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Review & setlist: Jelly Roll cherishes the ‘Beautifully Broken’ at TD Garden
'If you have never been to a Jelly Roll show, we would like to welcome you to our dysfunctional family.'
Jelly Roll, with Warren Zeiders and Alexandra Kay, at TD Garden in Boston, Sept. 26, 2024
“If you have never been to a Jelly Roll show, we would like to welcome you to our dysfunctional family,” Jelly Roll exclaimed to a sold-out crowd at TD Garden.
The 39-year-old country singer and rapper took the stadium stage on Sept. 26 on his “The Beautifully Broken Tour” in honor of his upcoming record “Beautifully Broken” out Oct. 11.
A strong aroma of beer wafted through the air as rowdy audience members rushed around clad in flannels, cowboy boots, and American flag T-shirts before welcoming the Nashville native to the Bay State.
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Donning a Celtics jersey, Jelly Roll walked through the audience to a secondary stage with his wife Bunnie XO (Alyssa DeFord).
He pressed his forehead into hers before opening with “I Am Not Okay,” a song about healing. The metal framing of a house engulfed in flames hung above him as he acknowledged that sometimes life gets dark, but we will make it through the pain together. And we will find something much more beautiful and fulfilling on the other side.
“I know, I can’t be the only one/ Who’s holding on for dear life/ But God knows, I know/ When it’s all said and done/ I’m not okay/ But it’s all gonna be alright,” he sang, moving around the stage to address all sides of the arena.
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An audience member remarked that the moment felt like going to church.
“Tonight will be a night of healing. Tonight will be a night of love. Tonight will be a night of redemption,” Jelly Roll promised.
The artist, legally Jason Bradley DeFord, is the poster child of redemption. Jelly Roll’s mother — who first nicknamed him Jelly — was an addict, and he became a drug dealer. He was first arrested at 14 years old and has been to jail around 40 times for various drug charges.
Jelly Roll turned his life around with music, charting on the Billboard Hot 100 with 13 songs, earning a Best New Artist nomination at the 2024 Grammy Awards, and winning three Country Music Awards this year.
Utilizing his fame for good, he also visits prisons to connect with and inspire inmates. And he appeared before Congress in January to speak out against the US fentanyl crisis.
Jelly Roll returned to the main stage for his high-energy country rock track “Halfway to Hell.” A large broken skull with a crown and a replica of Jelly Roll’s cross face tattoo sat on stage as fire shot up in bright bursts — the show’s extensive pyrotechnics were impressive.
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“Are y’all trying to party on a Thursday night? Let’s go!” Jelly Roll yelled.
He kept the atmosphere chaotic but unserious. Flashing red lights and dramatic theatrical curtains decorated the stage as he called for the audience to cheer on his drummer, whom the band calls Porkchop.
The setlist ebbed and flowed between loud, expressive country rock and slower, more weighty melodies. Jelly Roll moved in a spiritual direction for his self-reflective ballad “Son of a Sinner.”
“Cause I’m only one drink away from the devil/ I’m only one call away from home/ Yeah, I’m somewhere in the middle/ I guess I’m just a little right and wrong,” the audience sang with Jelly Roll, raising their hands up in worship.
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Jelly Roll brought out country singer Alexandra Kay for a collaborative cover of Garth Brooks’ “Friends in Low Places” and a powerful solo cut of Shania Twain’s “I Feel Like a Woman.” He commended her growth and grit as an independent artist and encouraged the audience to support her work.
He launched seamlessly from a cheerful cover of Green Day’s “Good Riddance” into “Lonely Road,” a version of “Country Roads” originally recorded with Machine Gun Kelly. Jelly Roll notified the audience that moments before heading onstage he received a text that the duo’s version of the John Denver song won a People’s Choice Country Music Award for Best Crossover Song.
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The artist brought out Worcester’s own Joyner Lucas to perform his verses on “Best For Me,” a track empathizing with loved ones of addicts. Lucas called Jelly Roll the embodiment of a rose growing from a crack in concrete.
Jelly Roll’s leather-studded country track “Liar” uplifted the audience with messaging about not letting someone else break you down. For “Save Me,” water rained down on him from fog mimicking clouds. The rapid droplets signified an unofficial baptism, a rebirth from his torrid past into a bright future as an artist.
“Thank y’all for changing my life,” Jelly Roll said, assuring the audience that he sincerely meant it. He said his dream is to return to Boston in a couple years to play Fenway Park.
An audience member held up a cardboard sign reading, “So proud of you.” It’s quite remarkable that someone who went through as much as he did was able to cling onto hope, heal from his past, and touch enough hearts to sell out stadiums.
Setlist for Jelly Roll at TD Garden, Sept. 26, 2024
- Save Me
- I Am Not Okay
- Halfway to Hell
- Get By
- Burning
- Son of a Sinner
- Friends in Low Places (Garth Brooks cover) (Performed with Alexander Kay)
- I Feel Like a Woman (Shania Twain cover) (Performed by Alexandra Kay)
- Good Riddance (Green Day cover)
- Lonely Road / Take Me Home, Country Roads (Originally with Machine Gun Kelly)
- Creature / Same Asshole / Fall in the Fall / Wild Ones
- Best For Me (Performed with Joyner Lucas)
- She
- Liar
- Bottle and Mary Jane
- Need a Favor
- Smoking Section (Performed with DJ Hylyte)
- Heart of Stone
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