Check out these photos and a review of Jelly Roll in Ottawa

[Ross MacDonald is on cameras and Karen Coughtrey is on text. – AC.]

Back in 1986, Aerosmith collaborated with rap group Run–D.M.C. on a remake of ‘Walk This Way’. An unexpected mashup of two genres of music that surprisingly worked, and revitalized Aerosmith’s career. And not long after the Beastie Boys put together rap and rock genres to even greater success. Is this part of the foundation of Jelly Roll’s ascent to stardom?

On Friday night, as the city of Ottawa was coming out a long snowy winter and into spring, Jelly Roll brought his ‘Beautiful Broken Tour’ to the Canadian Tire Centre.

Opening the night was Florida native Savannah Dexter. A rising star and friend of Jelly Roll. She seemed somewhat shy starting off her first song; perhaps because it was performing in front of a sold out arena, or maybe she was just building slowly.

By the second song Savannah definitely had the crowd on her side, performing an upbeat cover of Shania Twain’s ‘Man! I Feel Like A Woman!’ From there, until the end of her half hour set it was a great “new-country” vibe that had lots of toes tapping.

Between artists, it wasn’t the typical house lights on, canned music. The party atmosphere continued with a hype duo: Arena Rockerz osted the two intermissions with hype-man Hylyte and music by DJ Chill.

The two set up on a stage at the back of the floor beside the soundboard. Music was blaring, lights were flashing, and the two Rockerz had the crowd lighting their cell phones and yelling down the other side of the arena.

Canadian country star Josh Ross started off his set with a very sombre rendition of his hit ‘Trouble’, with a backdrop of rain and lightning on the video screen behind the band. And even through a sobering start, remarkably Josh maintained the energy of the intermission.

During his second song ‘Red Flags’ Josh put down his guitar, grabbed the wireless mic of the stand, and strode down the catwalks at either end of the stage and out into the crowd on the floor area. Even while over a metre above the crowd, Josh knelt down to high five as many adoring fans as possible. It was certainly a night of connections between the artists and the audience.

Josh is very much a country artist; however, he did a beautiful medley of rock covers that included Creed’s ‘Higher’ and 3 Doors Down’s ‘Kryptonite’. He also did a very powerful cover of Goo Goo Dolls ‘Iris’ that had everyone on their feet.

Josh closed out his set with his number one hit from last year ‘Single Again’, once again bringing everyone at the Canadian Tire Centre to their feet with Josh showing gratitude for the long applause.

Again the Arena Rockerz took to the small back stage for a second intermission set, seemingly even more energetic with songs like ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ shaking the arena.

Soon after the Arena Rockerz cleared off their stage, the house lights went down and a video screen lit above the front stage. A voice-over message started, which included: “Imagine a space for you, for us. Tonight this is our space. Everyone is welcome and anything is possible. In our space, it’s ok to not be ok. No matter what burdens you are carrying, loss or trauma you have experienced, you belong here. Welcome to the Beautiful Broken Tour.”

Dressed in black jeans with a black shirt and vest, a silver chain, and Ottawa Fire Services ball cap, Jelly Roll walked through the audience to the stage near the back of the floor by the soundboard. Accompanied by an acoustic guitar, he performed a powerful version of his recent hit single ‘I Am Not Okay’. With words like “It’s not okay, but we’re all gonna be alright”, this was a strong foreshadow of the theme of his Ottawa stop on ‘The Beautifully Broken: Great Northern Tour 2025’. As the song progressed, the frame of a burning building descended and hung over him.

Jelly Roll then walked up to the main stage at the front and broke into upbeat songs ‘Highway to Hell’, and when he mentioned “Ottawa” in the song ‘Get By’, he drew big cheers. The Arena Rockerz were brought on stage to provide backing vocals in ‘Get By’. The multiple flames shooting up during several songs added to the big rock show ambience. Throughout his concert, Jelly Roll made a close connection to his fans. There was a big singalong with Jelly Roll’s first #1 hit song ‘Son of a Sinner’.

It’s hard to pin a genre to Jelly Roll. According to Wikipedia it says he is “southern hip-hop or country rap”. That’s unfair. Jelly Roll definitely has musical roots in rap and country music; however, the delivery is more reminiscent of rock music, there is no nasally twang, but multiple guitars are always prominent. So for those musical fans who prefer rock to old-school country music, you should definitely go see Jelly Roll.

Jelly Roll brought out opener Josh Ross to sing a duet cover of Garth Brooks’s massive ‘Friends In Low Places’. Jelly Roll and Josh went out along both catwalks, constantly making eye contact with as many fans as possible. It was another big sing-along, and pretty much everyone can relate to that song.

At one point Jelly Roll declared “Tonight is more than a concert, it is more than music. Tonight is about redemption, recovery, and freedom. Change is possible, and who we were is not who we are. And who you are is not even close to the person you can be!”

During his ballad ‘Hard Fought Hallelujah’ a cross was backlit at the rear of the stage, transforming the arena into a chapel. It is fitting as Jelly Roll’s faith has been a large part of his recovery, and he wears his gratitude to his faith on his sleeve.

Jelly Roll performed a melody of four rap/hip-hop songs, and judging from his enthusiasm while singing, they are all meaningful to him. The loudest cheers and sing-along from the audience was for Eminem’s ‘Lose Yourself’; another beautiful moment between the artist and his fans.

After the hip-hop throwback, Jelly Roll put the guitars back on the forefront. He introduced his next song ‘Bottle and Mary Jane’ with a humorous story from his youth. And mid-way through the song there was a dueling guitar solo, in front of an enormous skull; is this country-rap or heavy metal? Again, push the pigeon-holes aside, this was a great rock show.

In another medley, Jelly Roll gave a nod to his neighbours in the great white north with popular rock songs: Nickelback’s ‘How You Remind Me’, local legend Alanis Morissette’s ‘Ironic’, and the iconic ‘Life Is A Highway’ by Tom Cochrane.

Jelly Roll ended the concert much like how he started it. He walked from the main stage, back through the crowd to the small stage at the back and sang his 2023 number one hit ballad ‘Save Me’. The song was dedicated to a young boy at the concert as part of the Make-A-Wish Foundation https://makeawish.ca/ . At the close of the song, rain fell down over him, followed by confetti that looked like snow, giving a sense of peace, alongside the standing ovation and screams of “Jelly! Jelly! Jelly!” It was a night of emotional fulfillment.

After the show AJOMT spoke with fan Debbie Dolan: “Jelly Roll did not disappoint! Music is his medicine and part of the ties that bind us together. He is not afraid to speak to the souls of the broken, the lost or addicted. He is proof that what we can’t do alone we can do together. Super passionate about everything life has shown him from his early ties to country music, but all the genres in between the eras. Mad respect for the Canadian content and his heartfelt love of our Country.”

All agreed that it was an outstanding country… rap… rock… MUSIC experience.