Jelly Roll paid a visit to a group of fans close to his heart on Saturday (Aug. 12), stopping by the Chesterfield County Jail in Virginia.
Formerly incarcerated himself, Jelly Roll has continuously supported those in the same position throughout his career and used his platform to uplift a group of inmates involved in the Helping Addicts Recover Progressively (HARP) Program at Chesterfield County Jail over the weekend.
Viral TikTok Video: “We Need A Favor”
The group had recently been reaching out to Jelly Roll on social media, including in one TikTok video with nearly 600,000 views, though the singer noted that he had learned of the group before they began tagging him.
“Jelly Roll we need a favor!” the group shared in that clip. “We need you to stop by the Chesterfield County Jail… We need you to come through with a hope shot, speak life, love, strength and hope.”
The singer heeded their request ahead of his performance on Saturday night at the Virginia Beach Amphitheater, with videos of the touring visit circulating on social media.
Surprise Performance
In one clip shared on Jelly Roll’s own social media accounts, the singer learns more about the program from those in charge before entering a room full of inmates chanting his name.
“First of all let me just say, I heard y’all needed a favor,” Jelly Roll told the group, which earned him a round of cheers.
“I don’t think y’all even realize the impact that y’all are having,” he later said. “Whenever I was in here, we didn’t have a program like this, we didn’t have people like us come talk to us.”
During his visit, the singer performed several of his hits including his most recent No. 1, “Need A Favor,” and was joined by the inmates for his breakthrough song “Son of a Sinner.”
“I’ve never been to a jail where the energy level was this high,” he said at the end of the clip before sharing some advice that had once been imparted to him and made a major impact on his life — “Who you were is not who you are.”
Chesterfield County Jail
The Helping Addicts Recover Progressively Program was started by Chesterfield Sheriff Karl Leonard in 2016 and is a voluntary jail-based treatment and recovery program to help inmates who struggle with addiction.
Jelly Roll entered the juvenile justice system after attempting armed robbery at age 15 and spent several years after that in prison.
“It’s crazy, dude. I mean, the last time I was in one of these places before I was doing music was obviously, I was inmate 00364950,” Jelly Roll said, via 8News. “So, to have my tour bus parked right outside inside the gate is wild. Is the craziest experience ever.”
“Once I started believing that change was possible, then things changed, started becoming possible,” he continued. “And that’s what I hope these guys get. I hope they look at me and go, ‘man, that can happen,’ you know.”
He added, “Who you were is not who you are and who you are isn’t even a picture of what you can be.”
Backroad Baptism Tour
The Tennessee native visited the Chesterfield County Jail in the midst of his headlining Backroad Baptism Tour, which runs through October 14 with support from Ashley McBryde, Caitlynne Curtis, Chase Rice, Elle King, Merkules, Struggle Jennings, Three 6 Mafia and Yelawolf on select dates.
During breaks from that trek, Jelly Roll will open for Eric Church on Church’s The Outsiders Revival Tour.
For a complete list of tour dates, visit Jelly Roll’s official website HERE.
