Waylon Malloy Payne

A modern-day poetic outlaw, Waylon Payne earned positive notices for his 2003 debut album The Drifter but he wasn't able to immediately capitalize on its good reviews. Instead, he dabbled in acting -- he appeared in the 2005 Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line -- as he struggled with personal problems, eventually re-emerging in 2020 to widespread acclaim for his song cycle Blue Eyes, The Harlot, The Queer, The Pusher & Me. Waylon Payne is the son of Jody Payne, a guitarist in Willie Nelson's band, and country singer Sammi Smith; he was named after his godfather, Waylon Jennings....