Jelly Roll Is Ditching His Phone For The Rest Of The Year—Here's Why

Rising country music star Jelly Roll has earned some much-needed downtime after his first arena tour, and he's decided to spend it offline to focus on his family.

He informed fans on Instagram that he was "fighting a cold, the road ran me down pretty bad this time." The musician who started as a rap artist before transforming into a country singer was on tour for 80 days, five shows a week, and had three national television appearances. Now that he's home from the Backroad Baptism tour, Jelly Roll plans to "go phoneless for the rest of the year to focus on family and try to be as present as possible for my family. I’ll be posting when I can from the iPad or my wife’s phone."

Jelly Roll has more concert dates listed through the end of the year, followed by a break in his tour schedule until summer 2024.

Jelly Roll, born Jason Bradley DeFord, grew up in the Antioch neighborhood of Nashville, Tennessee. After a difficult childhood and multiple stints in jail, he burst onto the country music scene with a story of redemption and a drive to help others.

Jelly Roll scored his first number 1 song with his debut country single, “Son of a Sinner," in January 2023. That song earned him Male Video of the Year, Male Breakthrough Video of the Year, and Digital-First Performance of the Year at the 2023 CMT Music Awards. He received five nominations for the 2023 CMA Awards, which take place November 8.

The "Need a Favor" singer said he has visited jails, rehabs, and homeless shelters "spreading the love" while on tour, and that he and Live Nation collaborated to raise $590,000 for at-risk youth.

"I never even dreamed this would be possible," he said. "My gratitude is at all time high. I got emotional every night on stage — seeing the impact of these songs. Seeing people laughing, dancing, crying together was something I’ll never forget."

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