2023 seems to be the season for lengthier projects in country music. Take for example, Morgan Wallen’s recently-released 36-track album called One Thing At A Time dropped on March 3.
Then, Luke Combs is gearing up to release a companion project to his 2022 Growin’ Up album titled Gettin’ Old, due out on March 24. Other artists like ERNEST, who recently debuted Flower Shops (The Album): Two Dozen Roses, have extended initial projects by dropping deluxe versions.
Jelly Roll Plans To Release Four Albums In 2023
Now Jelly Roll is revealing he has plans to release a plethora of music that includes a country album as well as three additional albums.
In a recent post on Twitter, the Tennessee native tweeted, “Country album next, rock album after that, rap album end of year, and a surprise collab project. Since I didn’t drop any music in 2022, I’m going to let it fly this year baby.”
While speaking with Music Mayhem, Jelly Roll reiterated that sentiment, saying, “I plan on, kind of, going back to my roots and dropping a lot of music. I didn’t drop any music in 2022. It’s the first time since I’ve been doing music that I went 14 months without dropping anything.”
Since breaking through, the artist, who spent over a decade trapped in the judicial system and began his career in rap, has charted with two singles, “Dead Man Walking” and “Son Of A Sinner.” He also previously released tracks “She” and “Need A Favor.” The Gold-certified “Son Of A Sinner” marks his first No. 1 on country radio.
“’Son of A Sinner’ was just having such an overwhelming success story that I kind of wanted to stay out of the way of it,” Jelly Roll reasoned, holding off his releases last year. “But [this] year, I wanna kinda go back to the brass tacks that got me where I am, and I want to release 20–30 songs [in 2023].”
Plans To Release His Debut Country Album
Of his forthcoming country project, the 2023 three-time CMT Music Award nominee teases, “It’s awesome. I’m really proud of it. I’m going to have some features on it. It’s a country record for sure. It’ll be my debut country album. I’m kind of really excited about taking my first real big leap into the genre. I think ‘Son of a Sinner’ was just, kind of, showing people what I could do, but we also got some real kind of rock records on there, some real kind of rocky records on there. And we’ll have a couple of songs where I’m spitting a little bit too. So it’s still true to Jelly Roll for sure.”
According to Audacy’s Rob + Holly, fans should expect a full-length country debut from Jelly Roll by Spring 2023.
“I got a country album coming in April or May. I’m all in. I’m here for the long haul. [In] 2022 I climbed the mountain of country music,” Jelly Roll said. “2023, I’m gonna plant the flag to show y’all I’m here… Let me claim a little space.”
Collaboration EP On The Way
As for a collaborative effort, Jelly Roll is teaming up with Brantley Gilbert on a project or EP, according to Gilbert, who recently talked about his friendship with Jelly Roll.
“We went and lived in the studio for about a week,” Gilbert told Country Now. We’ve really got enough for an album, so I think, right now, we’re just trying to figure out whether or not, it’s gonna be an EP or an album, but there’s definitely something coming.”
“This album that we put together, this EP that we put together, literally covers every base. I mean, we both went into our little bag of tricks across the board. So there’s a little bit of everything on it. When you hear this project, it will blow your mind. I could play you one song and then play you another one, and you can say, in a million years, do not ever put that on the same album.”
Jelly Roll Will Soon Embark On A Massive Headlining Tour
This summer, Jelly Roll will take the road for his extensive 44-city Backroad Baptism Tour. The trek kicks off on July 28 at Bank Plus Amphitheater in Southaven, Mississippi, and features a handful of supporting acts for select dates. They include Ashley McBryde, Elle King, Chase Rice, Caitlynne Curtis, Merkules, Struggle Jennings, Three 6 Mafia, Yelawolf, and Josh Adam Meyers.
The Backroad Baptism Tour will make stops across the U.S. in Milwaukee, Bakersfield, Houston, Lexington, Salt Lake City, and more, before wrapping in Tampa on Oct. 14.
Gilbert, meanwhile, will be hitting the road this summer with Nickelback as part of the band’s The Get Rollin’ Tour. The trek begins on June 12 and wraps on August 30, in Belmont Park, NY, at UBS Arena.
