While many struggled in 2020 because of COVID-19, Whey Jennings sees the pandemic as at least somewhat of a blessing in disguise. The grandson of Waylon Jennings used the time off the road to get sober, a hard-won journey, which he reflects on in his upcoming new album.

“I’m trying to come out with a different message than what I’ve had in the past,” Jennings tells Everything Nash. “It’s been a pretty big thing for me. Most of my life I’ve been running these roads, crazy drinking, doing drugs, craziness, womanizing. But this year I stopped in my tracks with this whole COVID thing. And I went to rehab and I got sober, and I married the woman of my dreams. We’re having a baby and I bought a house. So I’m hoping this new album’s going to be more of a positive album.”

Included on the album is his current single, “Gypsy Soul,” written when his life was much different than it is today.

“I wrote that song when I first started this career of mine,” Jennings shares. “It was pretty much my life at the time. I was running from town to town, and I met quite a few women along the way. I was young and dumb. The song’s pretty much about leaving. You come to town, then you gotta leave.”

Now that Jennings has embraced sobriety, he insists there is no way he will ever go back to his former life.

“I feel like that’s definitely behind me now,” Jennings maintains. “I’m too clear-headed. I’ve been able to experience life more … I look in the mirror and I like what I see. I kind of avoided mirrors. And I just stayed in my head, whacked out.”

Jennings is ready to embrace all that 2021 brings — including another child — now that he is both physically and mentally healthy.

“Nowadays, I get up during the day. I mean, it’s gonna get little harder than it is now, because I’ve been in the home life enough,’ Jennings says, speaking of his family’s upcoming new addition. “I’ve been working on my house and then working on getting all this stuff ready for the baby nursery and all that stuff.”

Jennings is already planning on touring 2021, including a show in Nashville on January 30. Keep track of updates at WheyJennings.com.