Bringing hope to a hopeless situation.
Last night, Jelly Roll played a show in Charlottesville, Virginia, as part of his current headlining Beautifully Broken tour.
But it was an extra special evening, as Jelly brought four very different guests onstage than anything he’s done before… it wasn’t a surprise artist, but rather four inmates that he’d met earlier in the day at a local county prison nearby.
Jelly told the crowd that he always stops at a local rehab facility, jail or homeless shelter when he’s on the road, and during a visit to a local county jail earlier, four young men sang his songs to him from his new Beautifully Broken album and he was blown away.
He was so moved, in fact, that he called the Sheriff and asked if they could come to his concert that night:
“I’m about to share a story with you, ‘cuz we’re fixin’ to do something I’m never gonna do again on this tour, this is gonna be the only time this might ever happen in my career, actually. I don’t know if any of y’all follow what’s on social media, but I try to make it a point, in every city that we play, to either go visit a rehab, a jail, or a homeless shelter.
Today I had the most unique experience I’ve ever had in a jail, it shook me to my core. There’s a local, within about an hour from here, a local county jail that has a program that is teaching people how to recover the right way through therapy, and music… real therapy, real resources, it’s a really forward thinking place.
I walked in today, and a group of men began to sing me some of my songs in a way that I have never heard and I began to cry and weep in this cell with all these men, and these women, that were in there singing their soul out.
He offered to pay for everything too so he wouldn’t use up any of the local tax money, he just knew they needed to see it in person because he’s been exactly where they are and never got to “see the dream” like this:
“They were singing all of my new album. I left there, and I couldn’t quit thinking about it, and I called that local Sheriff, and I said ‘I know this sounds crazy, but I never got the chance to see if the dream could be real, would you please bring those inmates to the show tonight so they can see the dream? Would you please, sheriff?
I’ll pay the county… it won’t cost the [people] a tax dollar, I’ll pay for everything, just please Sheriff, if you would please give these young men a second chance. Just show ’em that it can happen ‘cuz it happened for me. I was in this same kind of place.'”
Jelly told the crowd that the Sheriff was eager to bring them, though he had one more thing he wanted: for the young men to come in street clothes, so they weren’t shackled and chained in orange jumpsuits on the stage.
The Sheriff was happy to oblige, and as Jelly pointed out in a very moving way:
“If anybody believes in second chances it’s a f*****n’ Jelly Roll show, right?”
It will certainly bring the chills watching this, and I’m blown away at the pride and dignity that Jelly must have brought to their lives that evening, and the hope it gave them to get better and work for a better future.
Of course, I think most people know Jelly’s story and that he was in and out of jail for many years, so this is something that’s very close to his heart and really special to see. Not many artists have a story like Jelly Roll, and he’s doing a lot of good with it that is consistently impressive to watch:
“I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but that Sheriff is such a visionary, he said, ‘You know what? I will bring those men.’ You know how nice he was? I called him back, and I said, I don’t wanna sound like a beggar here, but can we put them in street clothes? I don’t want them shackled and chained on stage in orange jumpsuits.
He said ‘No problem at all.’ Not one shackle, not one chain. I would like to bring to the stage right now, my newly found friends… I want y’all to know that these young men woke up in county and they’re gonna go to sleep in the county jail, but for the next hour, they get to live like us and sing a little music. If anybody believes in second chances it’s a f*****n’ Jelly Roll show, right?”
It’s just incredible, and I can only imagine the lasting impact this will have on those four men and everyone else who was a the show:
@sydsiegrist Such a beautiful story.. @Jelly Roll you are amazing. #jellyroll #charlottesville #beautifullybrokentour2024 ♬ original sound – Syd Siegrist
Here’s some of their performances… it’s amazing how talented they are and how natural they were onstage:
@sydsiegrist Four inmates from a local county jail we’re given special permission by the sheriff to attend a @Jelly Roll concert and perform a song they had sung to him earlier in the day when he visited the jail. Listen to part one to hear him explain the story! #beautifullybrokentour2024 #jellyroll #charlottesville ♬ original sound – Syd Siegrist
