What’s Clay Walker looking for in Kentucky, besides bourbon? ‘People who feel joyful.’

He survived trends – namely, a generational shift that moved country music into all kinds of new stylistic territories over the past decade.

He survived a changing industry design, one that has struggled – often desperately – to keep pace with those shifts while maintaining the music’s unwavering commercial appeal.

And on a personal front, he survived a devastating illness, having been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis during the earliest zenith of his career.

There’s no question: After three decades of singing country music his way, Clay Walker is a survivor.

“I did three sold-out shows last week where there were tons of teenagers, tons of young folks, as well as people 30 to 50. Country music has always been very diverse as far as the age demographics. I’ve seen that since the beginning of my career.

“What is really wonderful at our shows is to see all of these young people. They want something that is familiar, but also something that is real. I think they’re seeing that with us. We’re ecstatic about it. We’ll keep building on that, too. You do have to have a plan as an artist, and more so today than ever. There is hardly anything in this world now that is random. It’s planned and you’ve got to be prepared for when opportunity comes.”

Opportunity first arrived for the Vidor, Texas, native when his debut 1993 single “What’s It To You” hit No. 1. A balance of traditional country candor (especially in the rural twists within his singing) and contemporary playfulness, the song set the stage for Walker to be heir apparent to the Lone Star country crown then worn by George Strait. The hit parade continued as “Live Until I Die,” “Dreaming with My Eyes Open” and “If I Could Make a Living” made the singer one of the most popular new country artists of the early 1990s.

Then Walker was blindsided. Numbness in his fingers led to a doctor’s visit in the spring of 1996, his confrontation with MS and a prognosis that seemed unforgiving.

“I was told upon my original diagnosis that I was going to be in a wheelchair in a few years and dead in a few more. When you’re 26 years old and someone says that to you, it’s earth-shattering. But something happened. I called on my faith and prayed and my disease was arrested. I don’t think my team of doctors had ever seen that before.”

Amazingly, the diagnosis did not derail Walker’s career. A year later, he chalked up one of his biggest hits, a blast of country cheer called “Rumor Has It.” Since then, he has become an active spokesman for patients dealing with MS by spearheading charity work and awareness through his non-profit organization Band Against MS.

“Every person on this earth is struggling with something,” Walker said. “They’re struggling with sickness. They’re struggling with bad living conditions. Everybody struggles. What’s so great about country music is sometimes we make fun of those things. Sometimes we embrace those things. Sometimes we build hope that things are going to get better.

“For people with MS, like myself, it’s just another disease. It’s another battle. I can say when I was first diagnosed, I was devastated. Then in the middle of this disease, I was like, ‘Hey, I’m going to be okay.’ Today, it’s like, ‘How can I help other people live more fulfilled lives. How can I help them do that?’

“That’s why I speak out about MS and about how I have seriously overcome it. And when I say ‘overcome,’ I still live with it. But MS does not dictate my day. I’ve had exacerbations and flare-ups that have devastated me and left me sometimes bedridden. What I did during those times is what any person should do, and that’s pray. My prayer life is strong and it gets stronger when I’m suffering. I think that’s only natural. I take conventional medication, too, but I certainly know that my health is helped by a combination of things. It’s not one single component.

“So what can you do for somebody else? Show them through your own life, through being joyful, that they’re going to be okay. I want to be around people like that. I want to be around people who feel joyful.”

Walker’s sense of personal joy also extends to his newer music. In 2021, he released “Texas to Tennessee,” an album whose very title suggests the career trail he set out on three decades ago – a singer raised in the Houston region who followed his country music dreams to Nashville. Fittingly, the record was recorded in both states.

But the real mission for Walker was to prove he was still “relevant” — an artistic contender with a viable commercial presence within a music industry that, certainly in terms of making records, favors marketable newcomers over proven veterans.

“It’s been that way since the beginning of time,” he said. “I don’t have any beef with that. I think new and shiny is wonderful. You don’t deserve a spot just for things you’ve done in the past, but if you have created new music, as we have, that sounds great — and frankly, I think I’m singing better than I ever have in my life — then you should be given a chance to compete.

“Look, I’m not blaming anybody or pointing any fingers. But it’s like, ‘Okay, we’re here. We’re at the door. We’re knocking. We want a chance to play on the field.’ So give us a chance to play. If we fail, kick us out.”

While the title “Texas to Tennessee” underscores one of Walker’s initial career paths, he is pleased his current tour is taking him back to Lexington. His performance visits here have been few but notable, one of the most prominent being an October 2000 outing at Rupp Arena with Alan Jackson. And, yes, he is also eager to satisfy his taste for Kentucky bourbon while in town.

“As far as I know, bourbon only comes from Kentucky,” Walker said with a laugh. “I’m looking forward to getting up there and enjoying a couple of sips.”

Clay Walker and Easton Corbin

When: March 23 at 7:30 p.m.

Where: Lexington Opera House, 401 W. Short St.

Tickets: $54.50-$98.50 through ticketmaster.com.