Waylon Albright Jennings Jr., the 18-year-old son of musician Shooter Jennings and actress Misty Brooke Swain, gave his first in-depth interview this week, painting a poignant portrait of his father as a “lonely and torn genius” whose creative fire often burned brightest in isolation. The candid conversation, published in a Rolling Stone digital exclusive Thursday, delves into the younger Jennings’ childhood memories of a dad whose outlaw spirit mirrored grandfather Waylon Jennings but came with personal shadows that shaped their family dynamic.

Known as Alabama Gypsy Rose on social media—where he shares acoustic covers and original songs blending country, rock, and folk—the teen has stepped into the spotlight amid Shooter’s ongoing projects reviving Waylon Jennings’ unreleased catalog. “Dad’s always been this force, like a storm you love but can’t quite hold,” Waylon Jr. told the magazine from their California home. “He’d disappear into the studio for days, chasing sounds only he heard. That’s the genius part—but it left him lonely, torn between the music and us.”

Shooter, 46, rose to fame in the 2000s with albums like Put the O Back in Country, carving a path blending Southern rock and outlaw vibes inherited from his parents, Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter. Three-time Grammy winner as a producer—most notably for Brandi Carlile’s breakthroughs—he’s spent recent years unearthing his father’s vault tapes, releasing Songbird in October 2025 as the first of three posthumous Waylon albums. The process, Shooter has said, brought healing but also resurfaced old wounds from losing his dad at 22 in 2002.

Waylon Jr., born in 2007 during Shooter’s marriage to Drea de Matteo (they split in 2013 before his relationship with Swain), recalls a nomadic upbringing split between tour buses and home studios. “He taught me guitar before I could spell my name right,” the younger Jennings shared with a laugh. “But there were nights he’d stare at old photos of Grandpa, playing the same riff over and over, like he was talking to ghosts. He’d say, ‘Music’s a jealous lover—it gives everything but takes more.’ That’s when I saw the torn part.”

The interview touches on Shooter’s well-documented shifts: from L.A. rock band Stargunn to country renegade, dabbling in electronic with Hierophant, and producing icons like Tanya Tucker. Waylon Jr. credits his dad’s versatility to inner turmoil. “He never fit one box—too rock for Nashville, too country for Hollywood. That made him brilliant but lonely. Fans saw the wild man; we saw the guy who cried listening to Grandpa’s demos alone.”

Shooter, reached by Fox News Digital, responded warmly: “My boy’s got his old man’s heart and twice the wisdom. Proud don’t cover it.” The elder Jennings has been vocal about fatherhood’s redemptive power, naming his son after his own father and often posting throwbacks on X with captions like “Carrying the torch, kid.”

Family ties run deep: Waylon Jr. is nephew to rapper Struggle Jennings and cousin to Whey Jennings, keeping the dynasty alive. His emerging music—raw tracks like “Gypsy Road” echoing early Shooter—has garnered 500,000 Spotify streams, with fans drawing parallels. “He’s got that Jennings fire,” one commenter wrote on his latest upload.

The revelation comes as Shooter promotes Songbird, mixed from 1970s-80s tapes featuring Waylon at his peak with the Waylors. “Dad poured his soul into reviving Grandpa because he knows what it’s like to lose a legend too soon,” Waylon Jr. said. “But he’s teaching me balance—music’s great, but family’s the real hit.”

Critics praise the interview’s vulnerability in a genre often guarded about personal strife. Billboard noted it humanizes Shooter’s “enigmatic” image, while Taste of Country called it “the next chapter in country’s most storied bloodline.”

Waylon Jr. hints at collaborations: “Dad and I jam all the time—maybe something official soon.” For now, he’s focused on school and songwriting, crediting therapy and family for navigating the spotlight.

Shooter, ever the maverick, wrapped a recent Instagram post: “My boy sees me clear—flaws and all. That’s love.” As the Jennings legacy evolves, Waylon Jr.’s words remind fans: Behind every outlaw anthem is a human heart, lonely, torn, and undeniably genius.

The full Rolling Stone piece drops online Friday, with audio clips of Waylon Jr.’s originals. Stream Songbird now—it’s the soundtrack to understanding the man who raised a truth-teller.