THE ULTIMATE TRIBUTE TO CLASSIC COUNTRY MUSIC

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Our Mission is Tradition

Waylon Crybaby & The Squeaky Wheels aren’t just a band – they’re musical time travellers resurrecting the raw, unfiltered spirit of classic country, honky-tonk and western swing music. They appear to have been personally deputized to rescue traditional country music as they transform every stage into a time portal back to music’s golden age.
Waylon Crybaby & The Squeaky Wheels deliver pure, straight-ahead Country with a sound powered by doghouse bass, weeping pedal steel, and a fiddle that could make stone cry. They’re a living, breathing tribute to honky-tonk’s golden age. Pure, unadulterated country – no glossy production, no commercial polish, just honest musical storytelling.
Led by Waylon Crybaby, a frontman who channels the spirit of Hank and Buck and Waylon and Willie, The Squeaky Wheels move together like a well-oiled machine. Their musicianship isn’t just skilled; it’s a living, breathing connection to country music’s deepest roots.
Their shows are musical resurrections. Each performance a sacred ritual of musical preservation. Their stages are ground zero for musical authenticity. Waylon Crybaby & The Squeaky Wheels are keeping the heartbeat of traditional country music alive, one twangy, soul-stirring song at a time. Yee-haw, indeed!

THE LEGEND

Delve into the captivating legend of Waylon Crybaby & the Squeaky Wheels.
Uncover the untold story of their rise, their struggles, and the events that shaped their destiny.

open me

“They’re like if heartbreak and bad decisions started a band.” — Tammy Lou Hawkins

Meet The Band

Waylon Crybaby

Waylon’s stepped straight out of the hills with a voice that could make a pine tree cry. He leads the band like he’s herding cattle—calm, steady, and somehow always in charge. He doesn’t just sing; he channels every dusty backroad and front porch in hillbilly country, keeping traditional country music alive like it’s his sacred duty.
Waylon Crybaby

Buckshot Billy

Buckshot Billy has been Waylon’s partner in crime since they were kids stealing apples from the neighbor’s orchard. His guitar playing is fast and sharp, a perfect counterpoint to Waylon’s measured, soulful voice. Buckshot’s stories about their early gigs are legendary, though no one’s quite sure how many of them are true.
Buckshot Billy

Rusty “Pedal Steel” Perkins

Rusty is the band’s mysterious soul, a pedal steel player who can make his instrument weep or soar depending on the moment. He doesn’t share much about his past, but his playing speaks volumes, adding a layer of melancholy and beauty to every song.
Rusty Perkins

Stompin’ Slim McCoy

Slim is the engine of the band, his drumming as big and boisterous as his laugh. He’s the kind of guy who can talk his way into—or out of—any situation, and his knack for keeping the mood light has been a lifesaver during the band’s tougher times.
Stompin' Slim Mcoy

Beau “Boomstick” Jenkins

Beau is the foundation, both musically and emotionally, of the Squeaky Wheels. His upright bass anchors their sound, and his calm presence keeps everyone steady when the road get rough. Beau’s a man of few words, but his loyalty to the band speaks louder than anything he could say.
Beau Jenkins

Daisy Mae “Fiddlefire” Johnson

Daisy Mae’s fiddle playing is as fiery as her personality.She’s the spark that lights up the band’s sound, her solos soaring one moment and aching the next. Daisy Mae doesn’t back down from a challenge, whether it’s a tough crowd or a skeptical critic, and she’s fiercely proud of the music they make together.
Daisy Mae Johnson

Word on the Street

“They make music the way my mama made biscuits: a little messy, but so good you can’t stop coming back for more.”
Loretta June, legendary country singerWhiskey Falls, TN
“I don’t know what I love more: their music or their ability to drink me under the table. Either way, this band is the real deal.”
Hank “Hurricane” Reeves, touring legendSweet Tea Junction, GA
“Listening to Waylon Crybaby and the Squeaky Wheels feels like finding an old love letter in your glove box—sentimental, raw, and full of a truth you didn’t know you needed.”
Emmylou Featherstone, Americana sweetheartPecan Holler, MS
“I can’t say for sure if they’re geniuses or lunatics, but I’m leaning toward both.”
Big Earl Thompson, founder of Earl’s Honky-Tonk OpryDusty Boots, TX
“Waylon Crybaby sings like a man who’s been through it, and the Squeaky Wheels play like they’re the ones who caused it.”
Kitty Mae Summers, honky-tonk queenTumbleweed Holler, OK
“Waylon Crybaby’s songs hit harder than my granddaddy’s moonshine, and the Squeaky Wheels keep the groove tighter than Sunday shoes.”
Patsy Ray Johnson, country gospel legendCotton Blossom, AL
“They’re the only band I’ve ever seen get a standing ovation and a request to leave town in the same night.”
Tammy Jo Tucker, honky-tonk bartenderFiddle Creek, KY
“Listening to them is like eating gas station barbecue—unexpectedly good, a little messy, and you’ll be thinking about it for days.”
Dusty Raines, touring legendRattlesnake Bluff, FL
“The Squeaky Wheels play like they’re being chased by the law, and honestly, they might be.”
Rusty “Roadkill” Thompson, pedal steel player for hireMoonshine Gulch, SC
“They’re proof that all you need to make great country music is heart, soul, and a complete disregard for personal safety.”
Boone “Boom Boom” Carter, local legendHog Wallow, LA
“They’re the only band I know that can make you laugh, cry, and reconsider your life choices in under three minutes.”
Bobby “Big Hands” Riggs, former barstool criticCornbread Cove, MS

Photos

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Upcoming Shows

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Press Releases

THE SQUEAKY WHEELS FINISH RECORDING NEW ALBUM… IN A CHICKEN COOP

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 4, 2025 Waylon Crybaby and the Squeaky Wheels have officially wrapped recording their latest album, Moonshine and Misdemeanors. True to their roots, the band turned a borrowed chicken coop into a “studio” using a generator, a roll of duct tape, and what Waylon calls “creative engineering.” “I think the clucking in the

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FAQ

"How did the band get its name?"

According to “Bootleg Dreams & Bar Tab Nightmares” ,  the unofficial, unfiltered, and frankly unhinged history of their honky tonk hustle, this is how they got their name.  Here’s the story, country as a biscuit with gravy and twice as greasy:

Waylon Crybaby wasn’t always a crybaby. Once upon a time, he was just Waylon “Don’t-You-Dare-Play-Free-Bird” McGraw, a broke line cook with a busted Telecaster, a dream of country stardom, and a mild allergy to shellfish that he refused to acknowledge.

The name came one steamy Friday night at the Rusty Tap Saloon in Bogaloosa, Louisiana. Waylon had just gotten fired from his job at Catfish Carl’s for accidentally deep-frying a manager’s toupee (long story). So he showed up at the open mic night with nothing but his guitar, a half-sober grudge, and a heart full of sad songs and spilt Busch Light.

Now, here’s the thing—Waylon had a way of singing heartbreak songs that made grown men cry into their longnecks and women throw hush puppies at him in pity. He’d barely gotten through the first chorus of his song “Mama Took the Truck, Daddy Took the Dog” when someone in the back hollered:

“This boy don’t sing, he CRIES!”

And right on cue, his voice cracked so hard in the final note, it sounded like a dying raccoon caught in a screen door.

That’s when the drummer—Stompin’ Slim Mcoy—hit his kick pedal and let out a literal squeak. See, his bass drum had been patched with duct tape, cat hair, and desperation. But the timing was so perfect, the whole bar froze. It was like destiny coughed.

Then the fiddle player (Daisy Mae Johnson, who moonlights as a divorce attorney) busted out laughing and shouted:

“Well hell, if this ain’t Waylon Crybaby and the Squeaky Wheels, I don’t know what is!”

And just like that, a band was born.

Now they tour the South in a converted shrimp boat on wheels, still chasing the next town, the next dive bar, and the next broken-hearted anthem.

"Why doesn't the band have a manager?"

Waylon Crybaby and the Squeaky Wheels don’t have a manager anymore because the last one tried to turn them into a country-pop boy band called “The Booty Scooters.”

No joke—he made ‘em wear matching denim vests, tried to replace their fiddle player with a keytar, and told Waylon to “quit cryin’ so much—it’s bad for brand identity.” He even pitched a choreographed dance routine for their song “Whiskey Don’t Text Back.”

Things came to a head in Tallapoosa, Georgia, when the manager showed up with a fog machine and backup dancers dressed as anthropomorphic cowboy hats. Waylon stopped the set mid-verse, looked out at the crowd, and said:

“This ain’t music. This is a honky tonk hostage situation.”

Lefty unplugged the fog machine, Daisy Mae slapped the manager with a fiddle bow, and Slim chased him out of town on a borrowed riding lawnmower.

Since then, they’ve handled their own business—badly, but proudly.

Their official policy?
“We don’t take orders from nobody who wears cologne.”

And honestly, it’s been uphill, downhill, and sideways ever since.

"Why in the world would anybody go see this band?"

 

Now that is a fair question—and yet, somehow, folks keep showin’ up. Here’s why people still cram into every dive, barn, and questionable roadside establishment to see Waylon Crybaby and the Squeaky Wheels:

1. Because it’s a trainwreck you can dance to.

Their shows are like watching a raccoon wrestle a lawn chair—chaotic, confusing, and weirdly captivating. You don’t know if you’re gonna hear a love song or see a fistfight over a chili dog. Sometimes both. At the same time.

2. Every show is completely unhinged and totally different.

One night they played a heartfelt ballad to a woman named Darlene who turned out to be a decorative mannequin. Another time they accidentally started a two-step line dance that led into the parking lot and down the highway.

3. The music’s actually… not bad.

Waylon’s voice has that raw, tear-stained twang that hits you right in the liver. Daisy Mae’s fiddle solos can summon ghosts.

4. Because you leave with a story.

Nobody goes to a Waylon Crybaby show and leaves with nothing but a buzz. You leave with a memory, a questionable tattoo, maybe a shirt that says “I Got Squeaked in Tupelo”, and a voicemail you don’t remember leaving for your ex.

5. They mean every damn note.

They might mess up the lyrics, forget what town they’re in, or fight over who gets the last Slim Jim on stage—but when they hit that chorus about heartbreak and broke transmissions? You feel it in your soul.

So why does anybody go see them?

Because deep down, everybody wants a little honky tonk with a side of chaos.
And Waylon Crybaby and the Squeaky Wheels? They’re servin’ it hot, loud, and slightly off-key.