Editor-in-Chief, Music
Jelly Roll Plays Intimate Hamptons Show for SiriusXM for Stars Bradley Cooper and Jon Hamm
It’s hard to imagine a less likely setting for a Jelly Roll concert than Amagansett, which is actually part of the Hamptons, the coastal enclave on the eastern end of Long Island that has long been a flexible summer retreat for Manhattan’s ultra-wealthy elite. And though it was an invited audience of SiriusXM subscribers and superstars like Bradley Cooper, Jon Hamm, Jimmy Fallon, Shawn Levy, George Stephanopoulos, Fox 5 co-host Rosanna Scotto and at least one Real Housewife, there was a warmth to the performance from this plus-size, heavily tattooed, deeply graceful and invigorating performer that spoke not only to his raw fusion of country, rock and hip-hop but also to his one-in-a-million ability to connect. As one old colleague noted, this was probably the oldest and wealthiest audience Jelly had ever played to, and he had them in the palm of his tattooed hand from the start.
While the venue—Stephen Talkhouse, a 200-capacity club—might have you thinking of a small, intimate show, the show wasn’t held indoors, but in the back, under a sprawling, elaborately decorated tent with several well-stocked bars and festooned with plants and, no joke, hay bales, meaning the excited crowd (the drinks were free) watched Jelly while smelling hay. And it all ended with not only a meet-and-greet with the man himself, but also a huge, free barbecue.
The show aired live on the network’s Highway channel (listen here ), and throughout his set, Jelly shouted out to listeners, thanking SiriusXM for their support and the role it had played in launching his late-blooming career: He’s almost 40 and has been at it for two decades, and now that his time has come, he’s clearly enjoying it. He thanked the audience several times, as well as his wife and two children, his mother and four siblings, his band, crew and team. He spoke at length about how far he’s come from the East Nashville projects where he grew up, not to mention the drug abuse and years in prison that he rose so far above but will always remember.
