The message of his hybrid rock, country and hip-hop sound is all about life and its struggles and imperfections.
By Nick Krewen
Special to the Star
Jelly Roll
4 stars (out of 4)
History, Toronto, Wednesday, July 10
Jelly Roll finally made History Wednesday night.
Not actual history, although in retrospect some may eventually see it that way, but specifically, he performed at the popular Toronto music venue.
Up until this week, that possibility seemed only like a pipe dream for the man born as Jason DeFord, due to a considerable rap sheet, including stints in the clink for aggravated robbery and marijuana possession with intent to distribute, which prevented him from crossing U.S. borders.
But that’s why one hires high-priced, path-clearing lawyers, right?
While legal manoeuvring is one solution to Mr. Roll’s international mobility dilemma, the fact that the face-tattooed former drug dealer and addict has turned his life around also must have factored heavily into the decision to let him leave.
It’s all there in his art, which the Antioch, Tennessee native perfectly describes as “real music for real people with real problems.”
Therein lies his appeal.
The Jelly Roll witnessed during his 90-minute Toronto debut on Wednesday may have been in good spirits, but the message of his hybrid rock, country and hip-hop sound is all about life and its struggles and imperfections: a relatable approach that commiserates as much as it unapologetically chronicles.
Backed by an eight-piece band that included a pedal steel guitarist and a DJ, Jelly Roll immediately set his agenda in front of 2,500 fans with “The Lost” — a track from his brilliant first country album Whitsitt Chapel, just a little more than a year old now — that was performed against an image of a blood-red skull sporting a golden, jewelled crown.
In between blazing guitars and frequent blasts of smoke that yielded bits of confetti, Jelly Roll decried organized and “fire and brimstone” religion that judges with prejudice — and decreed that his own “solid ground is better with the lost than the found.”
He immediately segued into “Halfway to Hell” and the subject of the angels battling the demons within one’s soul — an internal and eternal conflict for many — as those in the crowd sang along at the top of their lungs.
You could find themes of interior struggle in such songs as “Same Asshole” (part of a medley that included “Son of the Dirty South” and “Wild Ones,” the latter featuring pre-recorded vocals by TikTok star Jessie Murph), the ballad “I Am Not Okay,” “Need a Favor” and the concert-ending “Save Me.” They all deal with questionable decisions that negatively impact one’s life, but are tempered with empathy and hope — and he sang most of them against the imagery of Jesus nailed to the crucifix.
These melodic missives just added to Jelly Roll’s authenticity. He spent a lot of time talking to the crowd — in particular, spotlighting a boy named Liam, a brain cancer survivor who appeared to be six or seven, dedicating the requested song “Liar” to him. Jelly Roll told Liam that he wanted hisautograph.
He also talked about headlining the Ottawa Bluesfest the night before his History appearance, telling the crowd that the coolest moment wasn’t being onstage, but appearing earlier at the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre “and hanging with people on their first day of sobriety.”
At one point, Jelly Roll thanked the crowd for keeping him alive, and told them that a turnaround of their own lives was always possible, no matter how bleak things might seem.
It’s this connection — and the way he expresses it so freshly and clearly in his music — that makes him so endearing. He manages to deliver his music’s messages without judgment. Not everyone in life is on equal footing — personally, socially, economically — and Jelly Roll makes it OK to be imperfect.
He also made room to pay tribute to the recently deceased Toby Keith with a cover of “Should’ve Been a Cowboy” and offered a gangsta rap medley that included Eminem’s “Lose Yourself.” He saluted Lynyrd Skynyrd via “Simple Man.”
And in between his own “Smoking Section” and “Bottle and Mary Jane,” there was another surprise: A.J. McLean of the Backstreet Boys sauntered on stage to sing his band’s hit “I Want It That Way” with Jelly Roll.
Time passed too quickly as Jelly rolled through his 21-song set, but in his memorable debut, one thing was clear.
Jelly Roll may very well be the rock star that the world sorely needs.