Billboard cover star Jelly Roll headlined Billboard’s inaugural ‘Live in Concert’ event on Tuesday evening (June 6) at Nashville’s Marathon Music Works, leading a show that offered an electrifying performance, emotional catharsis and an uplifting message all in one — or as Jelly Roll calls it, “real music for real people with real problems.”
His blending of elements of rap, rock and country, melded with unflinching, brutally honest lyrics, gives a voice to the heartaches, struggles, hopes and dreams of a swath of the population that is often overlooked. The music — and the message — sparked a career surge for the artist from Antioch, Tennessee, one that garnered him No. 1 Billboard chart hits including “Dead Man Walking” and “Son of a Sinner.”
“As a young kid writing raps in his bedroom at 12 years old in Antioch, you dream of things like being on the cover of Billboard magazine,” Jelly Roll told the crowd Tuesday evening, eliciting cheers. “Today we can f–king say we did that,” he added, growing emotional. His performance was equally joyous and grateful; throughout, he praised fellow artists who have helped him in various capacities along the way, including Shinedown and Three 6 Mafia.
Earlier in the evening, as part of an industry-only event, Jelly Roll was honored as Billboard‘s country breakthrough artist of the year, while Jelly Roll’s fellow singer-songwriter ERNEST presented him with the honor.
Opening the show was rising artist Nate Smith, who earned his first No. 1 BillboardCountry Airplay hit earlier this year with “Whiskey on You.”
Below, we look at five highlights from the evening’s concert:
Nate Smith Brings Emotional Fervor to ‘Wreckage’
Singer-songwriter Nate Smith is known for his chart-topping hit “Whiskey on You,” but judging by the audience’s reaction to his new ballad, “Wreckage,” he could have another hit on his hands. The song is a powerful vessel for Smith’s soulful, muscular voice, with a message of gratitude for a lover who sees past his faults and accepts him as he is (“When everyone saw baggage, you loved when no one could”).
By the time he hit the first chorus of “Wreckage” during his opening set, the crowd was already cheering and hanging onto every note — and as the song reached its zenith, Smith paused, growing emotional and soaking up the moment. He responded by removing his hat and throwing it into the crowd.
“That’s intense!” Smith said. “I love you guys and I love this city so much.”
Jelly Roll Delivers the Hits
Jelly Roll — clad in a jacket emblazoned with the title of his newly-released album, Whitsitt Chapel and a white hat with the word “Trash” written on it — offered a sleek mix of tunes during his headlining set.
“This feels like the old days — maybe we should get this motherf–ker rowdy tonight,” he said, revving up the crowd. He performed both earlier rap songs (one of which ultimately saw a packed crowd of fans rapping along, and following Jelly Roll’s lead, holding their middle fingers in the air and chanting “We don’t give a f–k”), along with songs from Whitsitt Chapel. But he also offered up renditions of his hits, “Dead Man Walking” and “Son of a Sinner.”
Jelly Roll Surprises Audience With Guest Oliver Steele
Jelly Roll surprised the audience by welcoming recent American Idol contestant (and Mt. Juliet, Tennessee native) Oliver Steele to the stage.
“As a breakthrough artist of the year, it’s only right that I bring a breakthrough artist with me,” Jelly Roll told the crowd. “I had the opportunity to do the season finale of American Idol earlier this year. And they said ‘You can sing with anyone you want to sing with that’s in the top 5 on the show.’ I said, ‘Well my guy was in the top 8, but he’s from Nashville, Tennessee, and that’s the guy I want to sing with.”
Steele performed a rendition of Shania Twain’s “You’re Still the One.”
Jelly Roll Performs a Song He Co-Wrote With Miranda Lambert
Jelly Roll launched his set with with the opening track to Whitsitt Chapel, “Halfway to Hell.” Later in his set, he offered “The Lost,” a track that espouses a kind of vagabond approach to life, one of living and finding meaning on one’s own terms. “I’ve been known to find my kind of people/ That ain’t at home underneath church steeples,” the song’s verses maintain.
Jelly Roll co-wrote “The Lost” with Jesse Frasure and Miranda Lambert — whom Jelly Roll called the “baddest motherf–ker I ever met.”
Jelly Roll Gives Thanks for the Power of Music
At one point, Jelly Roll paused to give thanks for the way music has shifted his life for the better.
“It’s amazing how powerful music is, ain’t it?” he asked the crowd. “I’m getting choked up thinking about how much music has changed my life. Long before I wrote a song, the healing power of music changed my life. When nobody was there for me, music always was. It never let me down. I wanted to write songs to make people feel the way music made me feel.”
