Exclusive Q&A: 17-Year-Old Waylon Wyatt on Balancing School and a Blossoming Music Career

17-year-old singer/songwriter Waylon Wyatt is carving a name for himself in the industry while balancing the challenges of being a high school student.

When he is not making music in the kitchen of his Akransas home, or sitting in a high school classroom, you can find him performing at venues or touring alongside well-known artists like Dwight Yoakam.

This past July, Wyatt released his debut EP, Til The Sun Goes Down, marking a milestone in his musical journey. Following the EP, Wyatt released his newest single “Jailbreak” with Bayker Blankenship.

We recently caught up with Waylon Wyatt to discuss his musical journey, his latest releases, and what’s to come. Check out our exclusive Q&A with him below.

How did you begin a career in country music?

To be completely honest, I wouldn’t put myself in the country category. I would say more like folk because my favorite artists consist of Tyler Childers and Zach Bryan. I wouldn’t even say they’re completely country, they’re more red dirt. But to sum it all up, my dad is a really big country music fan and he just put me onto his music and I kind of reciprocated those sounds into my music.

Are you currently in school? How are you balancing it all? 

I’m finishing up my senior year. It’s fun in some cases, and then in other cases, I’m like, I got to go back to school right after I get done playing this venue. I’ll be traveling the world and opening for some of my favorite artists and then I have to get stuck right back in the same classroom. It keeps me grounded though. 

Can you tell me a little bit about the story behind your new single “Jailbreak?” 

Me and my buddy Bayker Blankenship, he’s the other artist on the song with me, we wrote that song in Nashville. It was actually the first time me and him ever met in person and we had just started talking to each other for an hour and then we started writing this song called “Jailbreak.” We finished the song, then had it recorded. It was my first time working with a producer also. We recorded it with Brett Truitt, who was the producer for it, and we just kind of kicked it from there. But me and Bayker, we’ve been talking for a long time, he actually covered my song “Arkansas Diamond,” and that’s how we got introduced to each other, because he asked me for my Snapchat and everything and we just started talking from there. We’ve been two peas in a pod ever since. 

What did the writing process look like in particular for the song “Jailbreak”? 

It was awesome. I’m big on not writing with co-writers and everything like that because I feel like when you write with an artist, it’s both of y’all pouring your hearts out into a song. And you’re both performing it so you’re both showing true emotion. But I feel like when you write with a co-writer and they write a lot of your lyrics and everything, it just doesn’t feel like a lot of emotions poured into it because they’re not actually performing a song and you’re not the one actually writing it all by yourself. But me and Bayker, we both wrote that song together and we both perform it together so I think that just ran really well. 

You said it was your first time working with a producer. What was that like?

I won’t lie to you, I had no clue what I was doing. I’ve never worked with a producer before. All I know is just working, producing my own music. That’s what I do. I sit in my kitchen, I record my own stuff and then send it in and see what they think about it. 

Did you do all your own production for your EP Till the Sun Goes Down? 

Yes ma’am. I wrote all the songs. I did all the music. And the funny thing is, it was all written and produced in the kitchen of my house. I only do solo acoustic and vocals, but the thing is that I really like to do one run of the songs because I feel like that’s where the most emotion comes from. When you do another take, it feels like there’s not as much emotion poured into it because you’re thinking about it a lot more. You’re just waiting for a mess up, for a hiccup, in between the tape. But the thing is that I like to do one take, but sometimes I couldn’t do one take because mom would have to come in there and I’d have to shut my stuff down so she could cook in the kitchen. 

Is there an overall theme to your EP, “Til The Sun Goes Down?”

There’s a lot of broken heart sound to it. It’s got a sad, love song vibe to it, but that’s what I like to write. I love to, even if I don’t quite relate to it. I’m a big lyric person so knowing other people can relate to it makes me feel good about that kind of thing. 

As a singer-songwriter, where do you usually find inspiration for your lyrics and melodies?

That’s kind of funny you say that. I find inspiration in almost everything. One of my songs doesn’t even ring a bell to what the inspiration was behind the song. “Riches to Rags”, the inspiration behind it was actually Dance Moms. There was a dance routine called “Riches to Rags” and I just really loved the sound of that as a song title, so I ran with it. But if you were to ever hear the song, the first thought would not be Dance Moms. 

You recently sold out your first headline show in your hometown. What was that feeling like?

That was absolutely exhilarating, to say the least. It was amazing. Knowing people from my own hometown are taken to my music. To be honest, I never thought I’d get this far. So just seeing my very own show being sold out was absolutely wild. 

Can you talk about balancing touring with school? 

I tour a little bit. I still have school to do, so academics come first. That’s always been a big rule in this household. I only do shows on weekends and sometimes during the week, but I always make sure to make that schoolwork up. But this spring break, I will have my very first headline tour and I’m going to name it right after the EP, “Til The Sun Goes Down” Tour.

How have you grown as an artist since you first started performing and what are some key lessons you’ve learned along the way?

I feel like I’ve grown more mature through all this music production stuff going on. I mean, because I’m definitely experiencing a lot that I wouldn’t have if it was never to have happened. I mean, I’m traveling the world. There’s a lot of responsibility there. Got to keep up with a lot of things. 

What goals do you have for the rest of the year?

Definitely finish out school. That is the number one priority. Make it out with at least As and Bs. Kind of struggling, but you know we’re keeping up with it. Would love to be more experienced on the guitar. I mean, right now it feels like I only know a couple of chords just to get me by. But as time progresses, I would like to at least learn more than just the guitar. I’ve got started on the piano. Love that. Probably get into drums that way, even if I don’t have a full band, I could do most of the production myself. I could buy these instruments. I mean, I don’t know if the kitchen has enough room for that but I’ll find a way. I could probably just gather a bunch of pots and pans and call it drums for sure.

Who is your dream artist to collaborate with? 

Tyler Childers. I’ve always loved Tyler Childers from the get-go. I discovered his song “Feathered Indians” and I absolutely fell in love with that and the sound. I kind of replicated that throughout my music, but in a way that it doesn’t sound like I’m a knockoff version of him. I would say it is definitely my own voice. But you can definitely tell that he is a big inspiration for what I do. 

What do you want fans to take away from your music?

That production does not have to be absolutely perfect. I mean, if you just took a gander at my music, you could tell that none of the production in it is perfect. I mean, I hiccup on the guitar. There’s sometimes where a string breaks on me that you can hear also, or I got a horrible voice crack in a song. It is raw emotions. You don’t have to be afraid to be yourself. It’s okay to be human. 

Is there anything else that you want your fans to know about you?

A bunch of shows coming up, so stay tuned for those. I have my second headline show ever in Denver, Colorado. It’s a sold out show, so that’s absolutely crazy.

Fans can keep up with Waylon Wyatt on Instagam.