REVIEW BY BOB EMANUEL JR.
As he walked through the packed crowd on Tuesday, Sept. 17, for the final song at Orlando’s Kia Center, Jason DeFord, known better by his nickname Jelly Roll, spoke of sins and the need to wash one’s self of them. He then stepped onto the rear, satellite stage, as the set’s roof was consumed by fire. Seconds later, water poured down the perimeter, symbolizing rain, and Jelly Roll walked in and out of the water while he performed megahit “Save Me”.
The song was the final touch on a masterful performance, one that saw Jelly Roll display his wide array of talents as part of The Beautifully Broken Tour. The enigmatic superstar from Antioch, Tennessee, not only dazzled with his unique blend of country, rock, rap and blues, but he also captivated the crowd with personal stories and delivered several small sermons, reminiscent of a southern church.
Jelly Roll, the 2023 Country Music Awards’ New Artist of the Year, thanked the crowd numerous times for coming out in force on a Tuesday night and spoke how much of an honor it was to play such a venue so quickly in his relatively short mainstream performing career.
He began the performance on that same rear stage he ended it on, as he was accompanied through the crowd by his stunning wife, Alyssa – known better by the name Bunnie XO. What followed was a whirlwind, 90-minute journey from the opener of “I Am Not Okay” through the finale.
The show continued on the main stage, which featured two long ramps down the two sides of the floor. Jelly Roll’s set included a duet of Garth Brook’s “Friends in Low Places” with independent artist Alexandra Kay, who opened the night with her own eight-song set. Kay followed with a cover of Shania Twain’s “I Feel Like a Woman” before Jelly Roll did a snippet of Green Day’s “Good Riddance”.
Fire again played a factor when Jelly Roll sat at the piano to sing “She”, a song about addiction. To show the universal appeal of the song, Jelly Roll changed the second verse from she to he, which he explained could cover anyone. “Need a Favor”, nominated for the 2024’s IHeart Music Awards’ Rock Song of the Year, began the slide toward the end of the evening, followed by “Smoking Section” and “Heart of Stone” before the 2024 Grammy-nominated finale of “Save Me.”
Kay kicked off the night speaking of her appreciation of Jelly Roll for bringing an independent artist on tour with him. Kay sang eight songs, capped by “Painted Him Perfect.”
Warren Zeiders, whose second studio album Relapse was released less than a month prior, followed Kay with a nine-song set. Zeiders’ country rock sound was well received and featured three songs that cracked Billboard Magazine’s top 30 on the Hot Country Songs list, including “Pretty Little Poison” which reached as high as fifth.
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