Jelly Roll is celebrating a career milestone, and he has Luke Bryan to thank. The singer was part of Bryan’s annual all-star Crash My Playa, which included Dierks Bentley, Dustin Lynch, Jon Pardi and more. Held in Cancún, Mexico, the performance marked Jelly Roll’s first time he ever played outside of the continental United States.
“Thank you Like Bryan and Crash my Playa,” Jelly Roll captioned a few photos. “My first international show. Thank you Mexico.”
Thank you Like Bryan and Crash my Playa. My first international show. Thank you Mexico . pic.twitter.com/EH3sPMOx69
— Jelly Roll (@JellyRoll615) January 20, 2024
Jelly Roll was finally able to get a passport, after years in and out of incarceration, but quickly realized that his felony conviction prohibited him from visiting other countries.
“This felony carries with me,” Jelly Roll told CBS Sunday Morning. “It’s sad. It prohibits me from a lot, and a lot of stuff that I didn’t think it was going to prohibit me from, but it really does prohibit me a lot. I finally got a passport, and I was so excited that America was willing to let me leave. And I didn’t realize that other countries had to let me come. That’s my new hurdle.
“We had a No. 1 in Australia for three weeks this year,” he continued. “We could probably go to Australia and do arenas, and I’m not able to go right now. We could probably go to the UK and do arenas, and I can’t go. We could probably go to Canada and do arenas, but they won’t let me go. So it’s so funny that, here I am becoming a global artist, and I’m restricted still to my own yards.”
Jelly Roll has asked for a pardon by Governor Bill Lee, along with reform for other juveniles convicted as adults, as he was. But his criminal past has done very little to impede his future. The Nashville native just celebrated his third No. 1 single, with “Save Me” with Lainey Wilson. He is also the reigning CMA New Artist of the Year, and is nominated for two Grammy Awards.
His complete turnaround and rapid rise to success has still done little to change who Jelly Roll is on the inside.
“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.”
Find all of Jelly Roll’s music and upcoming shows at JellyRoll615.com.