Anyone that has seen Jelly Roll perform (whether live or on TV) can tell the man loves to create a wild, loud, and rambunctious atmosphere for his concertgoers.
In a recent interview with Taste of Country, the recipient of the CMA ‘New Artist of the Year’ award discussed a specific aspect of live concerts that he finds to be comical, but many other artists seem to be annoyed with.
The Need A Favor singer appears to believe that artists nowadays are getting too upset when fans throw objects on stage- he considers it an inherent aspect of performing. During the interview, he stated:
“I can’t believe people are throwing such a fuss about stuff getting thrown at them. I’ve been getting sh*t thrown at me my whole career.”
He details a specific time in which he and a fellow artist, Yelawolf, had a dangerous, yet hilarious moment on stage, where fans shot bottle rockets at them. He tells this story in good spirits, seemingly remembering it as a positive moment rather than one in which he was angered by the fans actions.
“Me and Yelawolf had a bottle rocket shot at us once. A bottle rocket!”
I don’t think Jelly Roll is advocating for fireworks to be shot at him on stage, but he does recognize the fun in it. Rather than taking it as an attack, he sees it as an action that gives the performance some more flare and entertainment.
Some may think this is pretty wild, including myself, but it is interesting to see an artist laughing with fans instead of calling them out. He goes on to list the additional various items he’s gotten thrown at him:
“I’ve been getting stuff- drugs, panties, bras, boots, hats, cell phones… I grew up playing in bars dude, I’ve been getting sh*t thrown at me. I’ve had beers thrown at me.”
Seemingly Jelly Roll’s performances create an atmosphere that makes people feel, let’s call it “free” to toss their belongings on stage. Some may see this as obnoxious and hazardous, others may view it as result of the exciting, exhilarating energy that Jelly Roll brings to the stage.
He goes on to admit these types of moments at his concerts weren’t always as lighthearted as they appear to be now, revealing there has been times where things have gone a little too far:
“I’ve jumped off the stage and gotten in physical fist fights in the early days of our career.”
Jelly Roll is alluding to occurrences of physical altercations with fans, but emphasizes that these moments were early on in his career. I tend to doubt we’ll ever see this side of him in his new era as he continues to evolve as a country artist.
In some ways, he seems to be in a chapter of his life where these shenanigans are less likely. This shift in tone and direction is very evident in his latest number one hit, Save Me (ft. Lainey Wilson), which became Jelly Roll’s third number one at country radio this weekend.
Check out the clip of this interview right here: