Jelly Roll, the Grammy-nominated country musician and rapper, gave a concert to a sold-out John Paul Jones arena on Wednesday, October 30. In early October of this year, Jelly Roll released his first No. 1 album on the Billboard charts, Beautifully Broken. The record features several hit songs, including “I Am Not Okay,” which is currently No. 16 on the Spotify Hot 100. Jelly Roll is also known for his other hits, such as “Need a Favor” and “Save Me”.
The concert, which Jelly Roll kept referring to as a “dysfunctional family reunion,” was opened by Allie Colleen, daughter of American songwriter and Country Music Hall of Famer Garth Brooks. Then Shaboozey took the stage, known for his top song “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” which made history this summer. The Virginia native debuted his new song, “East of the Massanutten,” a reference to the Shenandoah mountains.
Jelly Roll’s childhood friend, ERNEST, took to the stage next. ERNEST sang multiple hit songs of his own, such as “Would If I Could,” “Tennessee Queen,” and “Flower Shops.” He also sang “Somebody’s Problem” and “I Had Some Help,” on which he collaborated with Post Malone and Morgan Wallen. ERNEST concluded his set with his song “I Went to College/I Went to Jail,” which he co-wrote with Jelly Roll. The song references Jelly Roll’s time in prison.
Jelly Roll is estimated to have been in and out of jail 40 times in his life. He had a tough time in his teenage years and early adulthood. He struggled with drug addiction for most of his life, which inspires his songs. His albums are about real struggles and challenges that everyday people face, and many everyday people relate to his songs. This popularity helped him emerge as a country music star.
During the concert, Jelly Roll shared the stage with four inmates from the Chesterfield County Jail, which he had visited just hours before. “This is my first time doing this,” Jelly Roll said, “and might be the last time we ever get to do something like this.” Jelly Roll went on to explain that he and his team “try to make a point in every city that we play in to either go visit a rehab, jail, or homeless shelter.” He continued, “Today, I had the most unique experience I ever had in a jail. It shook me to my core… I began to weep and cry in this cell with all these men and women that were in there singing their soul out.”
Jelly Roll visited inmates in a program called Helping Addicts Recover Progressively (HARP). HARP is a voluntary, jail-based recovery program that uses a medical, therapeutic, educational approach to bring mental health and addiction services to those in need. The inmates had remixed Jelly Roll’s song “Unpretty,” which acknowledges wrong actions and missteps of the past. Jelly Roll was so moved by their rendition that he called the county sheriff a few hours later and asked him if he could bring the inmates up on stage. During the concert, Jelly Roll recalled the conversation he had with the sheriff: “I said, ‘I know this sounds crazy, but I never got the chance to see if the dream could be real. Would you please bring those inmates to the show tonight so they can see the dream? … I’ll pay for everything. Just show them that it can happen, because it happened for me. I was in the same kind of place.’” With the sheriff granting his permission, arrangements were made so that the inmates could sing at the show. Wearing HARP shirts, the four of them performed their remix of “Unpretty” with Jelly Roll.
Jelly Roll will continue his Beautifully Broken tour until the end of this month. Although he won’t make a trip back to Charlottesville, he will perform in Minnesota, Illinois, Texas, Florida, and many other states. All are waiting to see what, or who, Jelly Roll brings on stage next.
