It wasn’t just Kentucky concertgoers who spent time with Jelly Roll this past weekend.
The musician visited a men’s substance abuse program in the state before taking to the stage.
Jelly Roll spoke to men at Marion County Detention Center, in Lebanon, Kentucky, in response to a request on TikTok.
Substance abuse counselor Natalie Reed put out the call to the artist, saying she was inspired by her clients’ love for his music and how his stories resonate with them.
“I would say that 95% of them have listened to Jelly Roll and genuinely appreciate his music because he sings about what he’s been through and the trials and tribulations that he’s had throughout addiction and throughout incarceration,” Reed said. “So they’re able to relate to someone who has become so successful. It’s pretty surreal.”
The “Son of a Sinner” and “Need a Favor” singer, whose real name is Jason DeFord, has been candid about his past struggles with drug abuse and multiple periods of incarceration as a youth before cleaning up his act.
Jelly Roll won three CMT Music Awards and was named Best New Artist at the Grammy Awards in 2023, and nabbed the Video of the Year, Male Video of the Year and Performance of the Year awards at the 2024 CMT Music Awards.
Reed thought having him come to speak would be a good motivator for her clients, whose ages range from 18 to mid-70s.
“It was just a typical Tuesday, and I thought, ‘You know what? How cool would it be if Jelly Roll came to our detention center?’” she said. “I just said I think that the guys here need his testimony.”
“As a professional and as a substance abuse counselor, I can give them all the tools in their toolbox, but at the end of the day, having someone who has been through it always provides a little bit more hope,” Reed said.
Jelly Roll’s visit to Marion County Detention Center
Reed got the idea cleared with her supervisor and the head of security, and made the TikTok video on Oct. 8 from her car in the facility’s parking lot. She tagged Jelly Roll and asked for help in spreading the message.
By that evening, the musician’s team had contacted her.
He was playing in Louisville that Saturday night. Lebanon is about 70 miles southeast of the city. Maybe he could swing by Saturday afternoon, they said.
By Friday, everything was set. The singer pulled up at 4 p.m. Saturday, driving himself in a Suburban “just about as humble as they come,” Reed said.
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What Jelly Roll told clients at a substance abuse program
He spoke to about 200 people over about an hour.
“Jelly Roll said during his testimony that he has been in the same position that these guys are in and he just found something that he loved more than drugs, and something he loved more than selling drugs; and that was his children and his music, And he took those two things and they gave him the motivation to get to where he is today,” Reed said. “But he doesn’t forget where he came from. He made that very clear.”
The singer posted a short video of the visit to social media. (Warning: The video contains strong language.)
Jelly Roll has been the most famous visitor to the facility, which has hosted politicians and a former University of Kentucky football player, Reed said.
He didn’t sing while there.
“He just gave the power of his words and his wisdom to these guys,” Reed said. “But he did say that he would love to come back and sing for him. And so I think that would be super cool.”
The staff got to see him perform later that night though, as the artist gave them tickets to the Louisville concert.
Reed took her nine-year-old daughter to the Louisville concert.
“She loves Jelly Roll. We’ll sing it on the way to school. We’ll sing it on the way to basketball practice; anytime that we’re in the car,” Reed said. “It was her first concert. It was a really neat experience.”
Contact IndyStar reporter Cheryl V. Jackson at cheryl.jackson@indystar.com or 317-444-6264. Follow her on X: @cherylvjackson.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: How Jelly Roll got to a Kentucky detention center. What he told clients
