Holly Gleason Forty-five minutes after published start time, with the Ryman Auditorium’s house lights blazing, the chanting began. “Jelleeeeeee!
Jelllllllly! Jelleeeeeeeeeee! JELLY!” For most people on the coasts, as well as polite society in the flyover, the phenomenon that is Jelly Roll, a rapper-turned-country breakout sensation, may not yet have registered.
Even for music industry pundits, the jaundiced eye can paint him as one more hip-hop bro-country expansion, albeit one with some serious facial ink.
But for what served as the release party for Jason DeFord’s first full-length country release — “Whitsitt Chapel,” out this weekend – the sold-out audience’s response Wednesday fell somewhere between altar call and full-on revival.
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