New Brunswick outlaw country is alive and well, and some of the province’s most interesting country musicians are proving that you do not have to live in Texas or Tennessee to make music with an outlaw edge. From established country bands to newer artists putting their own Maritime spin on the genre, New Brunswick has produced some seriously interesting country music.
New Brunswick has a long history of producing musicians who sound like they came from somewhere much bigger than this little province. There is something about the place that lends itself to songs about hard living, working people, heartbreak, drinking, getting into trouble, long roads and trying to get through another day.
When people think about outlaw country, they usually think about Texas, Tennessee, Oklahoma or California. They think about Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard and David Allan Coe.
But there is a Canadian version of that spirit too.
And New Brunswick has some damn good examples of it.
Three artists in particular show just how interesting the New Brunswick outlaw country scene can be: The Divorcees, Waylon Napadogan and The Outlaw Reverend.
They are completely different artists. That is part of what makes the comparison interesting.
The Divorcees have spent more than twenty years building a reputation as one of Canada’s established outlaw country bands.
Waylon Napadogan has developed a very different kind of country sound, mixing country rock, southern rock, comedy and very specifically New Brunswick subject matter.
And The Outlaw Reverend takes the outlaw country idea in an even more stripped down direction, performing original songs and classic outlaw country with nothing but one man and an acoustic guitar.
If you are looking for New Brunswick outlaw country, these are three names worth knowing.
Who are some of the best outlaw country artists from New Brunswick?
Three standout names are The Divorcees, Waylon Napadogan and The Outlaw Reverend.
The three acts represent very different sides of New Brunswick country music.
The Divorcees are the veterans. Formed in New Brunswick in 2005, they built a national reputation through years of touring, recording and playing the Canadian country and roots circuit. Their music has consistently drawn from traditional country, honky tonk, Americana and outlaw country.
Waylon Napadogan represents a newer and much more distinctly Maritime approach. His songs take everyday Canadian and New Brunswick life and turn it into country music that can be funny, ridiculous, rough and surprisingly catchy.
The Outlaw Reverend is a solo New Brunswick musician and recording artist focused on original music, outlaw country and classic country. The live show is intentionally stripped down: one man, one acoustic guitar and a collection of songs about trains, pain, addiction, death, heartbreak, outlaws and people who have found themselves on the wrong side of the law.
That is three very different interpretations of outlaw country from the same province.
And that is exactly why New Brunswick deserves more attention when people talk about Canadian country music.
The Divorcees
The Divorcees official website
If you are talking about New Brunswick outlaw country, it is impossible to leave out The Divorcees.
The Divorcees formed in New Brunswick in 2005 and have spent two decades establishing themselves as one of Canada’s best known country and roots acts with an outlaw edge.
Their music is built around traditional country values, honky tonk, Americana and the harder side of country music. They have never really sounded like a polished Nashville imitation. Their music has always carried a distinctly Canadian and Maritime identity.
That matters.
Outlaw country has always been about more than a particular guitar sound or a particular hat. At its heart, it is about independence.
It is about doing things your own way.
It is about writing about people who do not necessarily fit neatly into polite society.
It is about songs that have some dirt under their fingernails.
That is territory The Divorcees have occupied for a long time.
Twenty years of New Brunswick outlaw country
The Divorcees have something that most newer artists simply cannot manufacture: history.
They have been doing this for roughly twenty years.
Their career includes multiple studio albums, major Canadian festival appearances, radio play and significant recognition within the East Coast Canadian music community.
They have also won two ECMA Country Album of the Year awards and received multiple Music New Brunswick awards. Their music has reached audiences well outside New Brunswick, helping establish the province as a legitimate source of Canadian country and roots music.
Their current album, Another Round, continues that tradition.
Released in August 2026, the album keeps the band’s focus on real country music, with a sound drawing from classic country, Bakersfield influences, Americana and the outlaw tradition.
The band has also described the music as straight up country, with influences that include Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, Dwight Yoakam and newer artists such as Charley Crockett and Sturgill Simpson.
That list tells you quite a bit about where The Divorcees fit.
They are not simply a country band from the East Coast.
They are part of the Canadian continuation of the outlaw country tradition.
Why The Divorcees matter to New Brunswick
There is another reason The Divorcees are important.
They prove that a band can come out of New Brunswick and build a serious career without having to pretend they came from somewhere else.
Their music carries the attitude of a working class country band, but it also carries the identity of the Maritimes.
That combination is important.
New Brunswick does not have the same music industry infrastructure as Nashville, Toronto or even some of the larger Canadian music centres.
Yet artists from this province continue to make music that travels.
The Divorcees are one of the clearest examples.
They have played across Canada, built an audience over decades and helped put New Brunswick outlaw and roots country on the national map. Their story is not about pretending to be Texans.
It is about being New Brunswickers who play damn good country music.
Waylon Napadogan
If The Divorcees represent the established side of New Brunswick outlaw country, Waylon Napadogan represents something completely different.
He is one of the more unusual and entertaining country artists to come out of New Brunswick in recent years.
Waylon Napadogan is a Fredericton based singer songwriter and bandleader whose music combines country, country rock, southern rock, Americana, outlaw country and comedy country. His songs often take everyday Maritime and Canadian life and turn it into material that is immediately recognizable to people from this part of the country.
And that is where the Waylon Napadogan thing gets interesting.
Country music that sounds like New Brunswick
A lot of Canadian country music is influenced by American country music.
There is nothing wrong with that.
Country music itself is an international language.
But Waylon Napadogan has taken the idea in another direction by putting very recognizable Canadian and Maritime experiences directly into his songs.
His catalog includes songs such as 98 Pontiac Sunfire, 2008 Ford Ranger, Lot Lizard, No Frigs Left to Give, Thrown in the Drunk Tank Again and I Seen a Sasquatch.
Even the titles tell you that this is not somebody trying to write generic Nashville country.
The subject matter is familiar.
The sense of humour is familiar.
The vehicles are familiar.
The places are familiar.
And the attitude is familiar.
It is country music filtered through New Brunswick.
The Waylon Napadogan Band
The solo recordings are only part of the story.
The Waylon Napadogan Band is a five piece country rock band based in New Brunswick and has developed a dedicated following through live performances and festival appearances. Paddlefest in New Brunswick described the band as a five piece country rock act with a growing fan base.
Waylon Napadogan has also appeared at major Atlantic Canadian events including the Harvest Music Festival in Fredericton and the Cavendish Beach Music Festival in Prince Edward Island.
That is significant because it shows how quickly an artist with a very specific identity can break out of the local bar and club circuit.
There is clearly an audience for it.
His Spotify profile has also grown considerably, showing that the audience is not limited to New Brunswick.
Why Waylon Napadogan is interesting
Waylon Napadogan understands something important about country music.
Country songs do not have to be about cowboys.
They can be about the guy down the road.
They can be about an old vehicle.
They can be about getting drunk.
They can be about a ridiculous night that everybody remembers.
They can be about a place that only people from New Brunswick immediately understand.
That is part of what makes his music work.
It feels local without being inaccessible.
You might not have lived in Fredericton.
You might not have driven the same road.
You might not have owned the same beat up vehicle.
But you understand the character.
And that is one of the oldest strengths of country music.
Take a very specific person and a very specific situation, then somehow make everybody recognize themselves in it.
The Outlaw Reverend
Then there is The Outlaw Reverend.
This is where the definition of New Brunswick outlaw country gets even more interesting.
The Outlaw Reverend is the stage name of New Brunswick musician, recording artist and live performer Brendan Green.
The concept is deliberately simple.
One man.
One acoustic guitar.
A whole lot of trouble.
The Outlaw Reverend performs original music, outlaw country and classic country throughout New Brunswick and the Maritimes. The live show has been stripped down even further in recent years, with backing tracks removed completely in favour of a slower, more emotional performance built around the words, the stories and the feeling in the songs.
That approach fits the material.
Because these are not exactly songs about sunshine and good decisions.
What is The Outlaw Reverend’s music about?
The Outlaw Reverend’s original songs deal with subjects that have always belonged in outlaw country.
Trains.
Pain.
Addiction.
Death.
Heartbreak.
Drinking.
Outlaws.
Jail.
The wrong side of the law.
People making bad decisions.
People living with the consequences.
There is not much interest in pretending that everybody is doing fine.
The music comes from the darker side of country songwriting.
That puts The Outlaw Reverend firmly in the outlaw tradition, but the live presentation is intentionally different from a conventional country cover act.
There are no backing tracks carrying the performance.
There is no attempt to turn the show into a giant production.
The idea is to create a mood.
The songs are allowed to breathe.
The stories are allowed to hurt.
And the acoustic guitar leaves nowhere to hide.
20 Big Ones
One of the important recordings in The Outlaw Reverend catalog is 20 Big Ones.
Listen to 20 Big Ones on Bandcamp
The album was released in 2024 and represents a large chunk of the musical history behind The Outlaw Reverend project.
The record brings together songs that had been developed and recorded over many years, including material connected to the earlier Psycho Billy period, with the songs extensively reworked and remastered for release.
The result is an album that does not try to hide the rougher edges.
In fact, that is part of the appeal.
The Outlaw Reverend describes the music in simple terms: original songs, outlaw country, classic country, one man, one acoustic guitar and a whole lot of trouble.
The songs are meant to hit hard.
There is no need to dress them up as something they are not.
The Outlaw Reverend live
The live show is where the concept really comes together.
The Outlaw Reverend performs primarily as a solo acoustic act.
That means the performance depends on the guitar, the voice and the song.
It also means the material can move between original songs and classic outlaw country without needing a large production.
Songs associated with artists such as Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, Lefty Frizzell, Kris Kristofferson and David Allan Coe fit naturally beside the original material because the underlying themes are connected.
The songs come from the same world.
They are songs about people.
People who screw up.
People who love too hard.
People who drink too much.
People who run away.
People who get caught.
People who lose somebody.
People who keep going.
That is country music.
And that is outlaw country.
Three very different kinds of New Brunswick outlaw country
Putting these three artists together is interesting because they do not sound alike.
That is actually the point.
The Divorcees represent the established New Brunswick outlaw country band. Their career stretches back to 2005, and their music has carried them across Canada while earning major recognition in the Canadian country and roots music community.
Waylon Napadogan represents a newer, more comedic and distinctly Maritime form of country rock. His songs take recognizable Canadian and New Brunswick life and turn it into something funny, memorable and very much his own.
The Outlaw Reverend represents the stripped down side of the genre. The songs are darker, the performance is acoustic and the focus is on storytelling, emotion and original material.
Three artists.
Three approaches.
One province.
What makes New Brunswick country music different?
There is no single New Brunswick sound.
That is probably the most important thing to understand.
The province has produced musicians working in rock, folk, country, roots, bluegrass, punk, metal and virtually everything in between.
But there is something particularly interesting happening when New Brunswick musicians take on country music.
The songs often have a strong sense of place.
They sound like people who actually live here.
That can mean the back roads around Fredericton.
It can mean Moncton.
It can mean Woodstock.
It can mean small towns where everybody knows everybody.
It can mean working jobs, old trucks, long drives, bars, bad relationships and the strange little details of life in Atlantic Canada.
That is why New Brunswick can produce outlaw country that feels different from American outlaw country while still respecting the tradition.
The attitude is the same.
The address is different.
Is there an outlaw country scene in New Brunswick?
Yes.
It may not always be marketed as one single organized scene, but the artists are there.
The Divorcees have spent more than twenty years building a national reputation.
Waylon Napadogan has developed a substantial audience with a very specific New Brunswick and Maritime identity.
The Outlaw Reverend is building a solo acoustic project around original outlaw country and classic country.
And there are plenty of other country, roots and Americana musicians throughout New Brunswick and the wider Maritimes.
The interesting thing is that you do not necessarily have to call yourself an outlaw country artist to be part of that tradition.
The attitude can show up in the writing.
It can show up in the subject matter.
It can show up in the sound.
It can show up in the decision to stay independent.
It can show up in the refusal to make music that sounds like everything else.
That is the part that matters.
Why people outside New Brunswick should pay attention
New Brunswick is easy to overlook.
That is especially true in the Canadian music industry.
Toronto gets attention.
Montreal gets attention.
Vancouver gets attention.
Nashville dominates country music culture.
Atlantic Canada has to fight a little harder to get heard.
But that can also be an advantage.
Musicians here have plenty of reasons to develop their own identity.
They are not surrounded by a massive industry telling them exactly what country music is supposed to sound like.
That creates room for weirdness.
It creates room for personality.
It creates room for songs about things that would never survive a corporate songwriting meeting.
And that is where outlaw country has always thrived.
The genre was never supposed to be completely safe.
It was never supposed to sound like everybody else.
New Brunswick outlaw country is not one sound
If you listen to The Divorcees, you hear the traditional outlaw and honky tonk foundation.
If you listen to Waylon Napadogan, you hear country rock, southern rock, comedy and very specific Maritime references.
If you listen to The Outlaw Reverend, you hear a much more stripped down approach to outlaw country, with original songs and classic country performed acoustically.
That difference is important.
Because it shows that New Brunswick does not need one single outlaw country sound.
It already has several.
And they are coming from very different generations and musical perspectives.
The Divorcees, Waylon Napadogan and The Outlaw Reverend
So who should you listen to first?
If you want established Canadian outlaw country with a long history, start with The Divorcees.
If you want a younger, stranger and more humorous take on country music that is unmistakably Canadian and Maritime, check out Waylon Napadogan.
If you want dark original songs, classic outlaw country and a completely stripped down acoustic performance, check out The Outlaw Reverend.
And if you are a fan of country music, do not make the mistake of assuming that the best outlaw country has to come from somewhere south of the border.
Some of it is coming from right here in New Brunswick.
Frequently Asked Questions About New Brunswick Outlaw Country
Who are some of the best outlaw country artists from New Brunswick?
The Divorcees, Waylon Napadogan and The Outlaw Reverend are three standout New Brunswick artists representing different sides of outlaw and country music.
Who are The Divorcees?
The Divorcees are a New Brunswick country band formed in 2005. They are known for their Americana, honky tonk and outlaw country sound and have won two ECMA Country Album of the Year awards along with multiple Music New Brunswick awards.
Where are The Divorcees from?
The Divorcees were formed in New Brunswick and have spent much of their career representing the province and the wider Canadian and Maritime country music scene.
Who is Waylon Napadogan?
Waylon Napadogan is a Fredericton, New Brunswick singer songwriter and country performer whose music combines country, country rock, southern rock, Americana, outlaw country and comedy.
What kind of music does Waylon Napadogan play?
Waylon Napadogan plays country and country rock with strong southern rock, Americana, outlaw country and comedy influences. His songs often draw on recognizable Canadian and Maritime life.
Who is The Outlaw Reverend?
The Outlaw Reverend is the stage name of New Brunswick musician, recording artist and live performer Brendan Green. He performs original music, outlaw country and classic country, primarily throughout New Brunswick and the Maritimes.
What kind of music does The Outlaw Reverend play?
The Outlaw Reverend plays original outlaw country, classic country and country rock. His songs often focus on trains, pain, addiction, death, heartbreak, drinking, outlaws and people living on the wrong side of the law.
Is there an outlaw country scene in New Brunswick?
Yes. New Brunswick has a strong collection of country, roots, Americana and outlaw influenced musicians. The Divorcees, Waylon Napadogan and The Outlaw Reverend represent three very different approaches to that tradition.
What makes New Brunswick outlaw country different?
New Brunswick outlaw country combines the traditional themes and sounds of American country music with Canadian and Maritime experiences. The result can be traditional, funny, rough, acoustic, modern or all of those things at once.
Who are some Canadian outlaw country artists?
Canada has produced many artists associated with outlaw country, roots country and independent country music. New Brunswick’s The Divorcees are one of the province’s longest established examples, while artists such as Waylon Napadogan and The Outlaw Reverend demonstrate how the tradition continues to evolve.
New Brunswick has its own outlaw country story
The most interesting thing about these three artists is not that they all sound the same.
They don’t.
It is that they all demonstrate how much room there is inside the idea of outlaw country.
The Divorcees have spent two decades building a serious career around country music with an outlaw edge.
Waylon Napadogan has taken the genre somewhere hilarious, local and unmistakably Maritime.
The Outlaw Reverend has gone in the opposite direction, stripping the performance down to one person, one acoustic guitar and songs that are allowed to sit in the uncomfortable places.
That is a pretty good argument for paying attention to New Brunswick.
You do not have to move to Nashville to find country music with some dirt on it.
You do not have to be from Texas to understand an outlaw song.
And you certainly do not have to be from somewhere else to make country music that people outside your province want to hear.
Sometimes the best stories are right here.
Sometimes the best songs are coming out of a little town in New Brunswick.
And sometimes the guy with the acoustic guitar is exactly the person you were looking for.
That is New Brunswick outlaw country.
