Jelly Roll halted production of his concert in the midst of his performance of “Son Of A Sinner” at the Isleta Amphitheater in Albuquerque, New Mexico on August 30, to bring a wheelchair-bound fan on stage.
The Antioch native noticed the fan, named Richard, in the crowd sitting in his wheelchair atop the general admission crowd and requested the concertgoer join him onstage.
“Hold on, hold on… We need to get him [Richard] to the fu**ing stage!” Jelly Roll said, pointing at the wheelchair-bound fan who was seen singing every word to his songs during the show. “Can we get him on the stage? We’re going to need a lot of help though. We can’t drop the ball on this one, this is big. All hands on deck boys. Appreciate you for helping us.”
“Yeah, let’s get him right the f**k right here. Yeah, baby!” Jelly Roll shouted as concertgoers carried Richard to the stage.
Without hesitation, the capacity crowd then crowd-surfed the fan in his wheelchair to the stage. As the fan made his way onto the stage with a smile on his face, Jelly Roll greeted him with a big hug and the pair shared an emotional moment together before finishing out the tune as a duet.
“This was my first No. 1 on Country Radio Albuquerque,” Jelly Roll told the crowd before continuing to sing the chart-topping tune.
As his performance of “Son Of A Sinner” concluded, the sold-out crowd chanted the wheelchair bound fan’s name.
“Thank you, you made my fu**ing night,” Jelly Roll told the fan as he shook his hand.
Special Bond With His Fans
Jelly Roll has always shared a unique connection with his fans and strives to help them whenever possible. Whether that be with his music or when they are in need at one of his concerts.
During a recent show, the genre-bending star stopped his concert at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Friday, September 1, to call attention to a Vietnam Veteran in the sold-out crowd and gift the retired soldier lifetime tickets to his concerts.
“I just want to tell you how much I appreciate you and your service. I hope you enjoyed the hell out of tonight,” Jelly Roll continued. “I’ll tell you this, you’ll never buy another ticket to my show. I’m going to get my people with you. You are welcome forever. Thank you.”
Jelly Roll also paused his set at the Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre in Maryland Heights last month after he noticed a former elementary school classmate in the crowd and offered her a full backstage experience.
“I love you girl,” he told his former classmate during the Missouri concert. “I’ll see you after the show, we’ll make sure we get you and your mama backstage.”
On the Backroad Baptism Tour, he has also halted his concert to help a fan in need of medical assistance as well as break up a fight in the crowd.
“Save Me” Dominating Country Radio
The news comes after quite an eventful week. This week the hitmaker’s latest single “Save Me” featuring Lainey Wilson made a major impact at Country Radio upon its release on September 5. The song earned a whopping 60 first-week adds on stations around the country. “Save Me,” which received over 91 historic adds, earned the title of most-added at country radio this week.
Jelly Roll recently opened up about reimagining the tune with Lainey Wilson and how she gives the song a whole new life. “I didn’t realize how much of an impact the song was going to have on me when I heard it from the perspective of a woman,” Jelly Roll admitted. “Lainey’s like a sister. I think she’s got one of the best voices in country music, and we’re already friends so it was just such an easy collab.
New Album, WHITSITT CHAPEL
The new reimagined version of “Save Me” featuring Lainey Wilson appears on Jelly Roll’s latest album, WHITSITT CHAPEL, which arrived on June 2, 2023. The tune was originally recorded as a solo song on Jelly Roll’s 2020 album, Self Medicated.
WHITSITT CHAPEL, named after the church the Antioch native grew up attending, features 13 tracks, including his chart-topping hit “NEED A FAVOR,” “SHE,” and more.
“This album is about growth and gratitude happening in my life. I wanted to create a project that felt hopeful. I believe the worst feeling a person can have is feeling hopeless or worthless. This is therapeutic music. Real music for real people with real problems,” Jelly Roll previously shared in a statement.
The project debuted at No.2 on the Billboard Country Album Chart and in the Top 3 on the Billboard 200 all-genre chart with 90,000 album equivalents.
Backroad Baptism Tour
Jelly Roll, whose real name is Jason Deford, is currently in the midst of his highly-successful Backroad Baptism Tour, which kicked off on Friday, July 28, and runs through Saturday, October 14, where the trek will wrap up in Tampa, Florida at MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre.
Ashley McBryde, Caitlynne Curtis, Chase Rice, Elle King, Merkules, Struggle Jennings, Three 6 Mafia, Yelawolf appear as special guests on select dates of the nearly sold-out tour.
CMA Awards Nominations
Additionally, Jelly Roll recently joined the ranks of Garth Brooks, Johnny Cash and more as he landed five nominations at the 2023 CMA Awards as a first-time nominee.
Following behind his “Save Me” duet partner Lainey Wilson who leads CMA Awards nominees, the genre-bending star earned five nominations, including Single Of The Year (“NEED A FAVOR”), Male Vocalist Of The Year, Musical Event Of The Year (“Save Me” with Lainey Wilson) and Music Video Of The Year (“NEED A FAVOR”).
“5 CMA nominations . I can’t believe it , like literally,” he initially wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, before further elaborating on Instagram.
For more information about Jelly Roll and his upcoming tour dates, visit his official website HERE.
