Performing in Nashville, Tennessee, is tough, and selling out a show here is even tougher. Still, 18-year-old Waylon Wyatt managed to do it not once, but twice on his debut “Out of the Blue” tour. Originally from Arkansas, Wyatt rose to fame on TikTok while working for his dad’s construction company. Nowadays, he continues to write original songs and collaborate with artists like Willow Avalon. Wyatt’s music tends to resonate with a younger audience through his emotional yet dynamic brand of country music, which is reminiscent of artists like Zach Bryan, Flatland Cavalry, Sam Barber and more. All of that was on full display at his second sold-out performance at The Basement East on Sept. 25.
The opener, Elizabeth Nichols, was incredibly animated and funny and brought the venue to life. She immediately caught my eye with her old western-inspired top and huge red guitar, looking like a combination of two eras. Throughout her set, she played a mix of her typical tongue-in-cheek songs like “Ain’t Country,” “Bible Belt,” “Little Birds” and a cover of “Mean” by Taylor Swift along with some more somber songs like “Daughter” and “Tough Love.” After each song, she shared comical anecdotes, such as a story about how her dad dislikes “Mama,” a song about her wanting to get pregnant. This was all wrapped up with her viral song “I Got a New One,” a sarcastic commentary on controlling men, which immediately lifted the room and created a lively environment to welcome Wyatt to the stage.
After being introduced to the stage by his father, a heartwarming tradition that he does every show, Wyatt came to the stage singing on of his more popular songs, “Whereabouts.” Wyatt then went on to invite a fan to the stage to sing “Sunday Supper” which is originally a duet with Bayker Blankenship. This was such a fun way to bring the audience into the performance, and the fans did an amazing job. Once again bringing more guests to the stage, Wyatt performed a cover of “Jersey Giant” — originally by Tyler Childers — with an amazing fiddle player, Julia DiGrazia, and his friend, Dom Ellis, whose deep raspy voice was shockingly mesmerizing.
From there, Wyatt lowered the mood a bit by first dedicating “Sincerely Your Son” to his parents and then showing his new tattoo and performing “Phoning Heaven” to honor his brother who passed away at age 19. However, after this, Wyatt continued with his typical silly demeanor, saying he needed to cover up his tattoo since he felt like “a degenerate.”
After playing his “pull out your phone and record” song, “Arkansas Diamond,” Wyatt brought out his opener once again to perform “Smoke and Embers,” which is his duet originally with Willow Avalon. Once the song finished, Wyatt proudly announced to the crowd and Nichols herself that she would be making her Grand Ole Opry debut on Nov. 1, which was a really wholesome and emotional moment to watch.
The concert ended with a bang as Wyatt performed “Jailbreak,” an incredibly powerful song from a vocal perspective and one of the songs the crowd had been begging for all night.
With such success early on and his aptitude for uplifting his fellow young singer-songwriters, Waylon Wyatt is bound to continue making his mark in country music. As a whole, Wyatt brought in a sense of comfort and relatability, which drew him closer to the audience through bringing his family and personal life to the stage, making this performance even more impactful.
