For decades, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill have navigated the ins and outs of Hollywood with grace and humility. Now, their nephew, rising star Timothy Wayne, is following in their footsteps in hopes of continuing an unforgettable legacy within country music.
In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, Wayne, a 22-year-old Tennessee native, opens up about his famous uncle and aunt and shares how their guidance and advice have begun to shape his own career in the ever-changing industry.
“Uncle Tim and Aunt Faith were really the reason why I had never gone into music before and never really thought about it,” said Wayne, who recently released his live rendition of the classic song, “Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow up to Be Cowboys.”
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“Not in a bad way, it’s not like they were keeping me from doing it. They encouraged me to do a lot of stuff. But it was mainly just when you grow up watching giants like that on the stage, it’s incredibly hard to look at yourself in the mirror and say, ‘I can do that, too.'”
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“I have watched my uncle and aunt perform since I was a little kid, and I have watched them command crowds and command respect while still being extremely humble people and being nice to everybody around them,” he added. “Growing up watching that, they were two people that I really looked up to, but at the same time I was like, ‘I can’t do what they do.'”
Wayne, who recently served as one of the opening acts on McGraw’s “Standing Room Only Tour,” said he never thought he’d be pursuing music in the same capacity as his famous family.
“I had just started getting into recording and [Tim] was showing [Faith] a song, and then I got a text from both of them like, ‘You should really do this.’ And we had that conversation, they believed in me and they believed that I could do it. Then I started, and then my mom and dad had always believed in me, and so I started having to believe in myself,” said Wayne.
Like most artists, McGraw and Hill have had their share of professional and personal setbacks, including addiction struggles and health issues — some of which almost ended careers. However, the couple persevered with humbleness, and continue to be a prime example to young musicians — especially Wayne.
“Patience is a key thing,” Wayne said when it comes to the best advice he’s received from McGraw and Hill on navigating the spotlight. “You’re going to run into loud people… you’re going to run into time schedules getting messed up, you’re going to run into all that stuff. And the best thing to do is just to remain patient, remain calm, because acting any other way than that is not going to help.”
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Wayne, who is gearing up to graduate from Louisiana State University next year, said McGraw and Hill have been an incredible resource for him and his budding career, but he’s determined to pave his own way.
“When I first started, and I mean it’s still the same, I still have the same mindset. I didn’t want Tim involved at all because I wanted to stand on my own two feet, for lack of a better term. But I mean, it didn’t take long for everybody to figure it out that we were related, and I just kind of had to embrace it,” said Wayne, who has shared the stage with McGraw, Lee Brice, Justin Moore, Clay Walker and Jake Owen.
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“So I made an agreement with him that he could be my producer, and he made the exact same agreement with me,” Wayne continued. “We agreed that he could be my producer, but there was no other help. He’s my producer first and foremost, that’s it. If I’m going to do this, I have to do it on my own. I have to forge my own path.”
“Of course, he’s there to help with advice and anything that I need I can ask for,” he added. “It’s a resource that I do have. But as far as reputation goes and singing songs and everything else I have to do, I have to forge that path. And it’s been really fun, but a lot of attention gets drawn to it. Usually I get asked, ‘What’s it like having him as an uncle?’ I’m like, ‘He’s just like an uncle. He’s just like an uncle that always sings.'”
Wayne said his own mother and father have encouraged him to do the same.
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“The reference that my mom and dad always said is the separation of church and state,” he said. “So I am my own artist. I want to be my own artist. I want to be my own person. But of course, I do have that resource, and it’s not lost on me that it is an absolute blessed resource that I have. I mean, 30-something years of knowledge of the music industry, and he’s my producer.”
“But I try to stand on my own two feet and try to forge my own path as much as I can,” said Wayne.
Wayne, who signed his first major record deal during his sophomore year, has already released four original tracks: “That’d Be You”, “Guy With A Guitar” and “God Made A Country Boy,” accompanied by Wayne’s first official music video, and “Good Ole Boys Girl.”
Does he feel pressure to live up to his aunt and uncle’s legacy?
“I have a lot of pressure because maybe I don’t reach it, make it to Tim and Faith’s level, but I want to get close,” he said. “I want to do the best I can to build my own legacy, but to also make sure that my legacy reflects how good their legacy was at the same time.”
“From them, there’s not really much pressure,” he added. “They’re just like, do what you’re doing to do it well,” he added.
