you just on your guitar and it all kind of came together that quickly? 


Exactly.

Wow. Love that. Any of the other songs have fun stories of how they came about? 

“Old Habits.” It’s a fast paced song, but it’s sad, too. It’s about a man losing the love of his life to drugs and I find that as a pretty recurring thing in the songs I sing.
I have a song called “OD” that relates love to drugs, and then a song called “Riches to Rags,” as well. It’s a concept that sticks to the back of my mind. But that song “Old Habits” I wrote because I’m a big fan of Whiskey Myers’ “Broken Window Serenade,” and I wanted to do my own version of it in a way. 

For 18 years old, with all the success, why so many sad songs? 

I have no clue, man. Sad songs are the easiest to get me in my feels, so that's what I resonate with the most. 


How many times have you been in love and been heartbroken? 

You know, listening to my songs you’d think too many times, but realistically, maybe once or twice. It might not have been a big deal, but there were moments. 

Well, if all your dreams come true with this EP, what do you want people to take from it?

I’d want them to dive into love and understand that heartbreak is part of the journey.

Amazing. If you could take your super fan and place them wherever feels like “home” for this EP – any time, place, moment – where would you put them? 

Honestly, man, Arkansas. In a truck, on a porch. It's such a quiet, beautiful place, this quaint little hometown of mine. I just love it. 

Love it. I’m assuming music is very therapeutic for you, but what do you do to relax, chill, have fun outside of music? 

Outside of music, I lean into things I do on the daily. I fish, catfish mainly. 

Oh man, what’s your recipe? 

Some lemon pepper seasoning on that thing. Fry it, smoke it. I’ll eat it raw. 

I’m missing out! You mentioned you loved listening to music, and I love to hear that. Who are you listening to right now that you really love? 

Ever since I started writing country music, two of my biggest inspirations have been Tyler Childers and Turnpike Troubadours. 
I love their music, and I just love the way they write their music. 

If you could go back in time and put together your dream tour, your dream performance, who would you be performing with and where would it be? 

I’d open for Turnpike Troubadours, Red Rocks. Or Wyatt Flores at Cain's Ballroom. And I'll tell you exactly why. 
I saw Wyatt Flores – that was the very first concert I ever got to go to, ‘cause we've never been to concerts. My family had, but I hadn't. We didn't have enough money to support that kind of stuff. So when my music started taking off in the country scene and on TikTok, Wyatt Flores’ agent reached out to get us tickets to see him perform at Cain’s. To perform there, with that having been my first concert, that would be so full circle. 

I would love that for you. A beautiful story. If you could travel anywhere in the world that you haven't yet been to, where would you go? 

West Virginia was amazing, I love that mountain mama, a good mountainscape. Random toss-up here, I’m playing a few shows in Scotland and Ireland in July, so I’m excited about that. The castles seem beautiful, and I know it’s super mountainous. 

Last couple questions. What’s one thing you want more of in your life…

More sweet tea. 

How sweet? 

I love my sugar man, that’s how sweet I want it. 

Amazing. At OnesToWatch, we love when artists put us on to other artists – who are some rising Arkansas artists we should be watching? 

I have a group chat of all the boys I’ve met on TikTok, and I'm gonna shout them all out first. I got Mr. Hudson Westbrook, Mr. Baker Blankenship, Mr. Dom Ellis, Mr. Cole Phillips, Mr. Jack Worf. Willow Avalon, you know, we did that duet. 

By the way, that's my favorite song. She's got an amazing voice. 

Also, Maggie Antone. 

That was a great list. Any parting words, advice you'd like to share with everyone? 


There's not an age limit to your dreams, man. I was following ‘em still in high school. There's no age on it.