Jelly Roll Asks Fans for Help Making His Dream Come True

Nashville native Jelly Roll has a dream, and he needs his fans to help make it come true.

The singer performed at the second night of the inaugural Music City Rodeo at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena. And while on stage, he told fans he wouldn’t perform again in his hometown of Nashville until 2027.

And he wants that 2027 performance to be something very special.

Jelly Roll paused his set and told the crowd, “I shouldn’t say this, I’m gonna get in trouble. But I gotta say it out loud. Somebody film this for me. This will be my last Nashville show until 2027, y’all. Hear me out, though. This is why, because I need y’all’s help. I want to be the first act to play Nissan Stadium, when it opens in the spring of 2027.”

Jelly Roll Makes His Case to Be the First Performer at the New Nissan Stadium

When it’s completed in 2027, the New Nissan Stadium will be home to the NFL’s Tennessee Titans, replacing their current venue, also called Nissan Stadium, which opened in 1999.

And for Jelly Roll, being the first act to perform in the new venue would be a dream come true in a season of watching many other dreams come true.

Jelly Roll told his rodeo audience at Bridgestone Arena, “I never thought I would make it here, I never thought I would sell out Bridgestone three times.”

Jelly got emotional as he went on, shouting, “In 2027, Nissan Stadium, please let the local boy live a dream and open up the new stadium, let me be the first to play it, baby! Let the local boy do it, baby! I’ve been a… life-long Titans fan. Let me play Nissan Stadium, y’all!” as the crowd cheered.

“Woo! Sorry, that was crazy, but I gotta speak it into existence. I believe in Nashville,” he continued. “If all of y’all brought a friend, we could do it. If you brought a friend, we could do it!”

Jelly Roll Recounts His Checkered Past in Nashville

The singer, whose real name is Jason Deford, hasn’t been shy about talking about AND singing about the transformational faith that turned around a difficult young life in Music City.

Jelly grew up in Nashville and spent time in the Metro-Davidson County Detention Facility. The singer was in jail 40 times in his life.

In fact, when he turned things around, he donated a recording studio to the Davidson County Juvenile Detention center, telling People, “I was in and out of there for about three, three and a half years. I spent a lot of time there and eventually got charged as an adult for a crime I committed as a juvenile. And I just realized that was the most impactful thing that ever happened in my life, and the darkest moments of my life still were being that 15-year-old scared kid spending Thanksgiving away from his family.”

“I knew that I wanted to give back whenever I was in a situation to, and I always knew I wanted to make it really personal,” the country star continued. “So, I went back to the same juvenile that I started doing music at. I wrote some of my first raps there, had my first big rap battle there.”