‘Unlikely new star’ Jelly Roll is coming to Idaho for a major summer concert
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Michael Deeds, Idaho Statesman
BOISE (Idaho Statesman) — For Jelly Roll fans hoping to catch the rising country-rocker on the way up, Boise has been a sweet place to be.
In 2022, he headlined an intimate show at Stoney’s Road House in Emmett. Last summer, he performed for thousands at the Boise Music Festival at Expo Idaho.
Like clockwork, here comes the 39-year-old and his face tattoos again — with superstardom now at a meteoric level.
Jelly Roll will headline an indoor arena concert Wednesday, Aug. 28, at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa. Tickets become available to the general public at 10 a.m. March 1 for $39.50 to $159.50 (plus fees) through fordidahocenter.com. The opening acts will be Warren Zeiders and Alexandra Kay.
It would be an understatement to say that Jelly Roll — real name Jason DeFord — is a hot ticket. Calling him “an unlikely new star,” The New York Times published a January article that described him as “one of the year’s surprise success stories in the music industry, who’s become known as much for emotional openness as for hit songs.”
A Nashville native, Jelly Roll started his career as a Southern hip-hop artist two decades ago. But it wasn’t until recently that things truly exploded. He had a No. 1 rock radio hit in 2022, “Dead Man Walking,” before reaching No. 1 in early 2023 with “Son of a Sinner” on country radio. “Need a Favor,” another country chart-topper, soon followed.
Jelly Roll won New Artist of the Year at the 2023 Country Music Association Awards. He was nominated for two Grammys last year, too — including Best Country Duo/Group Performance for his smash hit “Save Me,” with Lainey Wilson. (She’s already sold out her Sept. 14 concert at the Ford Idaho Center Amphitheater — months in advance.)
Earlier this month, Jelly Roll and Wilson took home the Male Country Artist of the Year and Female Country Artist of the Year honors at the 2024 People’s Choice Awards.
“It’s absolutely incredible,” Jelly Roll said afterward. “Thank you to the fans that voted. Thank you for putting it all over the internet. Thank you for putting it all over your social media, TikTok. Y’all were sharing it for us. That’s what y’all have done every single time for me, my entire career. You’ve never let me down, and I pray I keep making the kind of music that never lets you down. Thank y’all.”