Tonight, Jelly Roll brings his Beautifully Broken Tour to Rupp Arena. Before getting ready for the show, the famous singer and rapper stopped by Memorial Coliseum, where he hung out with the Kentucky Men’s Basketball, Women’s Basketball, and Volleyball teams and even watched Mark Pope’s team practice.
In a video from UK, the Nashville native said he remembered coming to games at Rupp Arena with his dad during the 1995-96 season, in which Pope and the Cats won the national championship. He also told the players he never dreamt he’d play a concert at Rupp Arena like he is tonight, proof that you should always dream big, not small.
“I’m telling you all. If somebody asked me if I ever dreamed of playing in Rupp Arena, I’d say no. I wasn’t that bold to dream that big but that being said, some of you all in here are dreaming too small right now. Go win the game of life. When you come in here, it’ll be a fluid flow state they’ve never seen. Nothing beats love, boy.”
All three squads snapped a picture with Jelly Roll, who has skyrocketed to fame in the last two years. In 2023, he was nominated for Best New Artist at the Grammys and his song “Son of a Sinner” won three CMT Music Awards. In its tweet, the Kentucky Volleyball social media account referenced his latest hit, “I Am Not Okay,” which was nominated for a Grammy for “Best Country Solo Performance” this morning.
Why was Jelly Roll at Memorial Coliseum? He’s a big basketball fan and is known to sneak in some hoops on tour stops. Last week, he got some shots up at the Spectrum Center, home of the Charlotte Hornets, and the South Charleston Community Center, where he and tourmates Ernest and Shaboozey played basketball and hung out with fans. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a video come out of him playing at Memorial, or maybe even Rupp, before leaving Lexington for Evansville, the next tour stop.
Maybe he’ll even get a photo with the giant Jelly Roll mural across from Rupp Arena:
Make yourself at home, Jelly Roll. If you’re not familiar with his story, I encourage you to check out this profile from CBS Sunday Morning.
Kentucky Volleyball hosts Texas A&M tonight
While Jelly Roll is doing his thing at Rupp, Kentucky Volleyball will host Texas A&M at Memorial Coliseum. It’s the start of a five-game homestand for the No. 13 Cats, who are riding a five-game winning streak that took their record to 14-7 overall and 8-2 in the SEC. Kentucky is currently tied with Missouri atop the SEC standings. On Monday, senior setter Emma Grome was named SEC Player of the Week and Setter of the Week.
Tonight’s match airs live on SEC Network+ starting at 7 p.m. ET. On Sunday, the Cats host LSU at 4:30 p.m.
Go Cats. Go Jelly Roll.
