Jelly Roll joined forces with ERNEST and Luke Bryan for an epic performance on Friday evening (Jan. 19) at Luke Bryan’s Annual Crash My Playa event at AAA Four Diamond Awarded Moon Palace Cancún in Cancún, Mexico. In the midst of Jelly Roll’s headlining set, he welcomed ERNEST to the stage to sing “Son Of A Sinner,” a song the pair co-wrote together alongside David Ray Stevens.
The genre-bending star, whose real name is Jason DeFord, took on the first verse of the tune before welcoming ERNEST to the stage to perform the chorus and bridge.
“Mistakes I made, I paid for them in cash/ Walked a million miles on broken glass/ I’m feeling like I’m fading/ My hearts been slowing breaking/ Might pop a pill, and smoke, and maybe drink/ Talk to God and tell him what I think/ At first, he’s gonna hate me/ But eventually, He’ll save me,” Jelly Roll and ERNEST sang, trading verses before Luke Bryan surprised them.
Luke Bryan Joins Jelly Roll, ERNEST for “Son Of A Sinner” Performance At Crash My Playa
After the pair took on the bridge of the tune, Luke Bryan made a surprise appearance on stage. The crowd erupted in cheers as Bryan, wearing gray sweatpants and a tropical button-up shirt with a hat, strolled down the massive catwalk. Jelly Roll’s jaw dropped as he noticed Bryan joined them on stage, and that’s when the unexpected collaboration took place between the trio of chart-topping singer/songwriters.
Bryan knew every word to the Jelly Roll hit and was singing along, without a microphone. When ERNEST noticed that he knew the words to the chart-topping hit, he handed Bryan a microphone, and the country superstar seamlessly blended his vocals with the ongoing “Son Of A Sinner” performance.
“I’m just a long-haired son of a sinner/ Searching for new ways I can get gone/ I’m a pedal to the highway if you ever wonder why we write these songs/ ‘Cause I’m only one drink away from the devil/ I’m only one call away from home/ Yeah, I’m somewhere in the middle/ I guess I’m just a little/ Right and wrong,” Jelly Roll, ERNEST and Luke Bryan sang in sync on the tune’s chorus.
Luke Bryan then attempted to exit the stage, when Jelly Roll asked him to remain on stage and prompted the massive audience to serenade Bryan with a roaring sing-along.
Crash My Playa Marked Jelly Roll’s First-Ever International Concert
Before performing “Son Of A Sinner,” Jelly Roll opened up about the “dream come true” experience of performing of Crash My Playa and explained how the opportunity came to fruition.
He then detailed that one night in Los Angeles, California, he ran into Luke Bryan and his manager Kerri (KP Entertainment) and he was “drunk enough [at] that moment to shoot my shot and invite myself to Crash My Playa because I had just gotten my passport.”
“Now, those of y’all who don’t know a lot about me… because of my checkered and colorful past, I was not allowed to leave the United States of America. I got my first stamp in my passport book today, y’all,” he explained. “So even though it’s in front of a bunch of rowdy Americans, this is my first international show, Cancun. I got to admit, I like the weather and the weed is okay. I just want to say it early in the show, thank you, Luke Bryan, and thank you, Kerri, for making this my dream come true.”
Jelly Roll also explained how his chart-topping hit “Son Of A Sinner” changed his life and ultimately led him to performing at the destination event.
“I know beyond the shadow of a doubt that this song is what was the gateway to me having the opportunity to be here tonight. This is the song Country radio picked up and changed my life with. This song is for anybody, whose ever led between being right and wrong,” he explained of the tune, which became his first-ever No. 1 hit at Country radio in 2023.
Luke Bryan Praised Jelly Roll Ahead Of The Event
Ahead of Crash My Playa, Luke Bryan gushed over Jelly Roll during his 30 No. 1 celebration at Brooklyn Bowl Nashville.
“I think what Jelly Roll embodies and represents is something really, really special,” Bryan told Music Mayhem and other outlets, adding that he and Jelly Roll have seen each other at events and recently hung out backstage during a festival. “He is such a star in that role. And I was even telling somebody today, they were like, ‘Tell us about Jelly Roll.’ I’m like, ‘I don’t know. Every time I’m around the guy, he’s just so intriguing, so interesting.’”
The Georgia native added that he believes the music Jelly Roll makes “checks a potentially forgotten box of people in country music. And he’s able to really speak to that crowd, and that’s what makes him special.”
Luke Bryan Opened Up About How Jelly Roll Got on Crash My Playa
Bryan told media that when his team was asking Jelly Roll to participate in Crash My Playa, “I was like, ‘God, I hope he says yes.’”
“I think any festival that I’m a part of that I put my name in, it’s all about bringing somebody like Jelly Roll in,” he said, adding that when Jelly Roll accepted the offer, it came with a special bonus. “[Jelly Roll] called me up, he’s like, ‘Dude, I hadn’t been out of the country. This will be the first time I’ve ever gotten to perform my music out of the country,’ which was really fun.”
Luke Bryan also noted that Jelly Roll’s connection with his fans and his willingness to share his own life story is a significant part of his success.
“As a fan, you get to see into his world, which is the world of a lot of people,” the American Idol judge explained. “And I think that’s what you have to do to rise to where he’s risen, to speak to people and tell your story. Honestly, he tells his story, the good, the bad, and the ugly. And I think that’s what people love about him. I mean, life’s a journey… it’s not all squeaky clean and beautiful and no bumps in the road. And I think he lets a lot of people not feel alone, they’re with him.”
Crash My Playa 2024
In addition to Jelly Roll and Luke Bryan, Jon Pardi headlined Crash My Playa 2024. Special guests Bailey Zimmerman, Dierks Bentley, Eddie Montgomery, ERNEST, Jon Langston, Mitchell Tenpenny, Dustin Lynch, Ashley Cooke, Avery Anna, Lily Rose, Zach Top, and DJ Rock also performed at the festival.
