Jelly Roll Aims to Make History at Nashville’s New Stadium in 2027
Jelly Roll won’t play Nashville again until 2027—he’s hoping to open the city’s brand-new NFL stadium.
Jelly Roll just made a big announcement—and it’s about more than music.
During his set at Bridgestone Arena on Friday, May 30, the “Son of a Sinner” singer paused the show to share a major personal goal. In a fan-recorded video from the Music City Rodeo event, Jelly Roll revealed he won’t be performing again in his hometown of Nashville until 2027.
“I shouldn’t say this, I'm gonna get in trouble. But I gotta say it out loud,” said Jelly. “This will be my last Nashville show until 2027, y’all. Hear me out, though. This is why, because I need y’all’s help.”
His reason? He hopes to be the first artist to perform at the new Nissan Stadium when it opens in the spring of 2027. The upcoming venue will replace the current home of the NFL’s Tennessee Titans, which first opened in 1999.
“I want to be the first act to play Nissan Stadium, when it opens in the spring of 2027,” he told the cheering crowd.
Jelly shared how meaningful that would be for him, saying:
“In 2027, Nissan Stadium, please let the local boy live a dream and open up the new stadium, let me be the first to play it, baby! Let the local boy do it, baby! I’ve got a f------ life-long Titans fan. Let me play Nissan Stadium, y’all!”
He added that it might sound like a long shot, but he's choosing to speak it into existence.
“Sorry, that’s crazy, but I gotta speak it into existence. I believe in Nashville. If all of y’all brought a friend, we could do it.”
Born and raised in Nashville, Jelly Roll—whose real name is Jason DeFord—has never hidden his difficult past. He spent time in and out of jail during his youth, including years at the Davidson County Juvenile Detention Center. It was there he discovered music as a creative outlet.
“I was in and out of there for about three, three and a half years,” he shared with PEOPLE in 2022. “And I just realized that was the most impactful thing that ever happened in my life.”
He later donated a recording studio to that same facility, giving current youth a chance to find their voice.
“So, I went back to the same juvenile that I started doing music at. I wrote some of my first raps there, had my first big rap battle there.”
Today, Jelly owns Jelly Roll’s Goodnight Nashville, a bar on Broadway, but his next hometown concert won’t come until he reaches that 2027 goal.
In the meantime, fans can still catch him on tour—he’s currently hitting stadiums across the country with Post Malone on their Big Ass Stadium Tour.
Jelly Roll’s message is clear: he believes in dreaming big—and in the power of his hometown to help make it happen.
