Jelly Roll + Brantley Gilbert Light Up Nashville During Nickelback’s Tour Stop [Watch]

A string of country's most rock-friendly hit-makers turned out for the Nashville stop on Nickelback's Get Rollin' Tour on Tuesday night (Aug. 1), several of whom shared a stage with the tour's own country-fried opening act, Brantley Gilbert.

But none drew a larger crowd response than Jelly Roll, who hopped onstage during Gilbert's set with fire in his belly and a stadium full of screaming fans in the palm of his hand. Jelly and Gilbert performed "Son of the Dirty South," a mish-mash of hard rock, hard-edged country and rap that the two artists released in 2022.

Over the past couple of years, Jelly Roll has made headway as a balladeer, especially with his breakout country radio hit, "Son of a Sinner." But on Tuesday night, he reminded the crowd that hip-hop is a major component of his musical foundation, rapping a verse over screeching guitars, volcanic bursts of pyrotechnics and the occasional emphatic lyrical interjection from Gilbert.

Playing Bridgestone Arena is always a triumphant moment for Jelly Roll, a Music City native who frequently waxes emotional about his long, pothole-pocked road to success. He's now played the venue several times, even selling it out under his own name as a headliner. After his landmark first sell-out at the venue in late 2022, he directed all proceeds toward local youth outreach, earmarking funds to build a recording studio at the Davidson County Juvenile Detention Center where he himself once served time as a teen.

If Jelly Roll played early in the night on Tuesday in Nashville, it's not because he's not headliner caliber. He had to play Bridgestone early in order to jet out to Huntsville, Ala., where he performed a headlining slot on his current Backroad Baptism Tour.