October 01 2024 Bryce Jordan Center State College Pennsylvania. Words and Photos by Ryan O’Malley
The world of modern country music can be almost impossible to keep up on. Each year, dozens of artists can see their careers either go from playing smaller venues to moving on to larger ones, or the other way around. Besides a few established artists like Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, and Kenny Chesney, the landscape of country music and the hit makers at its forefront seems to change at a feverish pace.
Since 2022, one artist that has skyrocketed up the country and rock charts is Jason DeFord, better known as the large man with an even larger heart, Jelly Roll. At age 39, Jelly Roll is currently in the midst of a large-scale arena tour in support of his soon-to-be-released album, “Beautifully Broken.” Recently the tour touched down at Penn State University in State College, Pa. where a sold-out crowd of over 15,000 faithful fans filled the Bryce Jordan Center on Tuesday, October 1.
As one of the openers for this tour, Jelly Roll tapped Alexandra Kay, a 33-year-old independent country artist who has millions of fans on social media, is self funded, has a very small management team, and has a very commendable amount of drive and determination with her music. In terms of aesthetic she presents herself as the total country package: high cowgirl boots, a small but not too small top, and, of course, a variation of Daisy Duke shorts. It’s a look that could be on the borderline of the whole “sex sells” classification, but it’s more tacky than a trashy appearance. But when it comes to singing, Kay’s voice is a welcomed and well-received treat.
If you didn’t know much about her going into the concert, an easy misconception would be to think that Kay is an early-20-something bubble gum country artist when she starts singing, but she’s not. She’s an artist who knows what her voice is capable of and utilizes it in a near perfect fashion. It makes you wonder why after 15 years of doing what she’s doing, she lacks a label. In 2023, Kay independently released the album “All I’ve Ever Known,” an album that addressed her failed marriage and rumors that were circulating amongst her fans. However retrospective the album may have been, having those songs dominate your set list gets to be a bit redundant and caused a decent amount of fans to turn to their phones or walk around the concourse. Titles like “Skip This Part,” “Everleave,” and “Painted Him Perfect,” created a feeling of being at a Taylor Swift concert and hearing nothing but the ex-boyfriend songs. It may work for Taylor, but she also adds a chunk of happier songs, and it might be a good move for Kay to start doing the same.
Also along for the ride on this outing is Warren Zeiders, a 24-year-old singer-songwriter from the neighboring city of Hershey, Pa. Much like Kay, Zeider’s look was your run-of-the-mill modern day country look of plain white t-shirt, blue jeans, boots, cowboy hat, long hair and a beard. His stage energy – especially with the Penn State show being as close to a “home” show as he’ll get on this tour – was definitely intense on early numbers like “Intoxicated,” and “Betrayal.” The crowd appeared more animated during Zeider’s set than with Kay, but Zeider’s music didn’t really seem to hit a high point. His six piece backing band were having fun on stage, but the music tended to go in the direction of the oversaturated modern/rowdy/pop country market that has been unavoidable over the last two decades. For some music lovers, that sound is what they want to hear in country music. For others, that sound has been diminishing the quality of country music since the early 2000’s.
Those that were familiar with his music had their fun at the end of his set when his chart-ranking songs like “Sin So Sweet,” and “Pretty Little Poison,” were unleashed. Prior to “Pretty Little Poison,” Zeiders spoke of how the song was the hardest for him to write and the hardest for him to sing in concert, and near the end of the performance appeared to be emotional and holding his eyes. If the emotions were true, it didn’t come off that way; instead looking as though it’s a rehearsed motion that is a part of every show. “If you didn’t know my name before, you do now. Because I’m Warren fucking Zeiders, baby,” he exclaimed before the start of his final number, a standard sounding “Ride the Lightning.”
In between artists, the attention was directed towards the soundboard area where a side stage was setup and DJ Chill had his deck spinning while Hylyte held down the emcee duties. The selections were a mixture of classic rock staples and 1990’s hip-hop and did a fantastic job of keeping fans energy up during the 30 minute changeovers.
When it was time for the Jelly Roll to arrive, he did it in grand fashion. Flanked by security, he made his way out onto the floor and walked around the perimeter where he gladly shook hands and took selfies with fans before eventually reaching the side stage where a framed structure lowered from the ceiling and erupted in flames while Jelly Roll belted out the reflective “I Am Not Ok.” It might sound like your run of the mill song about getting through life, but with Jelly Roll there is more to the story. He has been very open about his lifelong battle with manic depression and anxiety. Add in a lengthy past as both a drug user and drug dealer and the song tends to hit a bit harder.
One thing that defines most of Jelly Roll’s current music is positivity and he brought that same positivity to Penn State where he asked the crowd to forget about whatever past problems may have happened and reminding everyone that it is never too late to turn your life around and strive to do good. After working on his music since 2003, it is obvious that Jelly Roll is having an absolute blast on this current tour which may be why the shows are so memorable. Between constant smiling and waving to crowd members, professing (not too much) about what God has done to his life, and just soaking in the crowds raucous applause, Jelly Roll was successful in making the show feel more like a family reunion than a concert, which he was vocal about wanting to accomplish.
See the full gallery of photos from this show here.
Back on the main stage, the focus was on his music instead of overblown production. Songs like “Halfway to Hell,” and “Get By,” were well received, but the biggest pop early in the set came when he broke into “Son of a Sinner,” his debut country single from his 2021 album “Ballads of the Broken.” It’s a song that garnered him three CMT awards and helped give him his big break.
In the middle of the set, he paused to talk about how he was raised and his mother being a lifelong country music fan. Mentioning legendary names like Alan Jackson, Tracey Lawrence, George Strait, and George Jones, Jelly Roll paid homage to one of the biggest stars of country music, Garth Brooks, by performing Brooks’ version of the sing-along staple, “Friends In Low Places.” The number was a duet as he brought Alexandra Kay back out to help with the verses. With Kay still on stage, the band tipped their hats to the undeniable queen of 90’s country, Shania Twain, and had Kay lead them through a fun version of Twain’s mega hit, “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!” A brief version of Green Day’s “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)” followed – for what reason remains unknown – before wrapping up his cover song section of the evening with the song he recorded with M.G.K., “Lonely Road” which is basically a reworking of the John Denver smash “Take Me Home, Country Roads.”
It might be easy to classify Jelly Roll as a “one-hit wonder” due to only one of his songs really crossing over into the mainstream – the faith heavy “Need A Favor” – and while the genre-bending hit was performed towards the end of the set, it was his other material, namely a tight version of “Liar” and the introspective “Bottle and Mary Jane” that really had the crowd engaged.
After inviting Hylyte back to the stage, a fun version of the afterlife mantra “Smoking Section” followed, complete with the two artists sharing a blunt. To some the act could be considered to be in poor taste as Jelly Roll is open about being in recovery from drugs, but as most Americans agree, marijuana is not a drug and the concert took place in a state where marijuana is medicinal, so passing judgment would be in haste. After a pop based run through of “Heart of Stone,” Jelly roll returned to the same side stage where he began his set, and delivered a slow but emotional “Save Me” which ended the night with the singer standing in the center of the stage with water cascading down upon him.
It’s a strange feeling when you leave a Jelly Roll concert because it doesn’t feel like a concert. It feels more like a celebration. A celebration of a man who by all means should have been in prison instead of on stage at a sold-out arena in the middle of Pennsylvania on a Tuesday night. But Jelly Roll is an inspiration. He’s a man who turned his life around, be it by God or any other force, and is living proof that people can change, no matter how low of a point they may be at. The fact that he can walk around on stage, smile at someone, and that person can feel a renewed purpose in life, is a testament to the way Jelly Roll views not only his life, but everyone else’s, in the most inspiring way possible.
See the full gallery of photos from this show here.
To submit an article an article or review, or to just say hello hit us at [email protected]
Also- check out the search feature in the upper right hand corner and search for your favorite artist, event, venue or genre. You’ll be surprised at what you find!
Check out the Live Music News and Review.com Facebook page for updates and announcements.
