Minto Country Music Wall of Fame -STEVE WAYLON

Stephen Waylon (Whalen) was born in 1968 and lived in Chipman. He started playing music and singing at a very young age, as his father, Henry Whalen was a local entertainer and passed on the music gene to Steve, his two brothers and little sister.

At the age thirteen, he bought an old set of drums for ten dollars and was determined to learn how to play. It was no time before Steve found himself on the stage with his dad playing the drums and harmonizing before small crowds. Watching the crowd and their reactions, I was hooked he says. This was the start of his musical journey.

His passion really caught fire when his cousin, Jimmy Arsenault asked him to play drums in his band along with long time friend bass player Ray Dunham. The band performed for two years then Steve and Ray moved to Ontario and formed a band called Midnite Blue. This band toured Ontario where they gained much experience.

They returned to New Brunswick and formed another band called Southern Justice where they did some extensive road work with bands like April Wine, Trooper, Jim Witter, Matt Minglewood and many more. During this time, Steve would move from behind the drums and front the band. As the front man for his project, Steve would become known throughout the Maritimes as one of the best. His constant communication with the crowds on and off the stage earned him the reputation of a people's entertainer with unmatched drive to put on a memorable show.

After the dissolving of Southern Justice, Steve hooked up with CCMA award winning band the Austinators who backed up Canadian Country star Julian Austin. With this group Steve did shows with such acts as Lorrie Morgan, Sammy Kershaw, Matt Minglewood , and more.

After a few years with this unit Steve moved on to reform the group to carry his name Steve Waylon and the Steve Waylon Band. During the last decade, Steve has released two albums and a few radio singles. Two of Steve's singles "No Deposit No Return" and "I run this Joint" received regular national airplay and held spots on the CMN Country Charts.

Steve has also been on tours and shows with greats like Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Doc Walker, Johnny Reid, Emmerson Drive, Jimmy Rankin and George Canyon. Steve has also traveled as far as Switzerland to play at festivals and boast his Canadian pride and performed there with Aaron Tippin and the Bellamy Brothers.

Steve lives in Fredericton with Angela and is very proud of his four children. He has not forgotten his home town of Chipman and the neighboring village of Minto and loves to entertain at many of the local functions too numerous to mention.