Grammy nominated country singer Jelly Roll left the LCA in “AWE” Wednesday night during his sold-out concert even offering to cleanse the fans in attendance. It was the Grammy nominee’s biggest Detroit performance to date, and his seventh area appearance in over a year. The 39-year-old, born Jason DeFord, said it was his 30th Detroit concert overall. Jelly Roll said to the crowd there is one venue here in Detroit I hope to play and that’s across the street at Ford Field, that’s my dream! The 21-song set was a total banger and the crowd after the concert seemed to think so as well with most saying tonight show was Jelly Roll best to date having covered Jelly Roll three times now, I couldn’t agree more.
Jelly Roll opened his set on stage B coming through the main floor crowd greeting his fans along the way, stopping to give his wife (Bunny) a kiss that ignited the crowd before hitting the stage opening with “I Am Not Ok.” During the song a gazebo like looking structure started to lower while being ingulfed with flames what a way to open the show. “Tonight will be a night of healing, tonight will be a night of therapy, tonight will be a night of love, but most important Detroit, I hope it’s the best show you’ve seen in your fucking life!” Jelly Roll then took a very quick golf cart ride to the main stage greeted with loud cheers breaking into “Halfway to Hell.”
Jelly did a tribute to Motown by playing Otis Redding’s “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay,” to the delight of his fans. Just one thing though it’s not a Motown song, nonetheless we love you still. Speaking of love Jelly love for the city is as they say nowadays “Fire” and making note about playing with Detroit rock legend Bob Seger playing a trio of covers like “Old Time Rock and Roll,” “Turn the Page,” and “Against the Wind.” Sidenote of interest Bob Seger is Jelly Roll favorite artist maybe Seger can add to Jelly dream by playing with him at Ford Field. During the set Jelly added a little laughter to the set when introducing his band mates saying one of my guitarists is “the only man on stage with a good credit score! One of Jelly Roll band members is right here from Detroit, Michigan keyboardist Snow Boots who was sporting a Detroit Red Wing hockey jersey. Jelly cracked on his own dance moves by saying, “y’all ever see a fat man dance. Jelly proceeded to breakout into some killer dance moves showing off while receiving a loud roar that are neighbors to the north could hear clear across the Detroit River.
The highlight of the night came at the end when Jelly Roll hit the B stage for his final song with the emotional “Save Me” while a shower of water fell down on him from above and soaked him from head to toe. Talk about a killer production all while being cleansed at the same time. The stage was decked out with two side long ramps with plenty of pyros and even having a set of large rosary beads hanging above during the song “Need a Favor” along with a giant lighted skull which is from the cover of “Beautifully Broken.” Another highlight from the set came with a sing-along to John Denver’s “Lonely Road/Take Me Home, Country Roads.”
Openers on the tour included Allie Collen, Ernest and up and coming country star Shaboozey. The Virgina born artist is up for five Grammy nominations which include best country song, best country solo performance and song of the year “A Bar Song” and best new artist. I’m not too much of a country listener but if you were to ask me, I would tell you his voice compares to country star Chris Stapleton. A Bar Song has been featured in the Spider-man soundtrack. “A Bar Song” enjoyed a historic 16 week run at #1 according to billboard. The 29-year-old Nigerian artist will also being playing back here in Detroit on Thanksgiving during the Detroit Lions home game at Ford Field. The tour is off to a roaring start and is a must see of 2024. You can catch the tour in a city near you and be “Beautifully Broken.” Horns up and keep rocking America. Below is my Jelly Roll gallery.
Jelly Roll The Beautifully Broken Tour Live At Little Caesars Arena November 6, 2024
