Gratitude, Joy and Redemption Defines Jelly Roll Performance

Jason “Jelly Roll” DeFord took the sold out crowd of 16,500 to church last night and it was glorious!

05/28/2026- What a night to be in West Palm Beach. I have been following Jelly Roll since 2017, when people were still skeptical of “the country rap artist’s appearance at rock festivals” such as Carolina Rebellion. Well, as is typical, my curiosity got the better of me and I sat down for an interview with him because he was available. I knew when I spoke to him he had a spirit so bright, there was no way he could be ignored or written off as a fad. He had a message, drawn from experinces, and not good ones, that speaks to so many. How could he not become a major player in the industry? Now after many years he’s moved on to writing some great lyrical songs that span multiple genres.

Now here we are and people were scrambling for tickets. West Palm Beach was the first stop on the tour, and it is just getting better. From the moment he entered the stage, the entire building was electric. He was nothing but, love grace and gratitude. After the first song, he just sat down and took in the energy, love, and what appeared to be every face in the crowd. He annouced he was taking everyone to church and no one complained.

He then went in to an emotionally filled rendition of Hard Faught and by the end of the song, Everyone, was fighting back tears including himself. He holds nothing back. Not his past, his struggles, his victories ( with a massive amount of humility) and most certainly his thankfulness for his faith in God and how much relying on this is how he is where he is. How he connects with his fans, is a testiment to his authenticity. His smile is infectious.

During his self titled” Little Ass Medley” that included TLC, Creed and Back Street Boys, He noted that music brings people together. You can go from Creed to Back Street Boys and not be embarrased about it. He also pointed out how ironic it was to be at a sold ut show on a Thursday night in Florida.

He paused many times to speak to the crowd. Addressing several people directly. During one such exchange he began speaking to a couple of fans in the front row. He recognized them, as he said, from several shows. The young man had a sign declaring his 148 days of sobriety. Jelly, immediately went into a celebration of this man’s struggles and work, and then invited him to wait until after the show and sit down to talk about his life and every single one of his 148 days of sobriety. He then noticed a young boy, around 8 years old, holding a sign to aks for donations for his little league basball team, from Tampa, to get to Cooper’s Town for the LIttle League World Series this summer. The camera operator was zooming in on the QR code for the crowd. Jelly Roll said “Stop, we don’t need to put that up there. I’ll pay for the whole team to go. Everything, and if ya’ll want I’ll buy ya’ll new uniforms too.” The crowd went wild. The look on the little boy’s face was priceless and his Mother was still in tears three songs later. This is just who he is.

He is so humble. He said he wasn’t anyone special. He never thought he’d amount to anything. That no one thought he’d amount to anything He aslo didn’t believe his songs about redepmtion would ever win a Grammy but God gave him three. He then had all 16,500 fans singing I Am Not Ok. I stepped out of my seat and went to the back of the venue just to take it all in. Even I was intears before I left. Speaking to a fan, who was alos crying, “everyone cries at a Jelly show” It was one of the besy shows I’ve seen in quite a while. Every person there went home feeling joy, love, and the possibilites of redemption. Which is clearly what Jelly Roll is about.

SETLIST

Intro

Hands Up

Hard Faught

Band Intros> Liar

Dirty South

Lil Ass Medley

Winning Streak

Son of a Sinner

Amen/ Bloodline/ Wake me up

Green Day/ WIld Ones/Lonely

Creature

Bottle of Mary Jane

I Am Not Ok

Barstool- Jelly- BGV’s Moment

Somebody Like You

Need A Favor

Save Me

UPCOMING TOUR DATES AVAILABLE HERE: https://thelittleassshedtour.com/