In addition to studying the Civil War and demonstrating his verbal prowess in Italian, one LSU student has spent this year writing his name on more than just the back of a desk.
Timothy Wayne, emerging country music artist Following in the footsteps of his uncle, country music legend Tim McGraw. and signed his first major record deal with UMG and Capitol Records.
“I always wanted to do it,” Wayne told Fox News Digital. “I love being on stage. I’ve never been afraid on stage. like being on stage I never thought I could do it. And when I have people tell me I can do it. And they believe in me So I had to start believing in myself.”
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Timothy Wayne is a rising country music artist produced by country music star Tim McGraw, Wayne’s uncle. (Tyler Conrad; Indiana Fever)
“It was like time slowed down as I signed the contract,” he added.
Wayne, 21, has released two original songs, “God Made a Country Boy” and “Guy With a Guitar,” and was invited to perform in Louisiana’s Rose Bowl parade in January. March 1, 2025 by the Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana
“I thought someone was playing a prank on me,” Wayne said of being asked to perform. “I didn’t know much about the Rose Bowl before this, but I knew Lainey Wilson had done it before.”
Despite a lifelong passion for music, inspired by Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson, and influenced by his Italian grandmother Tony Bennett and Frank Sinatra, Wayne began to truly focus on music several months ago. before
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“For me, being invited when I was just starting to make waves. It was great,” he said, “for them to ask me to represent my mother, my uncle and my aunt’s hometown. And the state that I love and where I went to school is surreal.”
Wayne is produced by McGraw and his and Faith’s producer, Byron Gallimore. Hill with a program to establish his own musical expertise. But he composed his own songs. Coordinate with bandmates and tell their own stories through their voices
“He was the biggest supporter of this whole idea,” Wayne told McGraw’s Fox News Digital, “when I was really starting to get into music. In high school, he told me, ‘I’m going to produce you. But that’s it. You have to create your own path.’”
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“I love being his grandson,” Wayne said. “I always joke that he works for me. I’m like, ‘Tim McGraw is my employee.’”
As for his management, Wayne credits his mother and McGraw’s sister, Sandy Howard, with taking on the brunt of the workload.
“My mother took a lot of stress off my back,” he says. “She made everything run smoothly during and after the show.”
While McGraw produced Wayne’s songs with music producer Byron Gallimore, Wayne wrote and sang his own songs. Organize groups of friends and do the rest by yourself. (Getty Images)
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He added that she, along with his father, adopted ’80s rock ‘n’ roll headbands like Kiss and Poison and helped him identify his favorite genres.
“I’m a huge rock ‘n’ roll fan,” says Wayne. “Country music is first and foremost about storytelling. But I like to add that special feeling when it’s not a love story.”
Wayne showcased his talents on McGraw’s “Standing Room Only” tour earlier this year. Once he boarded a bus to watch three shows
Wayne tours with McGraw in early 2024 and is performing on country singer Lee Brice’s tour in 2025. (Marshall Cunningham)
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“The trip isn’t long enough,” he said.
Wayne isn’t finished performing country music on stage yet. He has been invited to tour with Lee Brice in 2025.
“When I got the call that I would be invited to perform ‘You, Me and My Guitar’ in Mississippi in February, I was ecstatic.”
