Meet the 18-year-old singer-songwriter who opened for Zach Bryan at BST | Music | Entertainment

Zach Bryan may have dominated BST Hyde Park this weekend, but the event also introduced UK audiences to a new generation of storytellers. One name that stood out early on was Waylon Wyatt, the 18-year-old opener for the Rainbow Stage. A long way from home, Wyatt is already gaining serious traction in the US and is just beginning to build momentum here.

Armed with nothing more than a guitar and a collection of raw, heart-on-sleeve songs, Wyatt drew a large and curious crowd early in the at Hyde Park. “This is the biggest crowd I’ve ever played to” he said afterwards. “It’s crazy how big the country scene is here.” Today marks the start of Wyatt’s first UK tour, a sold-out four-date run across London, Manchester, Dublin, and Glasgow, supporting his second EP Out of the Blue, which came out on the 6th of June. 

The UK-tour will be followed by a 27-date tour in the US, before he heads to Australia for a newly announced three-date run later in the year. 

It’s his first time headlining overseas – and only the second time playing outside the US. “I’m excited,” he said ahead of night one. “I don’t know how the crowd is going to be… but it’s a lot more intimate.” 

The reception to country music in the UK has surprised him. “I wasn’t expecting it at all. My buddy Dom Ellis warned me though, he said, ‘They’ll stare at you like they hate you, but don’t worry, they’ll cheer at the end.’ He wasn’t wrong.”

The EP is a continuation of the storytelling that first earned Wyatt attention in the US. He started writing at 16, with songs like ‘Everything Under the Sun’ and ‘Arkansas Diamond’ quickly gaining traction online.

His career has moved fast since then, but Wyatt is keen to point out how grateful he is. “I don’t really understand how good and crazy I have it until I see all these other artists that are just so much better than I am. And they’re barely making it.”

“I wouldn’t say I’m a horrible singer or nothing,” he adds, “but writing is definitely my strong suit.” It’s a hard phrase to defend when he’s just played to thousands of people at one of the UK’s biggest festivals. “Everything here has kind of just fallen into my lap,” he says. “I know people who work harder. I’m just blessed to be where I am.”

That grounded, unfussy approach seems to be part of his appeal. Raised in a town of fewer than 1,000 people, Wyatt insists he “doesn’t take anything lightly,”and that small-town gratitude shines through in every answer, alongside his southern hospitality, complete with every ‘yes ma’am’.

He name-checks friends and collaborators including Dom Ellis, Blake Whiten, and Angel White and a host of other names. “Blake Whiten got to open for me on my tour, and I got to listen to him for the first time, which was awesome.”

His commitment to lifting others as he rises is a recurring theme, touching on why some artists break through and others don’t, whether it’s down to industry or circumstance. “I have an amazing team, my family included. They’re really good at promoting my stuff and getting it out there,” he said.

But ultimately he believes his connection with fans comes down to personality. “I’m quite the character online,” he admits. “I guess showing personality just resonates with fans because they’re like, this person’s human — they’re not trying to be something they’re not.”

So where does Wyatt see himself going next? Right now, he’s not chasing stardom. “Where I’m at now, I’m pretty happy with,” he says. “I guess bigger is better, but if this is where I am forever in my lifetime, I wouldn’t mind. It’s just a blessing to be here — especially out in the UK.”

With this kind of momentum: sold-out UK shows, support from Zach Bryan fans, and an EP steadily growing popularity, it’s unlikely Waylon Wyatt will stay under the radar for much longer.

But no matter where he’s going, he’s bound to bring his friends along for the ride. “If I can take my boys on the road, I absolutely will.”