Country music star Jelly Roll, known for his “Beautifully Broken” tour and sold-out shows across the U.S., took his music to an unexpected venue this week—the Oregon State Penitentiary. In a moving visit, the award-winning singer performed for incarcerated individuals, marking the first live music in the prison yard in two decades.
Jelly Roll, whose real name is Jason DeFord, shared the experience on Instagram, posting videos of himself performing Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues” and signing autographs for the inmates. Reflecting on the event, he emphasized the importance of showing love and compassion, even to those who have made grave mistakes.
“I believe in accountability, but I also believe every human deserves love,” the 39-year-old artist wrote. A former inmate himself, Jelly Roll revealed that he wrote his first song while behind bars, making the performance particularly poignant.
His lyrics often draw from his own struggles with addiction and his troubled past, themes that resonated with the prison audience. One inmate shared how Jelly Roll’s song “Save Me” inspired him to get clean. “I heard it on the radio, and I got clean that day,” the man said.
Jelly Roll’s rise from rapper to acclaimed country artist culminated in his 2023 Country Music Association Award for New Artist of the Year. Reflecting on the performance, he said, “It felt so good bringing a little light to such a dark place.”
For Jelly Roll, the visit was about more than music—it was about hope and redemption.
