Jelly Roll takes Kansas City to church in ‘healing’ concert at sold-out T-Mobile Center
Jason DeFord, better known to the public as country star Jelly Roll, believes in the power of music. He believes that music is:
- Magical
- Medicine
- Healing
- Helping
- Therapy
And 15,000 fans in Kansas City agreed with him.
The 39-year-old singer had a sold-out T-Mobile Center in the palm of his hands for nearly two hours Wednesday, Nov. 13, singing his biggest hits, fan favorites and snippets from his musical inspirations, in what he called “a night of healing, hope and love.” The stop is a part of his Beautifully Broken Tour, which recently added tour dates in Canada for 2025.
The show started with an introduction video with Morgan Freeman’s narration, stating that “everyone is welcome and everything is possible.” Themes of healing, overcoming past traumas, self-love and unity were present throughout the night, starting with the first song, “I Am Not Okay.”
The song’s message is in the title: It’s OK for people not to be OK, but things will get better in the future. He performed the song on a smaller stage underneath a house structure that was on fire for the duration of the song before walking to the larger stage for the rest of the show.
‘If we can’t be a voice, then what are we doing?’
The Nashville singer’s on-stage sermons about overcoming adversity have connected with millions of fans around the world and with those in attendance in Kansas City.
Christina Martinez, a fan from Lansing, Kansas, said his music helped dig her out of a hole after her mom died in December. He also inspired her to speak out about tough issues like sexual assault or domestic violence, as she used to be afraid to say anything, whether in public or on social media.
“The one thing Jelly Roll taught me is that if we can’t be a voice, then what are we doing?” Martinez said. “If I can use my voice and someone’s listening, even if they don’t tell me, then at least I know I’m making an impact.”
Jelly Roll had issues before stardom, having served jail time on numerous occasions. His outspokenness about his past struggles and his persistence to getting better is what makes him an easy person to cheer for, Martinez said.
He brought up his jail time during the show, after a surprise visit from Kansas City’s Tech N9ne. Tech performed his section of “Creature,” off Jelly’s 2020 album “A Beautiful Disaster,” and later sang a verse from “Red Kingdom.”
As Tech N9ne left the stage, Jelly Roll said that the KC-based rapper and Strange Music co-CEO Travis O’Guin were mentors to him after he got out of prison over a decade ago.
Jelly Roll has since done more to help others around the country, speaking to those incarcerated and testifying in front of Congress about the ongoing fentanyl crisis. It’s part of what drew Kansas City sisters Maurissa Glick and Idallis Shaffer and their friend Kristi Donathan into his fandom.
They knew of Jelly Roll’s wife, Alyssa DeFord, an influencer known as Bunnie XO, before they even heard of the singer.
“I was following Bunnie on Instagram and then when I saw her posting stuff with Jelly Roll, I was like I’m going to check his stuff out,” Glick said.
“He’s real about the struggle and honest about s--- not being perfect,” Shaffer said.
’I broke generational curses’
Jelly Roll turned T-Mobile Center into a honky tonk bar for most of his set list, blaring through each song as people of all ages sang and danced along. He took the time to thank each and every person on stage with him, including opening acts Allie Colleen, Shaboozey (who has the No. 1 song in the country with “A Bar Song (Tipsy)“) and Ernest.
At one point, he quipped that the concert is now a family reunion since the crowd is full of beautifully broken and imperfectly perfect people. While none of his real family members appeared on stage like they have at past shows, he gave credit to his mom for her ‘90s country influence and his brother for his rap influence, which make up his signature sound.
He sang country legend Toby Keith’s “Should’ve Been a Cowboy” and brought out Ernest to sing “Who’s Your Daddy?” Later in the show, he went into a medley of some of rap’s biggest hits from the 1990s and 2000s, including Eazy-E’s “Boyz-N-The-Hood” and “Ms. Jackson” by Outkast.
Plenty of KC fans brought signs and he called out to as many as he could see, including one from a mother whose son died after overdosing on fentanyl. He changed the lyrics of the song “She,” a song about addiction, replacing the word “she” with “he.” Jelly Roll also dedicated the song “Winning Streak” to a person holding a sign celebrating one year of sobriety.
A cracked skull dropped down from the stage, as did a rosary in the latter half of the set, and he closed out the show with “Save Me.” He walked through the crowd to the small stage to perform the last song, where the house structure was on fire for a brief moment before water extinguished the flames.
“Thank you for changing my life, my wife’s life and my daughter’s life,” he said. “I broke generational curses because you listened to my music.”
Jelly Roll’s set list
Jelly Roll’s show featured 26 songs, including guest performances and snippets. Here’s the full set list:
- “I Am Not Okay”
- “Halfway To Hell”
- “Get By”
- Burning”
- “Son Of A Sinner”
- “Should’ve Been A Cowboy” (Toby Keith cover)
- “Who’s Your Daddy?” (Toby Keith cover, performed by Ernest)
- “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)“ (Green Day cover, medley)
- “Lonely Road” (mgk song, medley)
- “Take Me Home, Country Road” (John Denver cover, medley)
- “Creature” (with Tech N9ne)
- “Red Kingdom” (performed by Tech N9ne)
- “Wild Ones” (Jessie Murph song, performed with Allie Colleen)
- “She”
- “Winning Streak”
- “Liar”
- “Bottle and Mary Jane”
- “Need A Favor”
- “Boyz in the Hood” (Eazy-E snippet)
- “Ruff Ryders Anthem” (DMX snippet)
- “Lose Yourself” (Eminem snippet)
- “Ms. Jackson” (Outkast snippet)
- “Just a Friend” (Biz Markie snippet)
- “Smoking Section”
- “Heart of Stone”
- “Save Me”
This story was originally published November 14, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
