Jelly Roll will likely never forget his debut RodeoHouston appearance. The Nashville native performed at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo on March 6, singing in front of more than 73,000 fans.
“My name is Jason ‘Jelly Roll’ DeFord and I am from Nashville, Tennessee,” the emotional singer shared from stage. “And as of right this moment, as of right this second, on March the 6th of 2024, at the Houston Rodeo at the NRG stadium, this is officially the biggest show of my entire life.”
RODEOHOUSTON: Home of the largest show in Jelly Roll’s career 🥹 pic.twitter.com/EzTB1wQ7QF
— RODEOHOUSTON (@RODEOHOUSTON) March 7, 2024
Jelly Roll was also joined during his concert by one of his good friends, and frequent RodeoHouston performer, Cody Johnson. The two performed “Whiskey Bent,” a song from Johnson’s latest Leather album, for the first time together in front of a live audience.
“Behind the scenes, Cody Johnson has been one of my best friends in country music,” Jelly Roll said before singing their duet. “Since I came to country music, he has been a mentor, he has been a big brother. He has been my favorite person to talk to at 2:00 in the morning.”
Jelly Roll just brought Cody Johnson on stage at Rodeo Houston!!
#RodeoRadio
Posted by 93Q Houston on Wednesday, March 6, 2024
Jelly Roll has had plenty of career highs lately, including No. 1 singles, a Grammy Awards nominations, wins at both the CMA Awards and the People’s Choice Awards, and more. It’s a lot of success that he once never thought possible, and likely wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t, on a whim, released “Save Me” in 2020.
“The truth is, I think if I had never uploaded ‘Save Me,’ and been bold enough to try a different thing, I think I would have achieved what I thought my dream was,” Jelly Roll told Everything Nash and other outlets during a recent media event.
“My dream was just to sell two to three thousand seats everywhere in the Southeast and Midwest, and my daughter could grow up in the best school district in the state of Tennessee,” he added. “I had just enough money at the time to afford a house in that school district.”
For all of his success and accomplishments, the former inmate vows to always stay true to who he is, and the kind of music he wants to make.
“To me, I’m just still me,” Jelly Roll told The New York Times. “So whatever’s actually happening in my life is what I’m putting out. I called my mother at the same time. It was me getting to call a woman I’ve called from jail. A woman I’ve called homeless, a woman I’ve called addicted. I got to call her and say I just got nominated for two Grammys. To me, that is the craziest call you can make.”
Jelly Roll will embark on his Beautifully Broken Tour, with Warren Zeiders and Alexandra Kay. The tour kicks off on August 27 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Find all of Jelly Roll’s music and tour dates at JellyRoll615.com.